Moore 's Genome
The Intel founder's genome has been decoded
Tape.Roo
Biologists have deciphered the genome of one of the founders of Intel, Gordon Moore, the author of the famous Moore's law on the rate of increase in the number of transistors on a chip. To determine the sequence of Moore's DNA, scientists used a new technology that is much faster, more accurate and cheaper than other procedures. The researchers' article (An integrated semiconductor device enabling non-optical genome sequencing) was published in the journal Nature, and the ScienceNOW portal writes about it briefly (A $1000 Genome by 2013?).
DNA molecules are linear polymers of four types of "letters" – A, T, G and C, with the help of which all hereditary information about the body is encoded in DNA. Knowing the complete DNA sequence of a large number of people will allow scientists to develop medicines for various diseases that will fight ailments based on the genetic characteristics of the patient, and not just on the external symptoms of the disease.
Today, scientists use several different techniques for determining the DNA sequence of organisms, but most of them are modifications of the so-called Sanger method. This method requires the use of specially modified "letters" that are added to the reaction mixture, interrupt the process taking place in it and are detected by sensors. Sanger's method is reliable and effective, but it has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, modified "letters" are quite expensive, and secondly, determining the sequence of large DNA fragments takes a lot of time.
The authors of the new work used a fundamentally different technology that does not require the use of optical detectors. The technique they created uses the fact that the enzyme necessary to determine the DNA sequence, at each act of its work, contributes to the release of one H+ ion into the reaction mixture. Accordingly, acidification of the medium occurs, which can be detected by detectors.
The new method works like this: microscopic granules are added to the reaction mixture, on which DNA fragments are immobilized, the sequence of which must be determined. At each stage of the procedure, the granules are filled with a solution of one of the four types of "letters". If the next "letter" in the decoded sequence coincides with the one that is dissolved in the reaction mixture, the enzyme triggers and increases the acidity of the medium.
The reactions described above take place on a chip in which 1.2 million tiny wells are located – it is in them that the granules with DNA are placed.
Each step of filling the holes with a solution of "letters" takes less than five seconds, and the cost of one chip is about $ 99. Accordingly, DNA decoding is very fast and relatively inexpensive – to determine the sequence of Gordon Moore's DNA, scientists used a thousand chips. In another study, researchers deciphered the DNA sequence of E. coli in two hours.
The new method in the future will help scientists get closer to the goal of "one genome for a thousand dollars." It is believed that at such a cost of decoding the human genome, the average inhabitant of the Earth will be able to afford to purchase a genetic passport, on the basis of which doctors will be able to select individual treatment for him.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru21.07.2011