When i first read an article in the early 1990's about the Human Genome Project in the US, it never occured to me that during my lifetime i will witness the deployment of technologies that would read the human DNA. After two decades, Life Technologies, a US biotechnology company has announced the first machine that can read all 3bn letters of an individual’s DNA for as little as $1,000 – a development that will greatly accelerate medical treatment tailored to a patient’s genes. But this also raises ethical questions.
According to Financial Times, Life Technologies says its new Ion Proton sequencer – a $149,000 instrument about the size of a laser printer – can read a whole human genome in less than a day for $1,000 including all chemicals, running costs and preliminary data analysis. The landmark development will greatly increase knowledge about the links between genes and disease, while guiding patients – particularly those with cancer – to receive the treatments most likely to work with their individual genetic profile. However, some fear that scientific enthusiasm for mass decoding of personal genomes could lead into an ethical minefield, raising problems such as access to DNA data by insurers – especially if most babies have their genome read at birth – and by employers.
“I believe millions or even tens of millions of people will have their personal genome read over the next decade,” says Jonathan Rothberg from Life Technologies.
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