Decoding the Longest DNA Sequence

A team of scientists from the UK is declaring the record held by a team of scientists from Nottingham University for decoding the longest DNA sequence. The DNA sequence that they have composed was said to be 10,000 times longer than a typical DNA strand, and twice as large as the team fromAustralia that currently holds the record. This discovery has lead to the development of a "nanopore" sequencing machines that provides the ability to read an entire human genome without having to cut and reassemble it. The growing technology has lowered the cost and process DNA sequences much quicker. One of the struggles that still remain in DNA sequences is the ability to put the genes into the correct order. Tech companies are scrambling around to try and develop certain technological advancements and race to the top of the up and coming market. There is hope that in the future that there will be more of an understanding about human health and using these developments for plants and animals. 

There is great potential for developing technological advances that can aid in the rearrangement of genomes. There is a hope for using certain methods to assist in rearrangement of cancer genomes. There may be someone who reads a DNA sequence even larger the this one, but scientists are motivated to discover more and obtain another record. I see this as a move towards technological advances that can possibly predetermine, cure, or rearrange DNA sequences to improve the wellness of the human race. 

Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46046024?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/c40rjmqdw54t/genetics&link_location=live-reporting-story

Related Article: https://www.genengnews.com/insights/the-long-and-the-short-of-dna-sequencing/

DNA Sequencing improved by lower speed

DNA sequencing has long suffered from inaccuracy and mistakes in readings despite leading technology. Nanopore sequencing is what researchers and professionals use today. DNA strands are passed through a nano-sized pores. Each of the four nucleotides have a unique characteristic that allow them to be read. Because the pores have an electrical current, the nucleotides will block the current in distinctive ways when they pass through. The method is revolutionary, without a doubt, but it is highly prone to mistakes because DNA strands pass through way too quickly.

This issue came to the attention of Aleksandra Radenovic's lab at EPFL's Institute of Bioengineering. With the help of researchers who led the project, Jiandong Feng and Ke Liu, they discovered a viscous liquid, capable of slowing down the process by a 1000 times, increasing the accuracy by a huge magnitude.

First they created a film made of molybdenum disulfide (0.7 nm thick) and made a nanopore in the film about 0.3 nm wide. Then, they dissolved DNA in a liquid, classified as a room temperature ionic liquid (salt dissolved in a solution). By altering the liquid's molecular structure, they were able to bring it to a more preferable level of viscosity to read the DNA more accurately. The researchers have used this test on nucleotides but they are still aiming to read whole DNA strands using this method.

I think this research is highly innovative and points us towards better technology in the field of genetics. The researchers are very passionate about their findings and hope that it can make DNA sequencing more effective and cheaper. This is an important discovery to me because genetic sequencing is the backbone of genetics; everything originates from the molecular level and to improve this technology can mean improvements in health as well. Maybe one day genetic sequencing can become more widespread and easily accessible if we have technology that  is quick,

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DNA Sequencing, Without the Fuss

An article in Science Now gives information about new technology for DNA sequencing. The technology has been improving in recent years, and the newest is called nanopore sequencing. Nanopore sequencing allows researchers to for the first time continuously read the chemical letters of DNAas it travels through a tiny pore. This advance in technology may drop the cost of sequencing a complete human genome below $1000, which is expected to alter personalized medicine and help develop new genetic-based diagnostics and medicines. Most DNA sequencing takes days to complete, but nanopore sequencing simplifies the steps and is becoming the fastest and cheapest method currently.
This idea of passing a DNA strand through a small pore to read it was first suggested by researchers in Massachusetts and California in 1996. Scientists have figured out how to use an electrical charge to send DNA through proteins with tiny pores embedded in a film. DNA bases pass through the pore, and then change the electrical charge. The changes are detected and bases are identified .  One major problem with nanopore sequencing has been that when an electric voltage is applied across the film, DNA tends to move through the nanopore too quickly. In 2010, Mark Akeson and his team at the University of California, Santa Cruz, found that adding a protein called phi29 to a nanopore sequencer could be a possible solution because it slows down the DNA. With this protein added, only 20 to 30 nucleotide bases move through per second. By early 2013, it is expected that a nanopore sequencing company called Oxford Nanopore Technologies would be selling machines with thousands of nanopores, making it possible to sequence a full genome in as little as 15 minutes and for around $1000.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Nanopore DNA Sequencing"][/caption]

Nanopore Sequencing, DNA Sequencing for Cheap

The development of DNA sequencing is a science that has been rapidly progressing as time has progressed in the past couple of years. Since this process is gaining so much fan fare many technologies are vying  to be at the forefront. One such technology is the called nanopore sequencing. Nanopore sequencing as performed by researchers is the process of sending DNA through a protein pore and constantly reading the DNA as it progresses through the protein. Eventually a new type of machine will be developed that would perform the reading electronically. With this new technology the price of reading a complete human genome would drop to about $1000. Since the price dropped so dramatically the new tech should help progress personalized medicine.



In comparison to the various other methods of DNA sequencing which could take multiple days of work. Nanopore sequencing which removes plenty of the unnecessary steps in the process by sequencing a single unchanged or modified DNA strand. This could make nanopore sequencing the quickest and cheapest DNA sequecing method in the world. The original idea was first developed in 1996 and major strides have been made since then allowing scientist to drive the protein through the pores of an electrical film. Depending on what bases travel through the net different changes to the electric charge are experianced which can be read by sensitive computers. Allowing scientist to determine which bases have traveled through. There is one major snag though. Since the film is electrified, this effects the speed in which the DNA travels through it. Due to this tremendous speed it was nearly impossible to read the entire DNA strand. A solution has arisen however, two years ago a scientist and his colleagues whose name is Mark Akeson added the protein phi29. this protein grabs onto the DNA strand and slows down the process of traveling through the pore. Another physist at the University of Washington also incorporated the protein in there nanopore sequencing experiment and agree with the results of Mark Akeson. Eventually they hope to be able to sequence an entire genome in 15 minutes and for about $1000 dollars. Until the majority of genetics researchers see proof they only hope what these scientists are doing is possible because it holds countless possibilities.