Abstract
Although the origins of DNA sequencing, as we know it today, date back to the 1970s, it is only
in the last eight years that the field has gone through one of the most amazing transformations ever
seen in science. Most people recognize that completion of the Human Genome Project was one of the
key events that stimulated this phenomenon. However, the Project only acted to define what the real
barriers were to fully using genetic knowledge. The concurrent invention of microarrays and biochips
allowed scientists to rapidly unravel DNA codes.
DNA sequencing is only the beginning and the task of determining the functionality of genes is
far more daunting. One of the key practical questions is the role each gene has in synthesizing
specific proteins within cells. This field of study, called proteomics, is crucial to almost all the
ultimate long-range applications of DNA sequencing including gene therapy and drug discovery. Other
applications include diagnostic tools to identify the risk of individuals to specific diseases,
genetically altered food products and biological or chemical warfare sensing devices.
This important BCC study captures a technology and business snapshot of the industry as it exists
in 2004 and projects where it is going in the next five years. This picture is framed in the context
of a history of how the field developed and who is responsible for many of the technology
breakthroughs.
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