A primate genome project deserves high priority.

The initial goals of the Human Genome Project (HGP), to sequence the human genome and identify its constituent genes, are on the verge of being achieved. However, the scientific community recognizes that sequencing must be followed by understanding the manifold functions of human genes throughout the life-span, in health and in disease. In a Science interview (News Focus, 31 Mar., p. 2396), Francis Collins acknowledged this by saying, “Understanding what the sequence means will require us to make multiple comparisons....The arguments are quite strong for sequencing other mammals besides human and mouse...and for doing another primate.”