IBM applies electronics to genetic sequencing
Published: 06 Oct 2009 08:57 BST
It took 13 years for researchers to catalogue all the information in a human genome the first time. Now IBM believes it can do better — by equipping a newer genetic sequencing method with brakes.
IBM is among those who believe electronics technology can be applied to the task of sequencing a person's genes, thereby bringing genetic testing into the computing era and lowering its cost to something like $100 (£60) to $1,000.
IBM is working on prototype DNA-processing electronics that pulls strands of DNA through an extremely small hole called a nanopore, measuring the electrical properties of the chemicals as they go by to determine the genetic information. That technique is used beyond IBM, but what its researchers have been working on is a way to slow down, an essential step toward improving its precision, said Gustavo Stolovitzky, manager of the IBM Functional Genomics and Systems Biology Group.
IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano is scheduled to unveil the project and what the company calls its 'DNA transistor' on Tuesday in a talk, IT Innovation in Healthcare, at the Cleveland Clinic, IBM said.
To learn more about the project, see IBM Research jumps into genetic sequencing at CNET News.com.
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