DNA Sequencing Speeds Up 100 Times

~As the Future Catches You By Juan Enriquez

Looks like we’re inching our way up the shaft of the hockey stick now. 454 Life Science has announced a new genome sequencing technique that they claim is 100 times faster than previous technologies: 6 million DNA bases decoded in an hour vs. 67,000 bases. Accuracy may be an issue, however; their machines apparently have trouble reading long repeats of single base pairs. Despite this, 454 Life Science says their technique is 99.99% accurate. (Sounds almost too good to be true.)

“Much like the personal computer opened up computing to a larger audience, this work will enable the widespread use of sequencing in a number of fields, and ultimately place machines in your doctor’s office,” stated Jonathan Rothberg, Ph.D., senior author and 454 Life Sciences’ Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“This sequencing technique, leveraging the power of microfabrication, is 100 times faster than standard sequencing methods at the start of its development cycle. We expect, as with computers, for it to get more powerful and cheaper each year, as we continue to advance and miniaturize the technology.”

This is exciting news that could eventually lead to highly effective personalized medicine.

PharmaLive, August 1, 2005
Nature News, July 31, 2005

Pointers from FuturePundit and Gene Expression.