Rapid DNA Sequencing Holds Promise For Quicker Identification of Genetic Information

HOUSTON, March 4, 2002 – What took hundreds of researchers working together for nearly 10 years to complete soon may be accomplished in less than a day, according to University of Houston researchers who have filed a patent on a new process to sequence the human genome.

Biochemist Susan Hardin and four UH colleagues are developing a new technology for direct molecular sensing that could be used to sequence an individual’s entire genome – the gathering of all the genetic information contained in a person’s DNA – in less than 24 hours. When fully developed as a commercial device, the technology could offer doctors a more rapid and more thorough way to determine who is at risk for certain genetic diseases, or which people might react adversely to a particular drug.

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