(Circulation. 2000;102:e9001.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
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Human Genome Rough Draft Complete
The competitors in the race to finish sequencing the human genome came together June 26, 2000 to declare victory and to predict the dawning of a new age in the way medical care is delivered. J. Craig Venter, PhD, president and chief scientific officer of Celera Genomics, appeared at a press conference in Washington DC with his competitors, Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Ari Patrinos, PhD, associate director for biological and environmental research at the US Department of Energy. Members of the public genome consortium described their completion of a "working draft" of the genome. Dr Venter announced that Celera had completed its first assembly of the genome. International partners in the genome project, notably the Sanger Center in Great Britain, announced the completion of the working draft in London.
Ten years ago, the Human Genome Project began when the first pilot sequencing centers were named across the nation. At that time, genome officials thought the project would take 15 years and $3 billion to complete. However, technology improved and the formerly labor-intensive sequencing became more and more computerized. In 1998, Dr Venter issued his famous challenge, announcing that his company could completely sequence the genome before the year 2001. That spurred the public consortium to speed up its own efforts, changing its immediate goal from a 99% complete genome sequence to a 90% complete "working draft."
The Human Genome Project has ended up being that most rare of
government endeavors—ahead of