Gene Map Special

Attention shoppers, we have a blue-light special on mapping your DNA.

Complete Genomics, a closely held California-based company, says it mapped a human's genetic structure for a recession-busting $4,400. Just to put that in some perspective, it cost almost $3 billion to fully sequence a human's DNA for the first time in 2003. Complete Genomics' results were published in the journal Science.

Scientists have been trying to figure out less-expensive ways to study our genetic makeup to better understand why some people are more likely to get certain diseases. By making these tests affordable, the hope is that someday studying a person's gene map will be a common medical procedure. Companies like Roche Holding AG are trying to develop technology that costs less than $1,000.

“We’ve demonstrated that it’s possible to accurately and affordably sequence and detect variants across entire human genomes,” Complete Genomics CEO Cliff Reid says in a statement. “This high-quality, cost-effective approach to genome sequencing will allow researchers to study complete genomes from hundreds of patients with a disease to advance the understanding of the genetic causes of that disease, with an end to preventing and treating common human ailments.”