DNA Edges Forward As Data Storage Option


At technology conferences back in 2015, scientist David Markowitz raised the idea that DNA could be adapted as a data storage material. The audience response wasn’t all he had hoped for. “They would laugh me off the podium,” Markowitz recalls, but without rancor. Facing skepticism comes with his job at IARPA, the research arm of the U.S. intelligence community. The agency anticipates f... » read more

5 Technologies To Watch


The industry is developing a dizzying array of new technologies. In fact, there are more new and innovative technologies than ever before. And the list is countless. At least from my vantage point, I have come up with my own list of the top five technologies to watch in 2015 and beyond. They are listed in alphabetical order. (See below). Obviously, there are more than just five technologi... » read more

One-On-One: Jeffrey Schloss


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk about genomics, DNA sequencing and semiconductor technologies with Jeffery Schloss, director of the Division of Genome Sciences at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The NHGRI is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. SE: The NHGRI is involved in several projects... » read more

DNA Sequencing Device Market Heats Up


Slightly more than a decade ago an international consortium reached a major milestone by sequencing the human genome. Using laboratory systems called DNA sequencers, the Human Genome Project (HGP) determined the order of nearly 3 billion base pairs that make up the human genome. This, in turn, was supposed to pave the way to prevent, treat and cure diseases. Then, in early 2014, Illumina hit... » read more