Perkin-Elmer reportedly announced plans to unravel the entire human genetic code by 2001

The European parliament decision comes in the same week that the United States multinational Perkin-Elmer reportedly announced plans to unravel the entire human genetic code by 2001. The company, which has found a robot method of plotting human genome sequences which is ten times faster and cheaper than previously thought possible, may patent the most valuable gene sequences, precluding others from using them without paying.