Applied Biosystems Announces 12th Annual Advancing Genomics Symposium, Related Events at American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI):

--More Than 100 Genetic Studies Using Applied Biosystems Technology to Be Presented at ASHG

--Leading Genetic Researchers to Present Data on Embryonic Stem Cells, Substance Addiction, Muscular Dystrophy

Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced its 12th Annual Advancing Genomics Symposium at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 25, 2005 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Leaders from industry, as well as scientists from Applied Biosystems, will discuss the applications of genotyping, gene expression, microRNA profiling, and resequencing to the study of various diseases, including muscular dystrophy, various cancers, and substance addiction. Outside speakers include Christopher M. Hammell, Ph.D. of Victor Ambros' Laboratory at Dartmouth Medical School; Kenneth K. Kidd, Ph.D. of Yale University; Jonathan L. Haines, Ph.D. of the Center for Human Genetics Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Martin Johnson, Ph.D. of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of Alabama Birmingham; and Richard R. Bennett, BSEE, MBA of Children's Hospital Boston.

In addition, researchers attending ASHG will present more than 100 genetic studies using a variety of Applied Biosystems technologies to identify new genetic links to more than a dozen different genetic conditions, including embryonic stem cell classification, short interfering RNA in gene silencing, and variations within drug metabolism genes.

"For nearly 25 years Applied Biosystems has been assisting leading researchers in their efforts to understand the genetic basis of disease and genetic conditions by providing complete and reliable workflow solutions for genetic studies," said Dennis A. Gilbert, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Applied Biosystems. "Data presented at this year's meeting demonstrates how researchers continue to uncover remarkable findings through a variety of our instrumentation and assays specifically targeted to today's researcher's needs."

A sample of ASHG poster presentations featuring Applied Biosystems
technology include:

    --  TaqMan(R) Assay-Based MicroRNA (miRNA) Profiles Classify
        Embryonic Stem (ES) and Differentiated Cells (Poster # 905/W)
        Wednesday, October 26; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
        Hall D
        William M. Strauss, Department of Molecular, Cellular, &
        Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, will discuss
        the identification of a number of embryonic stem cell-specific
        and differentiation-related miRNA candidates that could be
        used as molecular markers to determine embryonic stem cell
        identity and to monitor its spontaneous differentiation.

    --  TaqMan Short Interference RNA (siRNA) Assays by Stem-Loop
        RT-PCR (Poster # 1310/W)
        Wednesday, October 26; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
        Exhibit Hall
        Ruoying Tan, Applied Biosystems, will discuss RNA interference
        (RNAi) induced by siRNA as a powerful tool for gene silencing
        and report the use of stem-loop RT followed by real-time PCR
        to quantify short hairpin RNAs (shRNA)-derived siRNAs,
        understand shRNA-based RNAi pathway, and evaluate the efficacy
        of shRNAs as a therapeutic agent.

    --  Gene Copy Number Quantitation in Drug Metabolism Genes by
        Real-Time Quantitative PCR (Poster # 1037/W)
        Wednesday, October 26; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
        Exhibit Hall
        Sueh-Ning Liew, Applied Bioystems, will discuss the effect of
        gene deletion, gene duplication, and other genomic variations
        that can affect Drug Metabolizing Enzyme function or
        phenotype, and corresponding methods to accurately measure
        gene dosage in drug metabolism genes, such as CYP2D6 and
        GSTM1.

    --  Detecting Polymorphisms in Drug Metabolism Genes Uncovers More
        than Genotypes (Poster # 1350/T)
        Thursday, October 27; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
        Exhibit Hall
        Warren Tom, Applied Biosystems, will discuss the detection of
        single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), multiple nucleotide
        polymorphisms (MNPs), and insertion/deletions (in/dels) within
        220 difficult to characterize drug metabolism genes.

    --  Annotation of Genetic Polymorphisms in Drug-Metabolizing
        Enzymes (Poster # 1266/T)
        Thursday, October 27; 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
        Exhibit Hall
        Chia-Chien Chiang, Applied Biosystems, will report on a
        complete bioinformatics process, including the process of
        collecting polymorphisms from both public and proprietary
        databases mapping flanking sequences of polymorphic sites to
        genome assemblies, clustering drug-metabolizing enzyme
        polymorphisms, and assigning functional classification to
        polymorphisms.

To register for Applied Biosystems' 12th Annual Advancing Genomics Symposium at the ASHG Annual Meeting, go to http://info.appliedbiosystems.com/genetics.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied Biosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside of life science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such as the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental, and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, for example in food and the environment. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of nearly $1.8 billion during fiscal 2005. The Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA) is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs in collaboration with global technology and market leaders. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com/.

All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

TaqMan Assays: The PCR process and 5' nuclease processes are covered by patents owned by Roche and by patents owned or licensed to Applera Corporation. Further information on purchasing licenses may be obtained from the Director of Licensing, Applied Biosystems, 850 Lincoln Centre Drive, Foster City, California 94404, USA.

(C)Copyright 2005. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applied Biosystems and Celera are registered trademarks and Applera, Celera Genomics, and Celera Diagnostics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries.

TaqMan is a registered trademark of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.