DNA sequencing has revolutionized our world in more ways than we can even begin to comprehend. Even though the technology of DNA sequencing has come so far, it is still a very time-consuming process — current technology typically can only sequence tiny snippets of DNA at a time, and can take several hours or even days. Popular Science writes: “To sequence anything longer than a few hundred base pairs, scientists mince up thousands of copies of the target DNA, sequence all the fragments, and use software to painstakingly reconstruct the order of the DNA bases by matching overlap within fragments.” Now a technology is available called nanopore sequencing, and it is poised to revolutionize DNA sequencing forever. Nanopore sequencing is capable of handling long strands of DNA at once, eliminating the arduous and time-consuming “overlap analysis” process. The MinION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies can connect to a USB port as well, which means that very soon anyone with $1,000 and a laptop can sequence DNA. You can read more by visiting PopularScience.com.
