A company called Complete Genomics was able to sequence three human genomes for $4,400 in materials… a micro-drop in the bucket compared to the $3 billion it cost to complete just one only a few years ago. They did this using more common materials, which does introduce some amount of error. However, with an error rate of less than 1 base in 100,000 it is a more than adequate process to provide a cheap way screen yourself for potential health issues. It can also serve as one of the most accurate biometric identifiers known to date.
Tags: biometrics, culture, security
