title: The 'thousand-dollar genome': an ethical exploration.
abstract: Sequencing an individual's complete genome is expected to be possible for a relatively low sum 'one thousand dollars' within a few years. Sequencing refers to determining the order of base pairs that make up the genome. The result is a library of three billion letter combinations. Cheap whole-genome sequencing is of greatest importance to medical scientific research. Comparing individual complete genomes will lead to a better understanding of the contribution genetic variation makes to health and disease. As knowledge increases, the 'thousand-dollar genome' will also become increasingly important to healthcare. The applications that come within reach raise a number of ethical questions. This monitoring report addresses the issue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Ethics and Society, Research Institutes CAPHRI and GROW, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. w.dondorp@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: Wybo J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Dondorp
authors.forename: Guido M W R
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: de Wert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics; D023281:Genomics / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics*