Concerned about being left out of the race to patent the human genetic code? No problem. Just fire up your Web browser, take out your Visa card and head over to www.GeneSolutions.com. The Web site sells gene information for as little as 10 cents per base (the chemical unit of DNA).

Launched in September by Hyseq, a Sunnyvale, Calif., biotech firm, GeneSolutions represents the marriage of two hot technology trends-e-commerce and genome research. According to Hyseq CEO Lewis Gruber, his company had accumulated a vast warehouse of gene data but wanted to focus its efforts on developing a few promising drugs. Gruber says Hyseq decided to throw open its doors and let researchers "purchase the genes on a point-and-click basis."