An ambitious unicorn hopes to up-end DNA analysis.

NSEconomist like Compare progress in their field with the incredible speed of innovation in computing. There, large and slow mainframes evolved into high-speed medium-sized desktops, and then into pocket-sized supercomputers called smartphones. Similarly, the first human genome sequencing was announced in 2003 in a fuss and fanfare. It took 13 years and cost about $ 3 billion. Twenty years later, sequencing the human genome will bring it back to about $ 600, which could be completed within a week. 

Gordon Sangela, the boss of Oxford Nanopore, a company based in the British-named university town, but thinks there’s more room. NS economist His company was scheduled to debut on the London Stock Exchange. Its technology, nanopore sequencing, can reduce the cost of genetic analysis and reduce the associated time from days to hours to even minutes. At the same time, the genetic sequencer can be small enough to fit in your pocket instead of your desktop, as smartphones do with computing.

Nanopore sequencing employs a designed version of a protein that naturally punctures cell membranes to allow ions (charged atoms such as potassium and chlorine) to move in and out. These proteins are used to puncture the membrane that separates the two chambers filled with liquid and are energized. NS DNA Then what is sequenced is fed through the holes (see figure). DNA Information is stored using four different chemical bases. NS, NS, NS When NS.. Each has a different shape and partially blocks the pores in different ways. This causes various fluctuations in the current and allows the sequence of bases to be read.

The idea of ​​nanopore sequencing dates back to the 1990s, says Dr. Sanghera. However, it took years to commercialize it. One trick is to make sure DNA Molecules move through the pores at a predictable rate and do not recede. The company solved it with a specially designed molecular ratchet. Integrating the biological bit of technology with that of silicon was tricky. And the pores do not sense individual bases on their own, but a combination of them. The conversion of these signals is done with the help of machine learning. Machine learning is a technology that has been uniquely developed in the last few years.

Nanopore sequencing has several advantages over other approaches. Its compactness is one. Oxford Nanopore’s smallest product, MINSion, Is the size of a chunky cell phone. Existing sequencers are similar to freezer refrigerators or (at best) microwave ovens. NS MINSionThis precision allows field analysis without the need to send samples to remote laboratories. It is used everywhere, from Norwegian glaciers to Welsh coal mines and the International Space Station.

Another advantage is speed.Previous technology was chopped up DNA It was split into pieces, made copies, and tagged with fluorescent chemicals. It takes time. Sequencing records for the entire human genome are believed to be 13 hours. Oxford Nanopore believes this can be reduced to hours on a daily basis. The nanopore approach also provides continuous readout. Other methods will only give results at the end.

Chopping DNA On the other hand, splitting into smaller pieces makes it difficult to understand what is happening in the region of the repetitive sequences. Nanopore-based devices DNA With millions of locations, you get a clearer picture of what’s happening. And they can sense methylation. It is a chemical modification of bases, an important means of regulating gene expression in the body.

Boot sequence

On paper, nanopore sequencing is revolutionary. It is not yet known if that will happen. Like all great tech startups, Oxford Nanopore isn’t profitable yet, but hopes to make it within five years.Julian Roberts, an analyst at bank Jeffreys, said the global market for gene sequencing is probably worth $ 7.5 billion a year, “low teens. [per cent] Every year — healthy, but not spectacular. It is dominated by the San Diego-based company Illumina.

But, like computers, better technology has the potential to create new applications and grow the market, Roberts said. Inexpensive, real-time gene sequencing, from cancer treatment (Norwegian researchers are trying to use it to read the genome of brain tumors during surgery), environmental modeling, disease monitoring (sequencing in covid-19 pandemics) Put this application at the top of the minds of many epidemiologists, in particular, which could boost everything up to the usefulness of singing).

The company’s choice to list on London instead of the United States goes against the traditional knowledge that the United States will provide knowledgeable investors who are ready to tolerate today’s losses due to the prospect of large payments tomorrow. increase. And for now, I want to stay in the UK. Its shareholding structure prevents Dr. Sangela (or two other senior executives in his absence) from unwelcome acquisitions. Roberts points to the example of Solexa, a British company that Illumina acquired for $ 600 million in 2006. Nowadays, Solexa’s technology is the foundation of Illumina’s business, and American companies are worth $ 64 billion. ■■

This article was published in the Science and Technology section of the printed version under the heading “Hole in one?”.

An ambitious unicorn hopes to up-end DNA analysis Source link An ambitious unicorn hopes to up-end DNA analysis

Source: https://californianewstimes.com/an-ambitious-unicorn-hopes-to-up-end-dna-analysis/542735/