The race is on to discover the secrets behind ageing.
A US team have announced they are set to compete for a massive prize to help unlock the genetic genome behind 100 centenarians, in an effort to unravel the genes that earmark us for a long life.
BBC News reports:
Genetic entrepreneur Dr Jonathan Rothberg is entering the challenge to identify genes linked to a long, healthy life.
His team – and any other contenders – will be given 30 days to work out the full DNA code of 100 centenarians at a cost of no more than $1,000 per genome.
The race will start in September 2013.
Under the rules of the Archon Genomics X Prize, teams have until next May to register for the competition.
Dr Rothberg’s team from Life Technologies Corporation in California is the first to formally enter the race.
Being able to sequence the full human genome at a cost of $1,000 or less is regarded as a milestone in science.
The prize? $10 million.
Read more here on the BBC News website.