Helicos BioSciences Announces a Novel Homopolymer Solution for True Single Molecule Sequencing (tSMS(TM)).The Company's Researchers Have Developed Proprietary Nucleotide-Polymerase Formulations That Enable Sequencing Through Homopolymers. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- This week at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology Conference (AGBT AGBT Amazing Grace Baptist Temple (Millersburg, OH) ) in Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a city and island in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,828 [1]. The town was incorporated in 1998. , Helicos BioSciences announced that it has developed novel nucleotide-polymerase formulations that enable the characterization of homopolymers. This invention demonstrates Helicos' ability to sequence through homopolymer regions one base at a time using its single-molecule platform. The ability to generate accurate sequences across the complete genome is critical to the identification and understanding of genetic variants associated with disease. Reading through homopolymers is important because it is estimated that a large fraction of the human genome The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is composed of 24 distinct pairs of chromosomes (22 autosomal + X + Y) with a total of approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs containing an estimated 20,000–25,000 genes. is represented by stretches of nucleotide nucleotide (n  `klēətīd', ny`–), organic substance that serves as a monomer in forming nucleic acids. repeats referred to as homopolymeric regions. The proprietary nucleotide analogs contained in these unique formulations control accurate base-by-base extension through chemical means. In addition to improving the accuracy of the tSMS approach, the analogs can be utilized in the tSMS process with minimal impact on the cycle time. "This marks an important accomplishment in Helicos' endeavor to deliver a high-performance single molecule sequencing platform," said Stanley N. Lapidus, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Helicos BioSciences. J. William Efcavitch, Helicos' Senior Vice President of Product Research and Development, who presented the invention at the AGBT meeting added, "This announcement demonstrates the skill of our innovative and talented team in developing cutting edge technology." About Helicos BioSciences Helicos BioSciences Corporation is a life sciences company developing innovative genetic analysis technologies for the research, drug discovery and clinical diagnostics markets. We have developed a proprietary technology to enable ultra-high-throughput genetic analysis based on the direct sequencing of single molecules of DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. or RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic . We believe our True Single Molecule Sequencing, or tSMS, platform represents a fundamental breakthrough in the analysis of biological samples. |
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