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Comment by fragmede | Hacker News Reader

I don't know if this is the exact nanopore USB dongle used in the article, but this one is $1,000 for the base package, first released in 2014

https://store.nanoporetech.com/us/minion.html

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/190409-minion-usb-stick-...

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Note that Oxford Nanopore seems to have very much a "sell the ink/razor/etc" business model with their devices: that $1,000 package comes with one flow cell, which is a consumable and costs $900. They're essentially giving the device away for free.

On some of their larger devices (eg, the PromethION), they've moved outright to a "we lend you the device for free, you buy the consumables" model.

There is some exciting work around this flow cells to create something more durable. It would be really interesting to be able to buy something like that and use it in schools/personal hacks without worrying about small mistakes in the sample.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanopore#Inorganic https://nanoporetech.com/how-it-works/types-of-nanopores

IIRC you even have to send back the used flow cells to buy new ones so they can keep prices down.

Yep that’s the one. They update the flow cells over time. The bit they don’t tell you is the stuff you need, like a qubit, to properly run the thing.

A qubit or fluorometer isn't required. You can use a simple DNA ladder to measure the relative quantity and quality of DNA that's good enough for nanopore sequencing. I just did a full genome sequence of a novel fungus using this exact approach.

Huh, interesting. Did you fragment? I’d imagine comparison of high weight gDNA wouldn’t be too nice on a gel.

You also still, in that case, need a gelbox + ladder + loading dye + sybrsafe or whatever, so it’s still not nothing.

I did a HMW extraction kit on the DNA and used a gel to estimate the volume of HMW DNA. Yes, you need to be able to run a gel, but I'm not sure what the expectation is from folks; that you just place a random piece of non-sterile tissue on a chip and have it do the extraction, sequencing and assembly? That seems like an unrealistic expectation.

They do work on an extraction flowcell that can be added on top. I’m hoping they can make it as easy as adding sample to a well, at least for blood or saliva.

If you're talking about the voltrax, you still need to pipette reagents in at the right times. They don't really talk about it in their advertising, but it's basically just to make mixing consistent when you have under-trained techs. Definitely will get there eventually, but I don't know if they are working on that right now.

It is unrealistic but for laymen like me, that's the impression I got from the title.

So, for about 1000$ I can sequence my DNA at home without giving the data away?

You can get a usable partial genome at home using a minion (provided you have access to basic lab equipment and consumables, like pipettes, a microcentrifuge, gel electrophoresis kit) for about $2.5k, and a fairly decent one for $5k (about 22x coverage - not perfect but plenty for most purposes).

https://nanoporetech.com/about-us/news/human-genome-minion

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