In 2008, a group of prominent scientists and entrepreneurs announced, after careful consideration, that they would make their genome sequences public, marking the launch of the Personal Genome Project (PGP). The “open source” genomics effort sought to make the genomes and medical histories of 100,000 people available for anyone to use. It was started by George Church, a genomicist at Harvard Medical School in Boston who was among the first 10 participants, or the “PGP-10.”
Now Church is taking his open-access genome model global. At a predictably packed press conference on 6 November, he announced the launch of a UK edition, and that a European franchise is on the way for 2014. A Canadian PGP started enrolling volunteers in December 2012.
Read the full, original story here: Open-access genome project lands in UK
Additional Resources:
- “Open-Access Genomes,” Scientist
- “Critics urge caution as UK genome project hunts for volunteers,” Guardian
