Seven Technologies
Volume 19 | Issue 16 | August 29, 2005
The Scientist

celebrates the seven key technologies that have, and are, transforming life science research. Each of our chosen seven, the DNA sequencer, the BLAST algorithm, the DNA microarray, the yeast two-hybrid assay, the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer, the lab-on-a-chip, and the optical trap - is in its own way shaking the foundation of life science research. As a group, they tell the story of the past and future of molecular biology.
SEVEN CHEERS FOR TECHNOLOGY
By Richard Gallagher
and Jeffrey M. Perkel
WHY DO WE INVOKE DARWIN?
Evolutionary theory contributes little to experimental biology
Philip S. Skell
VENTER BUYS HISTORY
By Stephen Pincock
BACTERIA HITCH AN AMBULANCE RIDE
By Stephen Pincock
HI YOU'RE GOT ANTHRAX
By John Dudley Miller
THE AUTOMATED DNA SEQUENCER
Where would the Human Genome Project, bioinformatics, and life sciences in general, be without it?
By Alison McCook
How It Works:
The Automated DNA Sequencer
BLAST
How 90,000 lines of code helped spark the bioinformatics explosion
By Anne Harding
How It Works:
BLAST
THE DNA MICROARRAY
Homegrown or commercially supplied, the array provides a panoramic view of the genome
By Lissa Harris
How It Works:
The DNA Microarray
THE YEAST TWO-HYBRID ASSAY
How a grant-writing epiphany led to a functional genomics workhorse
By Mark Greener and Jeffrey M. Perkel
How It Works:
The Yeast Two-Hybrid Assay
MALDI
Pioneering ionization technique paved the way for proteomics
By Aileen Constans
How It Works:
MALDI-TOF/TOF
MICROFLUIDICS
Semiconductor-industry sensibilities are shrinking the life science lab
By Megan M. Stephan
How It Works:
Lab-on-a-Chip
THE OPTICAL TRAP
How a laser beam and some clever engineering spawned a biophysics revolution
By Don Monroe
How It Works:
The Optical Trap
REBEL WITH A LAB
For Bruce Lahn, an interest in human genetics has roots in Chinese protests
By Karen Hopkin