Gene Scene

Not too long ago deconstructing and analyzing DNA codes took scientists several years and enough computer hardware to fill the entire floor of a building.

Now a genetic sequencer the size of a washing machine can do the work in a couple days, and University of Houston researchers were among the first in the region to use this cutting-edge device.

Preethi Gunaratne, assistant professor of biology and biochemistry, is one of the researchers using the $500,000 sequencer that promises to make UH a major player in genetic science.

Whether it's zeroing in on the slightest hint of virus or bacteria from a mouth swab or constructing an ecological profile of an area by studying remnant DNA molecules that could be millions of years old, the sequencer will help researchers in a number of groundbreaking endeavors.

An organism's genome can contain the equivalent of millions of pages of data. Breaking up the astonishingly complex genome into smaller chunks for study and then piecing it back together is an arduous task, but the high-powered sequencer can perform large, rapid scans of genetic material.

The sequencer was purchased with a grant from the Cullen Foundation to UH's Institute for Molecular Design.