TECHNOLOGY
IMAGINE the vastness of a topic as broad as astronomy , combine it with the study of particle physics and then integrate the digital information housed by a social media giant such as YouTube — this is how expansive the field of sequencing human DNA has become .
The industry is predicted by scientists to take the lead as the biggest data storage giant in the world , and while it is a testament to the complexity of the human genome , it is a feat that needs to be met with the latest tech solutions to house and understand such a titan .
In the bustling city of San Diego , California , a biotech company by the name of Illumina manufactures and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic information , and in the coming age of genomic medicine , it is poised to become a dominant supplier for the industry .
Illumina has one goal : to apply innovative technologies to the analysis of genetic variation and function , making studies possible that weren ’ t even imaginable a few years ago . As researchers race to develop DNAbased technologies to break firsts in a market that is predicted by Forbes to exceed US $ 20 billion in the near future , the global leader shows no signs of letting up or slowing down .
A brief history Illumina emerged from “ blue sky ” research in the chemistry department of Cambridge University that later evolved into the revolutionary sequencing by synthesis ( SBS ) technology : the foundation of
The NextSeq 500 , part of the NGS product line , makes sequence-based gene expression analysis a “ digital ” alternative to analog techniques
8 August 2015