The surprise was that although men with a copy of the apo E-4 gene made up less than 16% of the group, they accounted for 26% of the heart-disease deaths.

WSJ: A Gene Gives a Hint Of How Long a Person Might Hope to Live

H3 was located by a research team led by Michael Jackson, Peterson's former colleague at Scripps, who deployed the La Jolla group a few years ago to find gene-based drugs.

FORBES: J&J An unfinished symphony

He hopes to stimulate the efforts of a group of tiny biotech companies that are developing high-speed gene-scanners in the same way that his work at Celera Genomics forced the government's Genome Project to accelerate its efforts.

FORBES: Magazine Article