Stanford Prof Sequences Own Genome in a Week

A gene scanner in every doctor's office? It may be not so far off.

Stephen Quake (stanford.edu)
A Stanford University professor says he has sequenced his entire genome in a week for under $50,000 using a single machine.

Six years ago, hundreds of researchers at the Human Genome Project completed the same task for $300 million. It took them 13 years.

Stanford bioengineering professor Stephen Quake's results were published Monday in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

The breakneck progress in the field of DNA sequencing has raised hopes that affordable gene scans will be available to all patients soon.

Genomics researchers hope cheap gene sequencing will lead to disease diagnoses, treatments and prevention strategies precisely tailored to an individual's genetic code.