Genetics-based medicines, immediate identity determination, field-portable gene sequencers for use in medical work in foreign countries or for analyzing individual/community makeup of microorganisms in extreme environments, a way to determine what our children's genotype will be... Well, maybe not that last one just yet, but that's probably not too far off. A company in England, Oxford Nanopore, has claimed that they will have a disposable, direct-reading gene sequencer which can be plugged into the USB drive of a computer for immediate analysis! Behold, the future is ever upon us! The potential for molecular biological processing hardware such as this is wide reaching. I have been wondering for some time when we would get around to full genotype sequencing in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. This technology sounds promising. It will use a method of direct-reading of gene sequences through electrochemical methods as the sequences pass through a nanopore. I'm very curious to see when the company can get the product to the market, how much it will cost (I saw an estimate of $900 a shot, but I imagine it's going to be a bit more than that right out of the gate), and, most importantly, I wonder what the fidelity of the reads will be like with these mini gene sequencers.
Here's where I first heard about Oxford Nanopore's claimed technology:
This is the website for Oxford Nanopore:
Image Source: MinION from Oxford Nanopore's website
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