The Harvard Institute for Proteomics (HIP) is working feverishly to develop a system called "The Wall," which will serve as warehouse for copies of all human genes.

LaBaer explained that when complete, the Wall will contain actual "cloned" copies of each human gene in bar-coded test tubes.

Ultimately, the Institute envisions a system from which scientists will be able to obtain copies of the genes they need to work with on demand, eliminating the time-consuming process of individually cloning genes as they are needed for specific research.

Researchers hope to create an Internet-based interface that is connected to a robotic warehousing system for automated access to 200,000 clones.

This vision depends strongly on the development of "recombinational cloning" technologies that allow for genes to be cut and pasted out of the larger sequences of DNA. They will then be stored in the library in a uniform manner.

This system would be flexible enough to allow researchers who want to express a protein in yeast, bacteria, insects, or any experimental system to use the stored genes easily.

Closely linked to this research is the Center for Genomics Research (CGR), which is building a new home in the Cabot Science complex in Cambridge.