X Prize offers $10M for fast mapping

Think you can map one hundred different genomes in just 10 days? If so, there's a check waiting for you for $10 million. That's the reward promised by the Archon Genomics X Prize, brought to you by the people who helped drive the first private journey into space and who are now headed inside the body to revolutionize the speed and cost of sequencing. There's also a million-dollar bonus for mapping the genomes of 100 other people that includes celebrities like Microsoft founder Paul Allen and Larry King. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, says the prize is designed to help usher in the new era of personalized medicines, where people's propensity to disease and their responsiveness to therapeutics can all be mapped out in advance. Craig Venter, who spent $100 million mapping the genome, threw in $500,000 toward the Genomics X Prize, which is primarily being funded by Stewart Blusson of Archon Minerals. The winner isn't expected to come out ahead. Collins expects the Prize will cost $20 million to win.

- check out the article from The Register for more information