Genomic one-upsmanship

Academia and corporate biotech are trying to outdo each other in the race to sequence the human genome. Last week the National Human Genome Research Institute (Bethesda, Md.) announced that the Human Genome Project plans to complete the sequence of the human genome by the end of 2003, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helix.

While the project's decision comes after a year-and-a-half long formal review of the program, its timing suggests an academic response to the gauntlet thrown down by corporate biotech, which is racing to finish the job sooner...