Sharron Bennett

In science's relentless pursuit to fulfill the predications of Gattaca, not only has DNA sequencing become better, faster, and cheaper in the last few years. It also just got a lot smaller. A team of scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand has just unveiled the world's first handheld DNA sequencer.

About the size and shape of a clay brick, the battery-powered prototype called Freedom4 is the result of a six-year collaboration between a computer programmer, a physicist, a chemist, and a team of biologists. With a six-hour battery life, Freedom4 can sequence a DNA sample in less than an hour, and can be connected wirelessly to a laptop, smartphone, or tablet running its DNA analyzing software.

While the sequencer is not yet for sale, its potential uses are pretty impressive. The research team claims that speed and mobility of their device is perfect for on-the-spot disease and virus diagnostics for hospitals. It's also easy to see uses as diverse as fringe microbe hunting and beer brewing. The team behind Freedom4 says the device performs on par with other lab-based equipment. It uses a DNA sequencing technique called quantitative PCR, which is similar to what was used to sequence the first human genome in 2003.

Essentially a DNA multiplier, Freedom4 uses temperature changes and an enzyme to repeatedly split and copy DNA over and over again so it can be read easily. But one reason Freedom4 is so fast is that it can actually transfer the genetic information of a sample while it's running.

And Freedom4 isn't even the smallest DNA sequencer being developed. A British company is currently working on single-use USB-sized DNA sequencers.

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