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JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2000 92(17):1373; doi:10.1093/jnci/92.17.1373
© 2000 by Oxford University Press
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Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 92, No. 17, 1373, September 6, 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press

NEWS

Gambling on the Genome

According to the Genesweep Web site (http://www.ensembl.org/genesweep.html), 281 bets have been placed so far, with a high of 312,278 and a low of 27,462. Anyone can place a bet, but genomic gamblers must go to Cold Spring Harbor to sign the betting book. (Bucking the trend in scientific communication, Genesweep does not allow e-mail bets.) The laboratory’s David Stewart, Ph.D., said a few nonscientists including children have placed bets, resulting in some interesting "outliers" in the pool. "Not all scientists are expert in this area either," he added, "so in that sense it’s sort of a crapshoot."



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  		Distribution of the 281 bets placed on the number of genes in the human genome. The gray line is the mean (67,006). Image from http://www.ensembl.org/genesweep.html

 
Bets cost $1 this year, rising to $5 next year and $20 in 2002. "It was originally set to rise to $2 in 2001 and $3 in 2002, but people quickly realized that was unsound," Stewart said, because refinements in gene counting are expected to advance so rapidly that those betting later will have far better evidence on which to base their guesses.


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