zs genetics
The Gene Sherpa predicts that Complete Genomics will win the Archon X Prize in Genomics in 2010. In the comments, Keith Robison is wisely skeptical. I agree with Keith - it's unlikely that the X Prize will be won this year, and if it is the winner is unlikely to be Complete Genomics.
For those who don't know the prize, here's the brief summary: the X Prize Foundation will give US$10 million to the first team to satisfy the following conditions:
sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with
an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced [note that the…
Sure is news to me - from popsci.com:
Archon X Prize for Genomics
Purse: $10 million
Goal: Sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days for $10,000 per genome or less
Status: ZS Genetics, which is developing an approach that replaces fluorescent tagging with decodable electron-microscope images of DNA, is a favorite to win. [my emphasis]
ZS Genetics is developing an extremely unusual approach to DNA sequencing, which involves directly imaging DNA with an electron microscope (pictured to the left). The potential pay-offs of this approach are huge: in particular, this approach would have minimal costs…