The two groups that are sequencing the human genome published full sequence and mapping details of their first drafts this week, an event marked by acrimonious fighting between the rival scientists involved.

The Human Genome Project, an international collaboration between eight publicly funded university centres, published its sequence data in the journal Nature. Its data have been posted daily on the internet since the project began and are freely available. The project estimates that in the past two months researchers in the developing world have accessed its genome database over 300 000 times.

In contrast, the commercial enterprise Celera Genomics, which published its data in the journal Science, only allows paid subscribers to access its data. Science took the unprecedented step of agreeing to impose some restrictions on the use of the published Celera data. The Human Genome Project, angered by the way that these restrictions discriminate against scientists in poor countries, claimed that Celera had attracted fewer than 50 paying customers.

"Others want to charge the rest of the human race a fortune, but we are here to tell them that the human genome is not for sale," said...