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PETBioNewsNewsCut-price genomes draw closer

BioNews

Cut-price genomes draw closer

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 320

Author

BioNews

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

Advances in genome sequencing technologies are bringing scientists one step closer to a time when it would cost as little as $1000 to read the entire genetic code of a person, two US teams say. A group based at Harvard Medical School has developed a method using beads and fluorescent...

Advances in genome sequencing technologies are bringing scientists one step closer to a time when it would cost as little as $1000 to read the entire genetic code of a person, two US teams say.


A group based at Harvard Medical School has developed a method using beads and fluorescent dyes, which they say would cost around $2.2 million at present. The researchers, who published their technique in the journal Science, eventually hope to reduce the cost to $1000 (£562), so that it can be used in the routine diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.


Meanwhile, scientists based at US firm 454 Life Sciences say they have developed a sequencing method that is 100 times faster than current technology. The team, who published their study early online in the journal Nature, say that in the next few years it will be possible to assemble an entire human genome for $10,000 (£5620).


The entire human genome sequence, the first draft of which was published three years ago, cost an estimated $3 billion, with mammalian genome projects today costing between $10-$50 million. Last year, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) invited proposals to develop new, cheap technologies, aimed at developing a '$1000 genome' by 2014. It also sought to fund interim research to develop a '$100,000 genome', which is thought to be achievable within five years.


The Harvard team, lead by George Church, say their new method could make personalised medicine - the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases tailored to a person's genetic make-up - a reality. Their technique relies on replicating thousands of DNA fragments attached to tiny beads. Four differently-coloured fluorescent dyes then stick to each location in the DNA sequence - one for each of the four chemical 'bases' that make up DNA, known  as A, C, G and T. A microscope, digital camera and computer are then used to collect and analyse the data. The scientists used the method to read the entire genetic code of the gut bacteria E.coli.


The group at 454 Life Sciences has developed a method based on a technique called pyrosequencing, which generates flashes of light every time a DNA base is analysed. The scientists have already used the technology to sequence the genomes of 50 microbes. Company founder Jonathon Rothberg was inspired to develop the technology six years ago, after his newborn son had to stay in a hospital intensive care unit. He found himself wishing that he could just read the boy's genome to find out what was wrong, Nature News reports. '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 doctors office', he predicts.

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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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17 January 2014 • 2 minutes read

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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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14 November 2012 • 2 minutes read

Has personalised medicine arrived? Genome scan used to identify rare condition

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US scientists have reported possibly the first example of using one person's genetic sequence to refine a diagnosis and provide personalised medical treatment. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) helped pinpoint defects in the DNA of 14-year-old fraternal twins Noah and Alexis Beery causing their rare neurological condition, dopamine-responsive dystonia (DRD)...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

New project aims to read 1000 human genomes

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An international project to read the entire genetic code of at least 1000 individuals will result in a comprehensive catalogue of human variation that will accelerate efforts to identify genetic factors involved in health and disease, scientists announced last week. The '1000 Genomes Project' will take...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 2 minutes read

Low-cost genomes for all?

by BioNews

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting proposals to develop new, cheap genome sequencing technologies, aimed at developing a '$1000 genome' by 2014. The entire human genome sequence, the first draft of which was published three years ago, cost an estimated $3 billion, with mammalian genome projects today...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Human genome project completed

by BioNews

The final version of the entire human genome sequence was unveiled last week by the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, more than two years ahead of schedule. Since the 'rough draft' was published in February 2001, researchers have been proof-reading the sequence, and filling in most of the gaps. A...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Your genome for £400,000?

by BioNews

Several millionaires are said to be queuing up for a new service that will provide details of a person's entire genetic code within a week - for a mere £400,000. Craig Venter, former head of Celera, the US company that produced a draft version of the human genome in February 2001...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Venter claims human genome is 'his own'

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Craig Venter, the scientist who led the biotechnology company Celera Genomics in its attempt to sequence the human genome, has announced that the genetic data used was largely his own. At the time, it was said that the genetic data used came from anonymous donors, and the sequence presented was...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Human genetic code unveiled

by BioNews

The two scientific teams who jointly announced the completion of the first draft of the entire human genetic code last June will publish their results this week. The international consortium's version will appear in Nature this Thursday, while that of US company Celera Genomics will be published in rival journal...

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