A new version of nanorate DNA sequencing, with an error rate lower than five errors per billion base pairs and compatible with whole-exome and targeted capture, enables epidemiological-scale studies of somatic mutation and selection and the generation of high-resolution selection maps across coding and non-coding sites for many genes.

Multicellular organisms are confronted not only with mutation in germline, but also mutations emerging in somatic cells. Somatic mutations can lead cancers and possibly contribute to aging phenotypes....