UPDATE: Celebrity Genes: Personalized Gene Banks?

by ScienceDave | May 28, 2007 at 01:45 am | 392 views | 1 comment

James Watson, co-discover of the shape of DNA, now has his entire genome on a DVD.....no word on whether it is good watching.

BRANFORD, Conn. – May 31, 2007 – 454 Life Sciences Corporation, in collaboration with scientists at the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, announced today in Houston, Texas, the completion of a project to sequence the genome of James D. Watson, Ph.D., co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA. The mapping of Dr. Watson’s genome was completed using the Genome Sequencer FLX™ system and marks the first individual genome to be sequenced for less than $1 million.

“When we began the Human Genome Project, we anticipated it would take 15 years to sequence the 3 billion base pairs and identify all the genes,” said Richard Gibbs, Ph.D. , director, Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine. “We completed it in 13 years in 2003 – coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the work of Watson and Dr. Francis Crick that described the double helix. Today, we give James Watson a DVD containing his personal genome – a project completed in only two months. It demonstrates how far sequencing technology has come in a short time.”

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Never mind your recently deceased family pet, celebrities are the newest batch of “organisms” having their genomes sequenced.

Just imagine discovering the genetic foundations for Paris Hilton’s “hawt”ness, or Brad Pitt’s heart throb good looks, or even the mystifying, almost marvelous manner in which Patrick Stewart “engage”s.

Ok, the celebrity status of those individuals being sequenced is perhaps a relative one. A recent news release from Nature outlines a project spearheaded by 454 Life Sciences, a private sequencing company in Connecticut, to sequence such scientific celebrities as James Watson (the same Watson of the Watson and Crick duo who were responsible for determining the double-helix shape of DNA), Craig Ventor and George Church (to highly respected genome scientists), and even talk-show host legend Larry King.

The scramble has some researchers wondering whether the public will see personal genomics as an activity for the benefit of humanity. "I'd hate the availability of single-genome sequencing to be based purely on money and fame," says Michael Ashburner, a geneticist at the University of Cambridge, UK. "Just doing famous or very rich people is bloody tacky, actually."

"This is almost like recreational genomics, or the molecular equivalent of a whole-body scan, for those who have boundless curiosity and cash," says Kathy Hudson, director of Johns Hopkins University's Genetics and Public Policy Centre in Washington DC. "It will be sort of a sad statement if that's what we end up getting out of the Human Genome Project."

Proponents of personal genome sequencing claim there is much to gain from these exercises.

For instance, it might be possible to discover the basis of a rare genetic disease by sequencing many families affected by it. Scientists could also learn much from cancer patients or people who have already been studied in the International HapMap Project, a publicly funded effort to look at human genetic variation.

Now what is very interesting, legally, are the ramifications the release of personal genomes to the public sphere have on family members. For example, Watson did not ask his two sons permission to have his genome available. Ultimately, his sons share half his genome, and so half their genetic code will be available to anyone with the ability to decipher it.

The drive for personal sequencing has been further fueled by projects aimed to promote it on a grander scale. These include The Personal Genome Project out of Harvard (which Church volunteered for), and the Archon X Prize in Genomics (the same X Prize for private space travel) that is offering $10 million for the first team to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days. Even Stephen Hawking is in on it:

You may also know that I am suffering from what is known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is thought to have a genetic component to its origin. It is for this reason that I am a supporter of the $10M Archon X PRIZE for Genomics to drive rapid human genome sequencing. This prize and the resulting technology can help bring about an era of personalized medicine.

Ultimately, unlocking the door to one’s own genome will become a question of utmost importance in the coming decades. I am reminded of Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World, where an individual’s health, intelligence, and lifespan were known to some degree upon birth. As such, I pose the following question to the NowPublic readers:

Would you want to know, in detail, every major and minor defect of your and your children’s genetic make-up?

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Karen Hatter

at 07:39 on May 31st, 2007

good stuff:

Nouseforadave, the discovery of the DNA double helix structure occurred the year I was born! In a little over fifty years, the technology is advancing at lightning speed. Amazing stuff! Thank you for posting this.