We have the $100 genome ... maybe

Six years ago, it was a huge deal to sequence a human genome for under a grand. Now, China’s BGI Group says that it’s cracked an even tougher benchmark: The genetics powerhouse has managed to decode genomes for under $100, according to MIT Technology Review. The news will likely stir up further competition between BGI and stateside sequencing giant Illumina. 

The company’s managed to do this with high throughput screening, of course, but also through sheer volume: It’s able to settle on this price tag through screening 100,000 people per year. But even if the company indeed manages to sequence so many genomes on this massive scale, it’s still early to know if the pricing claim is legit.

“I think there is some natural skepticism about whether it’s really for real,” Stacey Gabriel, a top Broad Institute researcher, said.