Varmus Discusses the Three Gs

Harold Varmus Harold Varmus left the directorship of the National Institutes of Health last January to head Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But he didn't leave his strong opinions behind in Bethesda, Md. At a media forum sponsored by Syracuse University in New York on May 1, he discussed some volatile issues in biomedical research: On genome sequencing: Though the finishing line is arbitrary, "There is a point in the minds of most scientists when they say, 'OK, I think I kno

Written byDouglas Steinberg

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Harold Varmus

Harold Varmus left the directorship of the National Institutes of Health last January to head Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. But he didn't leave his strong opinions behind in Bethesda, Md. At a media forum sponsored by Syracuse University in New York on May 1, he discussed some volatile issues in biomedical research:

On genome sequencing: Though the finishing line is arbitrary, "There is a point in the minds of most scientists when they say, 'OK, I think I know the complete set of genes in this organism.'" *** Competition between the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics "is not a road race between extroverted and egotistical personalities. This is a huge enterprise being undertaken by two huge institutions or organizations with incredibly enthusiastic and brilliant people." *** "Understanding this genome is going to take us another 100 years, maybe more," though "things we did over ...

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