How long does it take to sequence DNA?
142768
Some of the best DNA sequencing machines out there move at about 600Kb per 8 hour shifts...\n\nIf we compare this to the Human Genome, then we get the following basic equation:\n\nThere is about 3 billion base pairs in a single genome, thus equaling 3,000,000 kb to be sequenced.\n\nFor this single machine, it would take (assuming non-stop function)\n\n3000,000Kb/600Kb = 5000\n\nTherefore, given a top of the line machine, the human genome could be sequenced in forty thousand hours, or a little over 109 years. That's why they use a lot of machines to do sequencing... or just use small parts of a single Chromatid.
1182355
Remember this: \n\nRNA (A, U, G, C)\nDNA (T, A, C, G)\n\nDNA has sequence: T-C-A-T-C-G \nmRNA would be c) : A-G-U-A-G-C
737412
Normal red blood cells have a life of about 120 days, and do not have a nucleus, so DNA is extremely minimal. White blood cells, which do have a nucleus, last about 10 days. Transfused blood has had most of the white cells taken out, and does not last as long as your own blood when transfused. So the amount of time it would take for the donor DNA to be cleared from the body would be days, not years. I believe that a swab from the inside of the mouth would circumvent any problems involving blood transfusion and DNA, anyway.
289750
DNA contains in the code itself a remarkable system of redundancy and mutability that allow it to evolve rapidly while protecting against lethal combinations.  This system seems to have been in DNA since the earliest organisms, and has been passed from organism to organism relatively unchanged for 2 billion years.\n\nRead the full article below for all the particulars.
397119
I think analyzing the information in DNA has come along way.  This information can be useful for numerous advances in medicine, one being determining ones predisposition of developing certain diseases.  This analysis can take quite a long time but researches are currently working on ways to speed this up, hopefully to less than 1 day.  You can see this article in New Scientist for a further information.  http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9001&feedId=online-news_rss20
1154963
"DNA" testing is not sequence testing.  DNA is made up of nucleic acids (A, C, G, T).  In typical testing, the sample (blood, saliva, hair, skin) is treated so that the DNA material within the cells are extracted.  However, to actually sequence it against a known sample would take ages (i.e. the human genome project).  What forensics testing does is actually subject DNA material to enzymes that make specific cuts in the DNA strands that result in "characteristic" fragments or pieces in the DNA (in regions with high inter-individual variability).  So when these fragments are identified, it is matched against others who may or may not have the same fragment patterns (i.e. 1 out of 20,000 people will have an identical pattern).
91642
- with PCR you amplify a DNA sequence (like ATGGTAGCATGATC etc etc etc)\n- P = polymerase (thats the name of the enzyme that does the amplification\n- C = chain (there are actually two chains: first the chain of nucleotides ATGGAGACCCTAetc and second the chain of polymerization reactions)\n- R = the enzymatic amplification reaction\n- you can only do a PCR with a DNA double strand, because you need two starter oligonucleotides that bind to the initial template that you want to amplify; they resemble a short DNA sequence of the complementary (opposite) strand; they work best when they have a length between 18 and 20 nucleotides. When you do a PCR, you will most likely know the sequence of these oligonucleotides and you will order them from a company who designs them for you (you just give them the sequence you desire and they make them fo you)\n- so when you do a PCR, you have to offer the polymerase enzyme some material so that it can work: i.e. the template DNA that you want amplified, the starter oligonucleotides and especially the single nucleotides A, T, G, C\n\n- for RFLP you will need an enzyme that cuts the DNA strand\n- restrictions enzymes cut specific sites\n- they have names like BamHI EcoRI etc etc etc\n- example: BamHI cuts at the site GGATCC and only there\n- so when you have a DNA sequence that is, say 2000 basepairs long, and you have only one GGATCC, the enzyme will cut only once. If the DNA sequence was linear (i.e. it has two ends like a sausage) then you will get 2 DNA fragments. If your DNA is circular, you will get one fragment\n- so think in larger dimensions: if you cut a tremendously long DNA sequnece, you will have more GGATCC sites, consequently you will get more fragments.\n- so if you know your sequence, you can just do your simple math calculations and predict the fragments and their lengths: from the fist GGATCC to the second its, for example 10,010 basepairs, from the second to the third xxx and so on\n\n- R = restriction (cutting the DNA strand into pieces)\n- F = fragment (the pieces of DNA that arise when cutting the large one)\n- L = length (the different lentgs of DNA pieces that arise during the cutting)\n- P = polymorphism (referring to the fragment pattern when comparing them to the pattern of different samples)\n- the actual RFLP comparisons are made in the gel, because sometimes you don't have the exact DNA sequence of every DNA you want to analyze\n- for example, you cut the genomic DNA of two or more related bacterial species. And lets say you will know the exact sequence of only one of them. For that one you can make predictions about fragment lengths based on your calculations. For the others you can't, because maybe they have mutations in their sequences.\n- so when you compare the fragments to each other and to the one you initially precalculated, you might find that the other related species reveal different fragments. That means the sequences af the repated species have alterations in the site where the restriction enzyme was supposed to cut.\n- So the interpretation will be that specific DNA sites have an altered sequence to the sequence that was given to you\n- you can also make predictions about total mutations in the DNA, if you know how long the total DNA was and if you know how many restrictions sites there are and how many were not cut with a specific enzyme
908066
Blood, germs, viruses. Think it twice. It takes a hell of a long time.
