If genome sequencing gets cheap enough, it could usher in the age of personalized medicine, in which treatments and preventive measures are tailored to an individual's genetic makeup. A step in that direction is the Polonator, a new sequencer that will cost roughly a third to a ninth as much as existing technologies. Developed by genomics pioneer George Church, the Polonator tags DNA bases with fluorescent markers and uses a fluorescence microscope to read off the sequences. Coming to market later this year, the Polonator will initially be used for genomic research.

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