It's All In The Genes

Databases now contain upwards of 200,000 DNA sequences; GenBank doubles in size every 21 months. Boguski, who helps run it, even foresees the day when software agents dubbed "knowbots" will automatically search out genetic matches. "It will be possible for these agents to make discoveries and just sort of let us know," he says. Or, they can team up with a word processor, report the discovery themselves and leave humans out of the loop entirely.

Adam Rogers

© 1994