The National Human Genome Research Institute

The National Human Genome Research Institute has awarded more than $13 million in research grants to speed the development of techniques that will reduce the cost of DNA sequencing and expand the use of genomics. The agency’s near-term goal is to lower the cost of sequencing a mammalian-size genome to $100,000. Ultimately, it wants to cut the cost to $1000 or less. A total of 11 grants were awarded, ranging from $275,000 to $3.8 million. The largest grant will fund research into nanoscale fluidic technologies for rapidly sequencing single DNA molecules.