Illumina: Cheap DNA mapping will become routine

Illumina CEO Jay Flatley says that in five years we'll have the kind of affordable technology needed to map every child's DNA at birth. And in 10 years, Flatley predicted in an interview with The Times, the service will become a routine offering.

Armed with that information, a doctor would be able to get an accurate idea of a person's risk for disease, allowing them to suggest preventive methods to avoid disease as well as early screening to detect high-risk conditions at an early stage.

Illumina, which plans to offer whole-genome sequencing within two years for as little as $10,000, adds that soon the only barriers to DNA mapping will be fear that insurers or employers could get a copy of your DNA and use the information against you. That in turn will prompt governments to pass new laws, much like the U.S. has already done, to guard against the misuse of a person's genetic profile.

"The limitations are sociological; when and where people think it can be applied, the concerns people have about misinformation and the background ethics questions," says Flatley. In just four years, says Flatley, DNA mapping will cost less than $1,000.

- read the story in The Times

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