What Technological Breakthroughs Have Allowed Genome Sequencing to Advance? (0:47)
In its infancy, genome sequencing could only be done one DNA strand at a time. The last several years have seen a huge drop in sequencing cost thanks to technological advances described in this video by HealthMaker Joe DeRisi, PhD.
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The key technological breakthrough that has enabled the cause of sequencing to drop so dramatically in the first 4-5 years has been the parallezation of sequencing. Meaning instead of sequencing one at a time or for the most fancy machine of their day 300 at a time, 300 pieces of DNA being sequenced at time.
Today's machines will in parallel of simultaneously sequence billions of pieces of DNA. There in lays the cost differential. And so for the same amount of reagent of enzymes and other consumables that we use to actually do the sequencing, you're getting order of magnitude more sequence back.
Joe DeRisi, PhD, is a pioneer in genetic research techniques to understand the behavior of malaria and further prevention and treatment. He discusses the ethical issues of biomedical and genetic research.
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