The non-profit X Prize Foundation and private firm Knome are auctioning a whole genome sequence on eBay. The starting bid is $68,000 and the highest bidder will walk away with a full readout of their gene map, along with a complete interpretation of their genetic details.
There are about 1,600 known genes that influence an individual’s health, and the health of their offspring, according to George Church professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. Church has worked on the Human Genome Project and is also a co-founder of Knome.
Scientists are hoping to revolutionize modern medical treatment by making genome sequencing a common-place occurrence leading to more individualized medical care and treatment, as well as boosting preventive care to new levels. Beyond identifying risk of diseases, sequencing can also determine an individual’s potential reaction to certain drugs and tag those which may be ineffective or even toxic.
However exciting these findings may be, predicting disease is a tricky business and, according to researches, there is still much to be understood. Recent studies which suggest that many diseases are the result of variations of several genes, rather than just one gene. According to David Goldstien, head of the Center for Human Genome Variations at Duke University, much more research needs to be done before genetic testing can be applied to personalized medicine.
