illumina Genome Analyzer, 2007

Genome Analyzer for DNA and RNA sequencing, made by Illumina, c.2007. This next-generation sequencer uses the technique 'sequencing by synthesis' (SBS) developed by Solexa and scientists at the University of Cambridge.

DNA sequencing allows scientists to read, understand, and compare genomic and genetic information. DNA sequencers are instruments used to automate the DNA sequencing process. Today, sequencing technologies play an important role in everything from disease treatment to agriculture.

This is a Genome Analyzer, what became known as a 'next-generation' DNA sequencer, made by the Amercian life sciences manufacturer illumina c.2007. The Genome Analyzer gave scientists the power to sequence 1 gigabase (Gb) of data in a single run. It could sequence a human genome for about $100,000 in three months.

It sequences DNA using a technique called ‘sequencing by synthesis’. British scientists Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman, at the University of Cambridge, developed this technique. They set up a company called Solexa, who first manufactured the Genome Analyzer in 2006. In 2007, Solexa was bought by illumina.

This technology made DNA sequencing faster and cheaper. It led to affordable whole genome sequencing, and as an example was used to sequence the first African human genome (the genome of a Yoruban man from Nigeria).