We're all different
Look around you. Each of us is different. We're as different on the inside as we are in our appearance. We deal with foods differently, respond to infection differently, and respond to medicines differently.
Part of this difference, as with our appearance, is inherited from our parents and should be able to be understood from our genome sequence. Many genes can influence our appearance. Many genes are involved in common characteristics.
Sequencing genomes
It took 15 years to produce one human genome sequence. In the following four years, two more humans were sequenced.
In the next two or three years, tens of thousands of people are likely to have their genomes sequenced. These are research projects; however, in the coming years, personal genome sequencing will become more common.
Current projects online
These links are provided for illustrative purposes and represent only a selection of such sites as at April 2008. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement by either the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute or European Bioinformatics Institute, nor does it imply that other sites not included offer inferior services. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and European Bioinformatics Institute do not endorse commercial products.
