The pioneering genomicist Sydney Brenner has a sound bite that the most important -omics discipline of all is econ-omics.The holy grail of biomedical research is to translate scientific achievement into practical applications in the clinic. And for genomics to conquer the local hospital ward, it must not only be genom-ical – but also econ-omical.2011 has seen economical genomics arrive one step closer with the unveiling of two sequencing machines of note that are designed to be affordable to small...