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Lower and Lower It Goes

Obstacles to cheaper and cheaper sequencing are falling by the wayside, writes Eilene Zimmerman at CNN Money. She notes that when James Watson had his genome sequenced by 454 in 2007, it cost about $1 million, but newer technologies are bringing that cost drastically down.

"The cost-per-bit of biologic information is coming down faster than Moore's Law," Steven Burrill, from the financial services firm Burrill & Company tells her.

Exome sequencing is already hitting the $500 mark, and Life Technologies' Jonathan Rothberg says, "In three months, we'll be able to do one entire human genome for $1,000." Zimmerman adds that other technologies like nanopore sequencing could further affect the price of sequencing.

Still, those sequences have to be interpreted. "We have information available today beyond our ability to absorb it," Burrill adds.

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