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Guide Dogs

By Katherine Bourzac, SM '04

Genome factory: At the Broad's genome-sequencing facility, researchers can sequence about four mammals a year. One of the first steps is to replicate short pieces of the genome to be sequenced by inserting them into E. coli like those growing on the plates at left. The mechanical arm is selecting individual colonies of the fast-growing bacteria for further processing, which starts with the lysing—or breaking open—of the bacteria and the extraction of the replicated DNA.