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Unexpectedly rapid progress towards the sequencing and listing of the genes in the human genome has caused a flurry of excitement (and injured pride) in the genome community which is likely to surface in Washington next week.
The potential impact of molecular biology on medical problems is clear. But as participants at Nature's conference on molecular medicine in San Francisco (22-23 September) found, producing practical therapies will not be simple.
As governments look ever more critically at the costs of drugs, those working in the pharmaceutical industry must become aware of the effects on their own career prospects.
