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Current Technology
There is enormous need for a technology capable of
rapidly and accurately analyzing millions of genomes in
commercially relevant ways. Despite technology
improvements, DNA sequencing is still too costly and
time consuming to address this need. It took hundreds of
machines running 24 hours/day for 9 months, at a total
cost of over $300 million to sequence the human genome.
These limitations hinder today's sequencing efforts in
the biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
New technologies that are capable of greater sequencing
rates and read lengths will reduce the cost and time to
complete large scale genome sequencing. A new technology
that improves the ability of scientists to analyze
genetic information is critical to enable the next
generation of medicine: personalized medicine.
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Given the cost and time
required for whole genome sequencing, SNP analyses
are used. However, they rely on assumptions that
limit effectiveness.
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Comparing entire genomes to
identify critical differences is not currently
practical. Ultra-high throughput, low-cost
technology is required.
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