The date of 26 June, 2000, will go down as one of the great moments in human history. Here is what the world's leading scientists and politicians had to say.

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"It is humbling for me and awe inspiring to realise that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God."
Dr Francis Collins, Human Genome Project

"I think we will view this period as a very historic time, a new starting point."
Dr Craig Venter, Celera Genomics

"This is the outstanding achievement not only of our lifetime, but in terms of human history. I say this, because the Human Genome Project does have the potential to impact on the life of every person on this planet."
Dr Michael Dexter, Wellcome Trust

"Today we are learning the language in which God created life."
US President Bill Clinton

Dr Sulston on the Sanger Centre's helical staircase

"We have to focus on the possibilities, develop them and then face up to the hard ethical and moral questions that are inevitably posed by such an extraordinary scientific discovery."
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

"We share 51% of our genes with yeast and 98% with chimpanzees - it is not genetics that makes us human."
Dr Tom Shakespeare, University of Newcastle

"The availability of genome sequence is just the beginning. Scientists now want to understand the genes and the role they play in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease."
Dr Randy Scott, President of Incyte

"We've now got to the point in human history where for the first time we are going to hold in our hands the set of instructions to make a human being."
Dr John Sulston, UK Sanger Centre

"It's a giant resource that will change mankind, like the printing press."
Dr James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA structure

"I never thought it would be done as quickly as this."
Professor Fred Sanger, co-inventor of DNA sequencing

Dr Mike Stratton

"We now have the possibility of achieving all we ever hoped for from medicine."
UK Science Minister Lord Sainsbury

"It would surprise me enormously if in 20 years the treatment of cancer had not been transformed."
Dr Mike Stratton, Cancer Genome Project

"It represents an immense step forward for humanity in deciphering the make-up of life itself."
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori

"The deciphering of the book of life, is a milestone in science."
French Research Minister Roger-Gerard Schwartzenberg