It may be a little late in the day, but Spain is making an effort to shore up its genome research programs. After telling parliament that “at the time [of the international human genome sequencing effort], either because there were other priorities or because it didn't comprehend the far-reaching implications, Spain decided not to participate in the genome project,” Prime Minister José Maria Aznar added, “this has now been corrected.”

The day before his speech, the Interministerial Commission of Science and Technology (CICYT) announced an increase in funds for genome research from Ptas 700 million (US$ 4 million) to Ptas 8 billion. The money will come from the National Plan on Research and Development, however, Aznar's science adviser Pablo Vázquéz, told Nature Medicine that the money isn't new but is “transferred from other projects of the ministries of health and science.”

Miguel Beato, professor of molecular biology at Marburg University, Germany, and head of the Center of Genome Regulation (CRG)—due to open in 2003 within the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park—admits that Spain was not involved in the genome effort “because there was no comprehension in the science community of its importance.” Beato says the government intends to create two national reference genome research centers in Barcelona and Madrid. A national ethics committee will also be established to deal with aspects of genomic research.