scientist say they have used a sack - sized twist to sequence the human genome , open up fascinating young possibilities for next enquiry .
A discipline describing the findings , conducted by an outside squad of investigator , is published inNature Biotechnology .
The twist is called the MinION DNA sequencer , developed byOxford Nanopore Technologiesin the UK . It was made available to research worker in 2014 , and has now been put to utilise .
fundamentally the technology operate by beam long strands of deoxyribonucleic acid through a pocket-sized hole in the machine , known as nanopore sequence . It then uses an electrical signaling to read the DNA chronological sequence of the four fundament , known as A , C , G , and T.
" The power to get long read is one of the strengths of this technology , and as a upshot , this is the most contiguous human genome assembly ever done , " said co - first source Miten Jain from the University of California , Santa Cruz in astatement .
In this study , the team were able to sequence the human genome in fragments much great than common . They superintend to read 1,204,840 base , which is 8,000 times long than a normal sequencing read .
About 8 percent of the human genome has not yet been assembled , due to it contain long and repetitive sequences . Being able to study the region in a few farseeing read could help us cross the culture argumentation .
“ This is a watershed for genomics . The farsighted reads that are possible with nanopore sequencing will provide us with a much clearer picture of the overall social structure and organization of the genome than ever before , ” said corresponding writer Matt Loose of the University of Nottingham in the financial statement .
MinION has already been in consumption by researcher , even onthe International Space Station ( ISS ) . Now scientists can do genome sequence without large amounts of money and expensive laboratories , thanks to the cheapness and ease of the machine .
" That hold us a really exciting opportunity to start having genome sequencing as a everyday cock , perhaps something people can do in their own home , " Professor Nicholas Loman , a Centennial State - author on the sketch from the University of Birmingham in the UK , toldBBC News .
New Scientistnotes this sequencing method acting is not as accurate as others , but it is improving . The portability aspect can also help biologists working in the field , such as those enquire Ebola outbreak .
