New DNA sequencing tech has reduced the cost of sequencing the human genome from $20M (USD) to $2.2M. The long term goal is to get it down to $1K. One order of magnitude down, three more to go.
The ultimate aim is individualized prevention and treatment, but I can't help wondering what the potential is for individually tailored pathogens to be engineered. Ethnic bioweapons might be crude compared to the potential of weapons that target a tribe or clan.
Mind you, a tribal bioweapon might be thwarted by cuckoldry, as geneological parentage won't always correspond to biological parentage on the paternal side.
The Liverpool team found that rates of cases where a father was not the biological father of his child ranged from 1% in some studies to as much as 30%.
Experts have generally agreed that the rate is below 10%, with a 4% rate meaning that about one in 25 could be affected.
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