Talk:Archon X Prize
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[edit] The debate on the Accuracy rate
The competition guidelines from the [official website] state "no more than one error in every 10,000 bases sequenced", while the competition guidelines from the official PDF version 2.0 state "no more than 1 error in 100,000 base pairs sequenced". There is a lot of money on the line, so I imagine this conflict will be resolved soon enough. Please leave a notice here if you see that either source has changed to reconcile this conflict. Clerks 13:23, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
- The two cited documents on the accuracy requirement ARE in conflict. Both should be authoritative; however, clearly one has a typo. Dr. George Church, senior professor at Harvard University, a founder of the Human Genome Project, (and apparently a Wikipedian), made the change from 10,000 to 100,000. I am inclined to think that Dr. Church does know what the correct number is. And so I'll go with him as 1:100,000 for the correct number. Frankatca 04:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
- Just because User:George Church links to George Church doesn't mean that the User is the actual person. For example User:Clerks didn't write, produce or star in Clerks. That said. His contribution to Downy mildew shows he is an authority on Peronospora farinosaas. Clerks 16:01, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
- Needless to say the World has many named George Church, but unlikely to have all THAT many who would feel competent to contribute to this article, or make the edit in question. "The" George Church of Harvard University, as it happens, is the same George M. Church, PhD who is listed on the Archon X-Prize Scientific Advisory Board:
- George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics. With degrees from Duke University in Chemistry and Zoology, he co-authored research on 3D-software & RNA structure with Sung-Hou Kim. His PhD from Harvard in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology with Wally Gilbert included the first direct genomic sequencing method in 1984; initiating the Human Genome Project then as a Research Scientist at newly-formed Biogen Inc. and a Monsanto Life Sciences Research Fellow at UCSF. He has served in advisory roles for 12 journals, 5 granting agencies and 22 biotech companies. Current research focuses on integrating biosystems-modeling with personal genomics & synthetic biology. Frankatca 03:31, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
- Just because User:George Church links to George Church doesn't mean that the User is the actual person. For example User:Clerks didn't write, produce or star in Clerks. That said. His contribution to Downy mildew shows he is an authority on Peronospora farinosaas. Clerks 16:01, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
- George Church had this response on his talk page. MRoberts <> 22:17, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
- They had been informed of that error (ironically in the error rate rule) a couple of times already. Their PDF guidelines have been correct. Another editor (Frankatca) seems to refixed the wiki entry back to 100,000. (By the way, I am on the Archon X-prize SAB). Thanks, --George Church 02:59, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Categorization of this article
For reasons that may ultimately become clear when this prize has been won, the recategorization of this article by Lquilter from the "Science" category to the "Science and Engineering" category is most appropriate. It may turn out that the prize is won by a presently unanticipated technological approach more properly seen as an "engineered' solution than a 'scientific' one. Specifically there is one team in stealth mode whose approach to DNA sequencing provides a 2+ order of magnitude increase in speed and reduction in cost by largely eliminating the slow, inexact wet chemical methods that are today's state-of-the-art. Frankatca 03:40, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
