Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

People

Genomics X Prize is announced

October 9, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 41

At a press conference last week in Washington, D.C., the X Prize Foundation, an educational nonprofit institute based in Santa Monica, Calif., introduced the $10 million Archon X Prize for Genomics, the largest medical prize in history. The prize will go to the first group that can successfully sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days. A single human genome currently costs about $10 million to sequence and takes several months to complete to draft coverage, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. Three teams have already signed up for the competition: one led by President and CEO Susan Hardin of VisiGen Biotechnologies, Houston; another headed by President and CEO Christopher K. McLeod of 454 Life Sciences, Branford, Conn.; and a consortium led by University of Florida chemistry professor Steven A. Benner. Other teams are expected to register soon. The prize, sponsored by Archon Minerals, Vancouver, British Columbia, and its president, Stewart Blusson, is designed to "usher in a new era of personalized preventive medicine" and stimulate genomics R&D.

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.