Genome maps to the stars
PATRICK WHITE

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

September 5, 2007 at 8:42 AM EDT

Google geek Larry Page is having his done. So is junk-bond king Michael Milken. Stephen Hawking thinks it may help find a cure for his Lou Gehrig's disease. Larry King hopes it may ward off his next heart attack.

With U.S. biologist Craig Venter becoming the first person to have his complete DNA sequence decoded and published Monday, the shortlist of celebrities and business elites asking to have their genomes mapped is about to get longer.

And the rest of us may soon join them. While it would take more than $2-million (U.S.) to pay for an individual genome mapping today, some researchers predict a mere $1,000 will cover the procedure five years from now.

"You won't see your average [general practitioner] offering this kind of test any time soon," said Kathy Siminovitch, director of genomic medicine at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, "but your average millionaire will be able to find a way to have it done."

six billion letters of genetic code, reflecting all the traits we inherited from our parents.

U.S. biologist Craig Venter is the first person to have his complete DNA sequence decoded. Thor Swift/the New york times

No family doctor will want to do this if they can't use the information on the other end. Kathy Siminovitch, director of genomic medicine at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital

The genome is both an individual's master plan and operating manual.

Researchers also see it as a guidebook to the illnesses and ailments to which each of us is susceptible.

That healing potential is the focus of increasing public interest. In October, the X Prize Foundation announced a $10-million reward - offered up by Canadian diamond hunter Stu Blusson - for the first team of researchers to decode 100 human genomes in 10 days for under $1-million. Among the luminaries who stepped up to volunteer their DNA were Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, Mr. Page, Mr. Milken, Mr. Hawking and Mr. King.

Many more have contacted researchers and genome-sequencing companies directly requesting to have their personal genomes mapped out.

"We have had a number of inquiries," said Maurissa Bornstein, spokeswoman for Illumina, a San Diego, Calif.-based company that is at work decoding the DNA of an anonymous African. "There are a few people interested in paying that kind of money."

Individual researchers, too, have had private queries. "I've had a number of people contact me to see if we'd do their genome," said Stephen Scherer, senior scientist in genetics and genome biology at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children who worked on the Venter project. "All they'd really have to do is give me a blood sample."

Connecticut-based 454 Life Sciences sells genome-sequencing machines to researchers for about $500,000, but the raw data only make sense after researcher runs it through a supercomputer.

"You could get some sort of vanity sequencing done today for around $2-million," said Brendon Hill, spokesman with 454, "but it's not going to cure what ails you."

Until Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve genome-sequencing technology for use beyond research, however, even the most well-heeled will have to wait. But not long.

Dr. Scherer predicts that by the end of the year, the average genome decoding will run about $100,000. In five years that price will plummet to one-hundredth of that.

Harvard University in Boston has launched a personal genome project that will recruit upward of 10 DNA donors. A major goal of the project is to decode each genome for about $1,000.

One major hurdle remains for the prospect of a personal genome industry: Researchers don't yet understand the complex DNA sequence of a single human.

"It's going to take at least 10 years to understand how to interpret this data," Dr. Siminovitch said. "No family doctor will want to do this if they can't use the information on the other end. It's like taking an MRI but not having anyone who knows how to read it."

In a matter of years, however, as more and more individual genomes are added to an international bank, researchers will become increasingly genome literate.

"We'll be able to make some sense of this after we have around 1,000 full genomes out there," said Dr. Scherer, who believes that milestone will be reached within three years. "Once all that data [are] out there, we'll be able to compare and contrast and make recommendations. It'll be a lot like analyzing stocks and mutual funds."

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