Your Own Personal Genome: Coming Soon?

April 16, 2008 -- The idea of having your personal genetic code unraveled was once a dream reserved for people who are fans of science or big on ego -- and deep in pocket.

But a new technique, described in the Thursday issue of the British journal Nature, has slashed the cost and time of genome sequencing, in an important step towards tailor-made medicine.

The human genome comprises around three billion base pairs -- the "rungs" in the ladder of the chemical code for life.

The Human Genome Project (HGP), a consortium of public-sector scientists, spent 437 million dollars (278 million euros) and 13 years to complete the first sequencing of the genome, in 2003.

It tied in a race against maverick biologist Craig Venter, who developed a fast-track sequencing method.

Later, Venter's own genome was sequenced. That project, completed last September, cost around 100 million dollars (62.9 million euros).

The next-generation technique, led by the Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases Research in Connecticut, sequenced a sample given by James Watson, the Nobel laureate who co-discovered the DNA double helix.