Physicists urge technology push to reach 2005 target
Marshall, E.
Science 279(5347): 23
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9441402 Document Number: 491295
In a recent report, a group of advisers known as the JASONs have warned the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make significant technological improvements if they are to meet their 2005 target for sequencing the human genome. The report from the JASONs, an independent group of physicists and engineers, discusses the pledge from the NIH and DOE to determine all 3 billion bases in the human genome by 2005. The DOE appears to have taken the warning seriously, but it lacks the budget to make the sizable investment in technology that the JASONs are recommending. NIH genome institute director Francis Collins appears less concerned and says he is confident that an increase in speed in genetic sequencing being promised by NIH-funded centers will enable the agency to produce the necessary level of output to reach the target.