Pace of the genomics revolution hots up.

Six landmark genomics studies were published in December 2002. In two complementary studies, an international group of researchers present a high quality draft sequence of the genome of the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus), together with virtually complete transcriptome data. A third paper provides a preliminary comparison of the partial genome between different inbred mouse strains. The remaining studies use information from the mouse sequence to analyse characteristics of human chromosome 21, providing a glimpse of what lies beyond genome sequencing as researchers start to analyse how genes are expressed in different tissues at different stages of development. Mark Boguski (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA) considers elucidation of the mouse genome 'a great scientific achievement,' but stresses that its real value will come in what it can tell us about ourselves.