With both teams' strategies, the pieces of DNA analyzed by the sequencing machines are typically 500 bases long.

Instead, they say, it is a creative way for Perkin-Elmer to sell more of its sequencing machines.

Standard Flowgram Format, a file generated by a 454 sequencing machine.

But it also meant doubling the market for his sequencing machines and their chemical reagents.

Each will be given six DNA sequencing machines, of a powerful new model costing $300,000 apiece.

Dr. Egholm said that with improvements already under way, the 454 sequencing machine would soon be able to sequence a human genome for $100,000.

Somebody get me a grant and a sequencing machine, STAT!

From 2006, the Illumina (previously Solexa) technology has been available and can generate about 100 million reads per run on a single sequencing machine.

Compare this to the 35 million reads of the human genome project which needed several years to be produced on hundreds of sequencing machines.

These pieces are then "read" by automated sequencing machines, which can read up to 1000 nucleotides or bases at a time.