Betting on the Next 20 Years of Genomic Science
Without a doubt, the Human Genome Project produced some of the most significant advancements in genomic science of the past two decades, from seismic improvements in genomic sequencing technologies to the first ever “map” of the human genome. In 2000, as the Human Genome Project was marching toward completion, Ewan Birney of the European Bioinformatics Institute wound up in an argument with Francis Collins (then head of the National Human Genome Research Institute and today the Obama administration’s nominee for head of the NIH) over the number of genes in the human genome. What resulted was a friendly competition — dubbed GeneSweep — between some of the world’s preeminent genomic researchers to predict the final tally which, in 2003, was announced at a mere 21,000 genes. The winner, Lee Rowen from the Institute of Systems Biology in Seattle, collected more than $1,000 and a signed copy of The Double Helix for her prediction of 25,947 genes.
Now a pair of prominent scientists have placed a new wager on the course of the next two decades of genomic research. As described in the New Scientist, a case of fine port hangs in the balance of this sentence:
By May 1, 2029, given the genome of a fertilised egg of an animal or plant, we will be able to predict in at least one case all the details of the organism that develops from it, including any abnormalities.
