While it took hundreds of scientists working in six countries over a decade, and more than $2 billion, to produce the first complete human genome sequencing, the costs and time involved have dropped significantly. In fact, one company - Complete Genomics of  Silicon Valley in California - says that it will have sequenced 1,000 complete genomes between this coming June and the end of 2009.

So what has contributed to the dramatic increase in the speed of gene sequencing? Advances in biotechnology, specifically in nanotechnology that has allowed for the miniaturization of components needed for genome sequencing, have made an enormous difference. Coding instructions for an entire genome, which is approximately six billion characters long, can now fit onto three small rectangular silicon plates less than an inch across. In addition, improved computing power has accelerated the speed at which gene mapping can be conducted.

Complete Genomics hopes to take advantage of mass genome sequencing to ultimately offer hope for more personalized medicine in which treatments are tailored to individual patients. The company's CEO, Dr. Clifford Reid, says that if scientists can compare huge number of genomes, patterns should emerge. "As soon as we can sequence thousands of genomes, then we can understand for the first time, the genetic basis of disease that will enable us to develop new diagnostics for the detection of disease and new therapeutics for the treatment of disease," he says. The company also believes its work with lead to a greater understanding of the extent to which illness is a result of faulty inherited genes or poor lifestyle choices.

With genome sequencing offering so much promise in the field of medicine, Canadian industrialist Stuart Blesson, who made a fortune in diamond mining, has offered a prize of $10 million to the first company that can sequence 100 genomes in ten days, for $10,000 or less each. Andrew Wooton of the Archon X PRIZE Foundation explains that the goal of the Archon X PRIZE is to "bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefits of humanity. The future that we all envisage is the day when every infant has their genome sequenced at birth and we utilise that information to optimise health throughout their life and enable customised personalised medicine," he says.

News Release: Era of personalized medicine awaits www.news.bbc.co.ukl  April 8, 2009