Analysis: Human genome hype or reality?

One day will all children have their genes mapped at birth?

10 January 2012 Last updated at 10:24 ET


By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website

It seems a long time since Tony Blair and Bill Clinton announced the first draft of the human genome had been completed.

Knowing the "genetic blueprint" of human beings promised to usher in a new era of molecular medicine, bringing new ways to diagnose and treat disease, they promised.

Almost 12 years on, you could perhaps be forgiven for thinking it's been a long time coming.   Here's one of the big dreams. One day every newborn will have their entire genetic code mapped.  Then, if a doctor ever needs that information, they can check for secrets to molecular diseases buried in our DNA.

Here's another. A patient is diagnosed with cancer. During their biopsy, a tiny sample of the tissue sent to pathology is used to read all the billions of the genetic letters in the human genome.  A clinician can then use that information to prescribe the right drugs.

The first scenario is a long way off. And it won't mean much unless mass decoding efforts create a database of genomes - a kind of catalogue of human genes - as a reference library.

The second is already happening. But it will be a while before the advances filter through to the majority of NHS cancer patients.  READ MORE