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How many people have had their genes sequenced since the Human Genome Project was complete?

5 years ago- a very small number of human genomes had been sequenced

Two years ago- 65,000

Today, February 2017- More than 500,000

How’s that for an explosion of technology? I know I was surprised. I thought sequencing was something far too expensive and time consuming to be common. I was worried that one of my sci-fi stories wouldn’t be realistic if two or three of the characters had their genomes sequenced. I’ve decided that since they are undergoing study or medical treatment, it’s not unbelievable at all.

And gene sequencing should become more common as new machines and processes become available. The cost sequencing itself has gone from $300,000 in 2006 to $1,000. Machines are still costly, but within the next decade, sequencing someone’s entire genome may only cost $100.

It won’t be long before we’ll all be sequenced so doctors know what’s broken or what will someday break. Will we ever learn what each human gene does?

I’ll leave those answers up to sci-fi writers like myself for now.

Sources:

Illumina Promises To Sequence Human Genome For $100 — But Not Quite Yet

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2017/01/09/illumina-promises-to-sequence-human-genome-for-100-but-not-quite-yet/#7102b54d690a

The Human Genome Project Completion: Frequently Asked Questions

www.genome.gov/11006943/human-genome-project-completion-frequently-asked-questions/