RFLP-based databases, it will probably be true manyfold for medical databases that hold data on particular genes, and may well be linked to samples that could, in the fullness of time, yield the complete genome of an individual.

ECONOMIST: A survey of the human genome

While the consultation is under way, work will progress on plans to establish a national collection of half a million DNA samples from adult volunteers in the UK. The anonymous DNA database would be linked to information from GPs about the volunteers' health and lifestyle.

BBC: Genetic data 'insurance fear'

Police hope the collection of thousands of new samples could help to solve so-called cold-cases, where a new sample is linked to a past crime.

BBC: A DNA autoradiogram

And the Autism Sequencing Consortium hopes to collect DNA samples from 20, 000 subjects for genome-wide association studies, and identify 100 more genes linked to autism in the next three years.

WSJ: Why Kids Get Autism: New Genetic Clues