Deviations From The Norm: Systems For Mutation Detection Reveal Hidden Potentials

Date: July 19, 1999

Mutation Detection Systems and Methods

Affymetrix's p53 chip

Researchers leading the Human Genome Project (HGP) originally envisioned completion of the entire genome sequence (approximately 3 billion base pairs) by the year 2005. Recently the arena of human genome sequencing has seen a lot of heat generated by the entry of both commercial entrepreneurs and public consortia. Celera, a company formed by highly skilled and competent commercial organizations (TIGR and Perkin-Elmer), jumped into the fray by optimistically claiming the sequence will be completed by the end of 2001. Now the consortium of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Wellcome Trust of London contend that a draft of human genome will be available by the spring of 2000.¹

Irrespective of the exact time frame, the availability of the entire human genome sequence is almost upon us. This information has enormous intellectual, commercial,...