That's the kind of mistake that can be institutionalized. But researchers at Celera, which is publishing its findings in Science , and the Human Genome Project, which will report results in Nature , feel strongly that they are correct. Randy Scott, the chairman of the board of Incyte Genomics, said he wasn't alarmed by the small number of genes. Incyte holds thousands of patents on genes, and Scott said now its portfolio looks even stronger. He also said that Incyte will take its cue from the publications and focus on proteins as well as genes.
Researchers even have a running bet over how many human genes there really are.
Wagers began at a genome sequencing meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories last April. Dr. James Watson, who was one of the scientists who discovered the DNA structure in 1953, recently said that 30,000 genes actually isn't really such a small number. Reuters contributed to this report. Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.