Making Genome Sequencing Part of Clinical Care

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin are taking pioneering steps to make whole-genome sequencing a standard part of diagnostic testing for children with rare inherited disorders not easily diagnosed by traditional methods. The technology has come far in the decade since the $3 billion human genome project was published—so far, in fact, that a health insurer has offered to cover the sequencing in cases where it would be cheaper than conventional genetic testing.
Whole-genome sequencing—reading a patient's entire DNA code—now costs about the same as sequencing just a few genes through commercial diagnostic tests, says Howard Jacob, director of the college's Human and Molecular Genetics Center.