Computational tools are crucial in making the discoveries possible.
Mapping and sequencing the human genome is an international effort between two dozen large centers, including the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute. The current rate of overall sequencing of base pairs is 150 million base pairs per year. However, to fully sequence the three billion base pairs in the human genome by 2003, the participating centers will need to sequence two million per day. We also noticed that no one is really ready to handle that amount of data. The information contained in the genome data is of immeasurable value to medical research, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and researchers in fields ranging from microorganism metabolism to structural biology.