A Genome Milestone

摘要

It was the biggest scientific grudge match since the space race. The Genome Wars had everything: two groups with charismatic leaders squared off in a scientific dead heat, pushing the limits of technology and rhetoric as they battled to become the first to read every last one of the 3 billion DNA "letters" in the human body. The scientific importance of the work is unquestionable. The completed DNA sequence is expected to give scientists unprecedented insights into the workings of the human body, revolutionizing medicine and biology (Newsweek, April 10,2000). But the race itself, between the government's Human Genome ProjectandRockville, Md., biotechnology company Celera Genomics, was at least partly symbolic, the public/private conflict played out in a genetics lab.