It's the 21st century version of "guns or butter?"

The project would determine the sequence of the DNA in at least 12,500 tumor samples, 250 samples from each of 50 major types of cancer. By comparing the order of the letters of the genetic code in the tumor samples with one another and with sequences in healthy tissue, it should be possible to pinpoint mutations responsible for cancer.

But the proposition is extremely daunting. In general, each tumor cell holds a full panoply of human DNA, a string of three billion letters of the genetic code. So determining the full sequence of all the tumors would be the equivalent of 12,500 human genome projects. At a cost of many millions of dollars for one genome, the full project would be out of the question for now.

So the cancer proposal for now is to sequence only the active genes in tumors, which make up 1 percent to 2 percent of the DNA. Even that would require at least 100 times as much sequencing as the Human Genome Project.

In Battling Cancer, a Genome Project Is Proposed

This is so cool!

The Periodic Table like you have NEVER seen

] Metallic rods about 500 times smaller than the width of a
] human hair have been turned into tiny "propellers" by a
] Canadian research team.

] Their motion is driven by addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to
] the solution in which they are contained.

] A reaction at the free ends liberates gas bubbles to provide
] thrust, turning the rods at a near constant speed.

] Only when the supply of hydrogen peroxide fuel is exhausted do the
] rods stop spinning.

Nano-propellers

] The loss of the shuttle Columbia was not just a low point
] in NASA history, but was also a "cathartic moment" that
] led to reforming the space agency and pushed the nation
] to establish a broader space policy

] Sean O'Keefe told reporters at a news conference that the agency
] could probably have settled for the minimum requirements of the
] board that investigated the Columbia disaster.

] Instead, Mr. O'Keefe said, the National Aeronautics and Space
] Administration chose to meet the full objectives, including deep
] changes in the way it does business.

It will be interesting to see what direction his successor decides to take this.

Shuttle Loss Proved 'Cathartic,' Departing NASA Leader Says

] A Danish company, Aresa Biodetection, has developed
] genetically-modified flowers that change color when their
] roots come in contact with nitrogen dioxide in the soil.

This is awesome.

Genetically Engineered Plants Detect Land Mines