A DNA Data Deluge Confronts Researchers

 | Source: Cambridge Healthtech Institute Cambridge Healthtech Institute

NEEDHAM, MA--(Marketwire - April 17, 2008) - Next-generation DNA sequencers are already generating enough data to prompt researchers to drop traditional methods of data storage and management and develop new ways of handling the torrents of information, according to Bio-IT World magazine.

In the April cover story, "The DNA Data Deluge," Bio-IT World editor-in-chief, Kevin Davies, describes in detail how sequencer vendors and users are working full-bore to develop data management solutions for the machines that produce terabytes of information. For instance, the first HeliScope sequencer delivered by Helicos BioSciences comes complete with a 32-CPU server stack and 24 terabytes of storage -- and that's just enough storage for two full runs.

Another example of the paradigm change, according to the article, is at the Broad Institute, where a fleet of Applied Biosystems (ABI) 3730 sequencers is being supplanted by 20 Illumina instruments producing 20 billion bases of sequence a week and climbing.

Add to that picture similar outputs from ABI's new SOLiD sequencers and 454 Life Sciences technology, and you see the daunting challenge facing users of the data and those responsible for its movement and storage. In the article, Davies explains how companies such as Geospiza, GenomeQuest, and BioTeam are developing IT solutions to meet that challenge.

Also in the April 2008 issue of Bio-IT World

In another article in the April 2008 issue, Davies describes how a small biopharmaceutical company in Cambridge, MA, Ensemble Discovery, is commercializing DNA programmable chemistry, developed by Harvard's (and Howard Hughes Medical Institute's) David Liu, to build large collections of macrocyclic compounds called "Ensemblins" that may provide new leads against a variety of targets.

Other highlights of this issue: 

--  Amgen's successful advances in cancer diagnostics
--  Google enters the field of enterprise searching
--  GeneGo launches its first in a series of disease-specific software
    tools, this one for cystic fibrosis
--  An MIT study analyzes the global aspects of clinical trials
--  Federal agencies start a National Toxicology Program aimed at reducing
    reliance on animal testing

About Bio-IT World

Bio-IT World (www.bio-itworld.com), the flagship publication of Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI), is the leading source of news on technology and strategic innovation in drug discovery, development, and clinical trials. Bio-IT World explores the tools and results of predictive biology as the industry adapts to the new world of personalized medicine. Bio-IT World has won 34 national and regional awards, more than any other magazine covering the life sciences industry. CHI offers a suite of published resources through a new division -- Cambridge Healthtech Media Group -- that includes Bio-IT World magazine, numerous topic-specific eNewsletters, white papers, webcasts, podcasts, conferences, and the Bio-IT World Best Practices Awards. The magazine is based in Needham, MA.

About Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Founded in 1992, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (www.healthtech.com) is the industry leader offering the preeminent source of information to the leading researchers and business experts from top pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic organizations. Delivering an assortment of resources such as events, reports, publications, and eNewsletters, CHI's portfolio of products includes Cambridge Healthtech Institute Events, Pharmaceutical Strategy Series, Insight Pharma Reports, Marketing Services, and Cambridge Healthtech Media Group.

Contact Information: Contact: Kevin Davies (Editor-in-Chief, Bio-IT World) 781-972-1341