The week of 16 February 2001 scientists published a rough draft of the three billion letters of the human genetic code. Two complete sequences were actually released, one by a consortium of publicly funded laboratories and the other by a private venture, Celera Genomics. To mark this event, Science published the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium and the US National Human Genome...

This week's In The News highlights the landmark publication of the complete human genome sequence and its scientific interpretation. Spearheaded by two separate approaches and funding sources, the outcome of some ten years of hard work -- and moments of intense competition -- is the release of two complete sequences: one led by Craig Venter of Celera Genomics (a private venture with limited access...