Biowulf – NIH Director's Blog (original) (raw)

Sequencing Human Genome with Pocket-Sized “Nanopore” Device

Posted on February 6th, 2018 by Dr. Francis Collins

Caption: MinION sequencing device plugged into a laptop/Oxford Nanopore Technologies

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost 15 years since we successfully completed the Human Genome Project, ahead of schedule and under budget. I was proud to stand with my international colleagues in a celebration at the Library of Congress on April 14, 2003 (which happens to be my birthday), to announce that we had stitched together the very first reference sequence of the human genome at a total cost of about $400 million. As remarkable as that achievement was, it was just the beginning of our ongoing effort to understand the human genome, and to use that understanding to improve human health.

That first reference human genome was sequenced using automated machines that were the size of small phone booths. Since then, breathtaking progress has been made in developing innovative technologies that have made DNA sequencing far easier, faster, and more affordable. Now, a report in Nature Biotechnology highlights the latest advance: the sequencing and assembly of a human genome using a pocket-sized device [1]. It was generated using several “nanopore” devices that can be purchased online with a “starter kit” for just $1,000. In fact, this new genome sequence—completed in a matter of weeks—includes some notoriously hard-to-sequence stretches of DNA, filling several key gaps in our original reference genome.

Posted In: Health, Science, technology

Tags: biotechnology, Biowulf, DNA, DNA sequencing, Ebola virus, genome assembly, hand-held sequencing device, human genome, Human Genome Project, International Space Station, MinION, nanopore sequencing, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, precision medicine, repetitive DNA, telomeres, Zika virus