They were analyzed with advanced versions of the DNA-sequencing machines used to map DNA in the Human Genome Project.

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The map "took the 3 billion DNA letters and divided them into 300, 000 ZIP codes so you could locate things, " says cardiologist Eric Topol of Scripps Health.

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The genome project, which the government began in 1987, aimed to speed the gene-hunting effort by providing the first full map of all 3 billion base pairs that make up human DNA. (It was not necessary, in this effort, to run through all the pairs on each set of chromosomes, or 6 billion pairs.) And because the base pairs come in only four varieties, they are digital and ideal for computer decoding.

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When scientists embarked on the 13-year journey to map the human genome in 1990, they envisioned a future in which the knowledge of DNA would aid in the diagnosis, treatment and even prevention of thousands of diseases and disorders.

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