Another step toward fast, low-cost DNA sequencing

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Yale University have developed a new technique for use in a high-speed genomic sequencing device that may have the potential to substantially drive down costs. "The low cost -- if it can be achieved -- would enable genomic sequencing to be used in everyday clinical practice for medical treatments and preventions," said Predrag Krstic, the project's director. The research is part of a nearly decade-long drive by the National Human Genome Research Institute to support the science needed to bring the cost of sequencing a human genome down to $1,000. ORNL and Yale  researchers have created nanopores, or extremely narrow channels of water, with a radio-frequency electric field capable of trapping segments of DNA and other biomolecules.