If somehow in some strange manner you have an unhealthy obsession with analyzing your DNA, your long wait is finally over. All you need to do is sell an arm and a leg (ponying up $15,000 in cold, hard cash will do as well) and you will be a proud owner of the Spartan DX real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) DNA analyzer. This device is brought to you courtesy of Spartan Bioscience Incorporated, and is said to be able to provide your DNA results within half an hour or less, analyzing up to a quartet of samples at any one time. Any orders made now will begin to ship next month, so you can more or less start writing books on your own DNA by August or so.

One of the main reasons why the Spartan DX real-time PCR DNA analyzer is so expensive is due to the fact that highly accurate DNA testing for molecular diagnostics in a laboratory is painstakingly slow and expensive, albeit being the “gold standard” that scientists and researchers have adhered to until today. It requires batched, mainframe-style DNA machines which were specially designed for use by highly trained scientists in high-throughput environments. While the Spartan DX has already cut down the cost significantly for home use, a $15,000 price tag just goes to show just how expensive the real deal is.

For those who want to know further, the Spartan DX was custom designed for non-batched, on-demand DNA applications where speed and convenience are important. Some of the more practical applications that you can use with this device include low-throughput research experiments and non-batched testing for infectious diseases. It has already been validated against industry-leading real-time PCR machines and proven itself worthy to work alongside industry-standard consumables which range from inexpensive reaction tubes to real-time PCR reagents and kits from leading manufacturers. I wonder what would I do with a DNA analyzer in my home - to find out why I’m not as good looking (but definitely taller) when put alongside Tom Cruise?

Source: Medgadget