US team seeks $10m DNA ageing prize
A race to unlock genetic clues behind living to 100 will begin
next year, with a US team announcing its intention to compete for the
$10m genetics X Prize.
24 July 2012
Last updated at 06:28 GMT
Genetic make-up contributes to longevity
His team - and any other contenders - will be given 30 days to work out the full DNA code of 100 centenarians at a cost of no more than $1,000 per genome.
The race will start in September 2013.
Under the rules of the Archon Genomics X Prize, teams have until next May to register for the competition.
Dr Rothberg's team from Life Technologies Corporation in California is the first to formally enter the race.
If these genes can be identified by analysing the DNA codes of centenarians, it will help scientists search for new medical treatments and perhaps ways to prolong life.
However, many sample DNA sequences will be needed in order to get the accuracy needed to pinpoint changes on the scale of a few genetic letters among the three billion in the human genome.
Dr Craig Venter is the originator of the prize and one of the main players in the race to sequence the first human genome, which was completed in 2003.
He said he could never have imagined that genome sequencing would come this far in so little time.
He told the BBC: "I can't emphasise [enough] how impressed I am with the progress of technology and the dropping of the cost.
"If they can do a human genome in two hours with one little machine, it's just stunning. We have come a long way."
The X Prize Foundation offers awards for solutions to modern scientific challenges, from space to the human genome.
Any data gleaned from the X Prize will be shared with other scientists in the field, to aid the quest for insights into ageing.COPY : http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Genetic entrepreneur to compete in Genomics X Prize
Genetic make-up contributes to longevity
A
race to unlock genetic clues behind living to 100 is set to begin next
year, after a US team announced it will compete for the $10m Genomics X
Prize.
Genetic entrepreneur Dr Jonathan Rothberg is entering the challenge to identify genes linked to a long, healthy life.His team - and any other contenders - will be given 30 days to work out the full DNA code of 100 centenarians at a cost of no more than $1,000 per genome.
The race will start in September 2013.
Under the rules of the Archon Genomics X Prize, teams have until next May to register for the competition.
Dr Rothberg's team from Life Technologies Corporation in California is the first to formally enter the race.
Continue reading the main story
Dr Jonathan Rothberg
- Pioneer of DNA sequencing
- His latest business venture, Ion Torrent, makes the Personal Genome Machine and the Ion Proton sequencer
- Rothberg claims his machines can sequence DNA more quickly and cheaply than ever thought possible
- The Ion Proton sequencer will be used for the challenge
Being able to sequence the full human genome at a cost of $1,000 or less is regarded as a milestone in science.
It is seen as the threshold at which DNA sequencing
technology becomes cheap enough to be used widely in medicine, helping
in diagnosis and in matching drugs to a patient's genetic make-up.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
Dr Craig Venter Genetic entrepreneurIf they can do a human genome in two hours with one little machine, it's just stunning. We have come a long way.”
One hundred people aged 100 have donated their DNA for the project.
Scientists believe people who reach a very old age may have
certain rare changes in their genes which protect against common
diseases of later life, such as heart disease and cancer.If these genes can be identified by analysing the DNA codes of centenarians, it will help scientists search for new medical treatments and perhaps ways to prolong life.
However, many sample DNA sequences will be needed in order to get the accuracy needed to pinpoint changes on the scale of a few genetic letters among the three billion in the human genome.
Continue reading the main story
Dr Craig Venter
- One of the scientists behind the effort to decode the first human genome sequence
- Venter and his team built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and put it into a cell to make a synthetic life form
- He has had his own DNA sequence decoded
Dr Jonathan Rothberg, a
geneticist and entrepreneur, said the DNA of 100 centenarians is a good
start towards finding "the fountains of youth".
He told BBC News: "One hundred people will give you a hint.
One thousand will make you reasonably sure. Ten thousand will let you
say, 'Hey, these are the genes involved in cancer or heart disease'".Dr Craig Venter is the originator of the prize and one of the main players in the race to sequence the first human genome, which was completed in 2003.
He said he could never have imagined that genome sequencing would come this far in so little time.
He told the BBC: "I can't emphasise [enough] how impressed I am with the progress of technology and the dropping of the cost.
"If they can do a human genome in two hours with one little machine, it's just stunning. We have come a long way."
The X Prize Foundation offers awards for solutions to modern scientific challenges, from space to the human genome.
Any data gleaned from the X Prize will be shared with other scientists in the field, to aid the quest for insights into ageing.COPY : http://www.bbc.co.uk/
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