One major technology in development at the Center are DNA chips--matrices that contain a large set of genes from a particular organism all mounted on a silicon wafer.

Researchers can use these chips to get a complete picture of genes that are expressed at different times in the life cycle of an animal, revolutionizing a field where genes used to be analyzed one at a time.

The Center plans to serve as a facility that provides these chips to labs in the Harvard community interested in using them in research.

According to MacBeath, the Center currently has parts of 40,000 of the estimated 100,000 to 140,000 human genes stored in their freezer.

The Institute is also actively building a program of fellows who will exploit genomic data for research in fields ranging from bioinformatics to evolutionary analysis.

Currently, MacBeath is the only fellow, but two more are slated to be added by the end of this year, and another two by the end of the following year. The Institute's new home in the Life Sciences Building will have room for ten fellows.

The availability of the human genome sequence will transform the way that Harvard researchers study the genes that cause disease, and help them gain a new understanding of how genomes are constructed in a comparative perspective.

LaBaer explains the challenge for researchers right now is to identify the proteins encoded by each gene and determine its functions.