Developed a DNA decoder for just $ 1,000

AP announced a biotech firm that has developed a machine for decoding DNA for a day for $ 1,000.

>>> The oldest living genetic code in the world

This is the price that people have long waited to help patients access more easily their genes in the process of medical care.

Life Technologies said on Jan. 10 that it is accepting orders for the technology, and plans to launch the transfer in about a year.

Based in Carlsbad, California, the three major research organizations that have signed up to buy the $ 149,000 machine are Baylor College of Medicine, Yale Medical School and Broad Institute in Cambridge, Mass.

On the same day, another famous company in the field of genetic engineering is Illumina of San Diego, also introduced a new technology that will decode the whole genome in about 24 hours. The company's statement does not provide a cost estimate for each genome to be decoded.

These machines, called sequencers , allow scientists to determine the arrangement of the 3 billion structural units that make up a person's DNA.

Since the first draft of the human genome was published by the White House in 2000, the cost of DNA sequencing has declined.

The $ 1,000 goal has long been considered an important step towards making the technology practical for doctors to use to help patients, such as pointing out the weaknesses of the diseases. certain or study therapy.

Currently, all genes are primarily designed for research purposes.