"It's one small piece of man... one giant leap for mankind" headlined the Mirror (27 June 2000); "Joy as scientists crack DNA code of life." The announcement of the first draft of the human genome on 26 June 2000 was big news, with a packed press conference at the Wellcome Trust and a video link-up between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

The press vied to outdo each other with their descriptions of the first draft: "The book of life" (The Times, FT and Observer), "the Story of Life" (Guardian), "life's secret manual" (Evening Standard) and "The miraculous map of mankind" (Daily Mail). "Pure Genius" said the Daily Express: "Blair and Clinton unveil science breakthrough that could extend man's life -span by 25 years"; and "Cancer may soon be a thing of the past".

The Sun agreed: "Gene code could beat all disease". The Telegraph said simply: "All human life is here".

To the press, the announcement of the first draft also marked the finishing line of the 'race' between the public and private initiatives. "Scientists revel in day of glory" said the Guardian as "Rivals celebrate 'rough draft' of human genome" (Independent). Or, as the Telegraph put it, "Vietnam veteran makes peace with ex-hippie".

Image credit: Oliver Burston