Case in point: On Monday, DeCode Genetics published an important genetic map--assembled by methods very different from those used to create the sequence of the human genome--that will make it much easier for scientists to hunt down new genes linked to disease.

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The test literally untwists the virus' genetic material, allowing researchers to create a gene-by-gene sequence of it.

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In its simplest state, this is geographical data with a timestamp, but when you plot this data onto the scenery of a map and then create a shifting window into the scene through the sequence of time, you create a data-driven story.

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