Nobel laureate James Watson(File Photo)

    WASHINGTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Nobel laureate James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix and father of the Human Genome Project, on Thursday became the first human to receive the data that encompass his personal genome sequence.

    He got a DVD with his full genome data in it in a presentation at Baylor College of Medicine, Huston, Texas. The 1-million-dollar, two-month project is a collaboration of the Connecticut-based 454 Life Sciences and the BCM Human Genome Sequencing Center.

    The announcement, aside from its meaning to Watson, is significant because it demonstrates that it will be possible in the future to sequence anyone's genome -- a goal toward which many sequencing firms are working. The time and cost will decrease as the technology improves.

    The raw sequencing data was released Thursday to the publicly available resource called GenBank National Center for Biotechnology Information Trace Archive.

    "When we began the Human Genome Project, we anticipated it would take 15 years to sequence the 3 billion base pairs and identify all the genes," said Richard Gibbs, director of the HGSC.

    "We completed it in 13 years in 2003 - coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the publication of the work of Watson and Dr. Francis Crick that described the double helix. Today, we give James Watson a DVD containing his personal genome -- a project completed in only two months. It demonstrates how far the sequencing technology has come in a short time."

    Watson is the co-discoverer of DNA's structure and a 1962 Nobel Laureate. "It is only appropriate to work with him on this ambitious genome sequencing project," said Jonathan Rothberg, founder and former chairman of 454 Life Sciences.

    This project will pave the way for exploring life at the ultimate level by uncovering what makes each individual unique, according to Rothberg.

    Watson plans to evaluate the information included in the genome and write about its significance to him, his family and the future of genetic medicine at a later time.

    "There will be a host of ethical and social questions as we move into the phase of integrating this kind of information into clinical in the future," said Dr. Amy McGuire, assistant professor of medical ethics at BCM. She has advised on the ethical issues involved in this personal genome effort.