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Will Low-Cost Genome Sequencing Open 'Pandora's Box'?

The Proton Semiconductor Sequencer from Ion Torrent Systems Inc. is a new DNA sequencing machine designed to sequence the entire human genome in about eight hours for $1,000. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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Will Low-Cost Genome Sequencing Open 'Pandora's Box'?

The prospect of lots of people plunging into their genomes makes many doctors very nervous. Some argue that for most people, genome sequencing could reveal false positives and be a big waste of time and money.

Will Low-Cost Genome Sequencing Open 'Pandora's Box'?

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Doctors Sift Through Patients' Genomes To Solve Medical Mysteries

Sara Terry and her son, Christian, in Spring, Texas. After sequencing Christian's genome, doctors were able to diagnose him with a Noonan-like syndrome. Eric Kayne for NPR hide caption

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Eric Kayne for NPR

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Doctors Sift Through Patients' Genomes To Solve Medical Mysteries

Doctors used genome sequencing to put a name to the mysterious cluster of symptoms that afflicted Christian Terry, 5. He's one of many patients now getting the test, which can cost as little as $1,000, to resolve undiagnosed illnesses. Doctors are also using it to sequence cancer and target treatment at the precise genetic mutations in a tumor.

Doctors Sift Through Patients' Genomes To Solve Medical Mysteries

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Scientists See Upside And Downside Of Sequencing Their Own Genes

Watson, now 84, says sequencing helped explain his past sensitivity to certain drugs. But he didn't want to know everything his sequenced genome revealed about his health future. Courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory hide caption

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Courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

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Scientists See Upside And Downside Of Sequencing Their Own Genes

Prominent geneticists are getting their own genomes decoded, revealing the benefits and risks.

Scientists See Upside And Downside Of Sequencing Their Own Genes

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As Genetic Sequencing Spreads, Excitement, Worries Grow

Slides containing DNA sit in a bay waiting to be analyzed by a genome sequencing machine. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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As Genetic Sequencing Spreads, Excitement, Worries Grow

Some experts are concerned that access to genomic information could stoke fears and invade privacy.

As Genetic Sequencing Spreads, Excitement, Worries Grow

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Scientists Unveil 'Google Maps' For Human Genome

Human chromosomes like these contain genes and lots of other genetic material whose function has been a mystery. National Cancer Institute via AP hide caption

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National Cancer Institute via AP

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Scientists Unveil 'Google Maps' For Human Genome

For decades, scientists thought that most of our genetic code was essentially useless filler between our genes. But the results of a massive project to understand this so-called junk DNA reveal that it contains switches that control how genes function.

Scientists Unveil 'Google Maps' For Human Genome

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