The article discusses the debate over whether and when to sequence the human genome, drawing on a recent conference in Nature titled "Exploring the Human Genome." Harvard's Walter Gilbert advocates for immediate sequencing, estimating that with current technology, it would take 100 team-years to map and 3,000–10,000 team-years to sequence the genome. He predicts that new instruments and techniques could increase the data flux to a million bases per team per year, allowing 150 researchers to sequence all 3 billion bases in 20 years. Advanced equipment could further boost this rate to 30,000 bases per researcher-day, making the whole genome sequenceable within a decade. However, the project faces technical, financial, and philosophical barriers, including high error rates and the challenge of filling in gaps. Some question the scientific interest of non-coding DNA, while others worry about the potential impact on funding for other research areas. Despite these concerns, the potential benefits of the project outweigh the drawbacks, and the author recommends starting the sequencing project immediately, focusing on building DNA libraries, making maps, and developing fast, accurate, and automatic sequencing instruments.The article discusses the debate over whether and when to sequence the human genome, drawing on a recent conference in Nature titled "Exploring the Human Genome." Harvard's Walter Gilbert advocates for immediate sequencing, estimating that with current technology, it would take 100 team-years to map and 3,000–10,000 team-years to sequence the genome. He predicts that new instruments and techniques could increase the data flux to a million bases per team per year, allowing 150 researchers to sequence all 3 billion bases in 20 years. Advanced equipment could further boost this rate to 30,000 bases per researcher-day, making the whole genome sequenceable within a decade. However, the project faces technical, financial, and philosophical barriers, including high error rates and the challenge of filling in gaps. Some question the scientific interest of non-coding DNA, while others worry about the potential impact on funding for other research areas. Despite these concerns, the potential benefits of the project outweigh the drawbacks, and the author recommends starting the sequencing project immediately, focusing on building DNA libraries, making maps, and developing fast, accurate, and automatic sequencing instruments.