729453
K.C.'s answer works if you have a selective media that will work. Also (or in addition to that) you may want to plate out colonies and then PCR out a unique sequence or two.\n\nThis wouldn't be definitive but if you design your primers right it may work, but also may be very time consuming.\n\nAlso you may want to try restriction digests to remap your gene. This would work well, if you have a good map.\n\nGood luck, what a bummer
828458
Maybe a week. I had this done a long time ago and it didn't take long at all.
114315
Polymerase Chain Reaction allows for massive production of DNA sequences for study. Most DNA sequencing begins with a PCR amplification and purification. Using PCR requires an understanding of the correct DNA primers for proper annealing and duplication. The link below would help.
905906
It takes three bases of DNA to make one codon.  So it would take three phosphates, three sugars and three of C,T,G,A.  Google DNA Codon table if you want to encode a codon for a specific amino acid.
116584
The PCR process consists of a series of twenty to thirty cycles. Each cycle consists of three steps \n\n The double-stranded DNA has to be heated to 94-96°C in order to separate the strands. This step is called denaturing; it breaks apart the hydrogen bonds that connect the two DNA strands. Prior to the first cycle, the DNA is often denatured for an extended time to ensure that both the template DNA and the primers have completely separated and are now single-strand only. Time: 1-2 minutes.\n\n\nAfter separating the DNA strands, the temperature is lowered so the primers can attach themselves to the single DNA strands. This step is called annealing. The temperature of this stage depends on the primers and is usually 5°C below their melting temperature (45-60°C). A wrong temperature during the annealing step can result in primers not binding to the template DNA at all, or binding at random. Time: 1-2 minutes.\n\nFinally, the DNA-Polymerase has to fill in the missing strands. It starts at the annealed primer and works its way along the DNA strand. This step is called extension. The extension temperature depends on the DNA-Polymerase. The time for this step depends both on the DNA-Polymerase itself and on the length of the DNA fragment to be amplified. As a rule-of-thumb, 1 minute per 1000bp.\n\n\nRestriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) is a technique in which organisms may be differentiated by analysis of patterns derived from cleavage of their DNA. If two organisms differ in the distance between sites of cleavage of a particular restriction endonuclease, the length of the fragments produced will differ when the DNA is digested with a restriction enzyme. The similarity of the patterns generated can be used to differentiate species (and even strains) from one another.
145915
Stick the sequences in a computer and tell it to look for stretches of a certain length where a certain percent of the nucleotides match.  How close a match and how long a sequence depends on exactly what you're looking for.
15299
25,000\n\n\nTypical numbers of genes in an organism\n\nThe following table gives typical numbers of genes and genome size for some organisms. Estimates of the number of genes in an organism are somewhat controversial because they depend on the discovery of genes, and no techniques currently exist to prove that a DNA sequence contains no gene. (In early genetics, genes could be identified only if there were mutations, or alleles.) Nonetheless, estimates are made based on current knowledge.\n\n\norganism genes base pairs\nPlant <50,000 <1011\nHuman, mouse or rat 25,000 3×109\nFruit Fly 13,767 1.3×108\nHoney bee 15,000 3×108\nWorm 19,000 9.7×107\nFungus 6,000 1.3×107\nBacterium 500–6,000 5×105–107\nMycoplasma genitalium 500 580,000\nDNA virus 10–900 5,000–800,000\nRNA virus 1–25 1,000–23,000\nViroid 0–1 ~500
944540
Probing is based on hybridization techniques.  \n\nIf you will allow, I will describe some of the basics in this commonly used assay.\n\nLet's say, for example that you wanted to know if a genome from a particular person contained a mutation.  And that you already knew what the mutation sequence was.  \n\nYou would purchase an probe (a short stretch of DNA that would be at least 20 bases long, that's been modified with a indicator molecule) in the anti-sense sequence of what your probing.  \n\nIn theory, when the anti-sense sequence (or more commonly called the probe), finds its sense sequence, it will bind to it match (this is the hybridization step).\n\nThe indicator molecule that is co-valently attached to the probe would be something like a radio-isotope, or a fluorescent molecule.  It is used to visually indicate that the probe has, indeed, found it's complimentary sequence.  \n\nWhere the hybridization takes place has changed through out the years.  \n\nClassically the assay was performed in an agarose gel, where the DNA would travel according to its size.  Then the probe would be washed over the agarose gel, and allowed to hybridize to the genomic DNA.  \n\nI never did it this way (so I may be missing a step).  I did mine on glass slides.  \n\nThere a lot variations on this step.  Some where the probe is immobilized and fixed in location, and some where the "test" DNA is immobilized and fixed in location.\n\nIt is improtant to know which one is immobilized. Because then you know which way to orient things. \n\nAlso it is really important to control the salt concentration during the hybridization step. A high salt concentration (along with other factors like low temperature, pH) encourages DNA (probe and "test" DNA) to bind together.  I'll say it again:  High salts encourage specific hybridization to occur.\n\nDuring this hybridization step, you'll also be adding an enzyme which will co-valently (and permanently) bind the probe to the DNA.\n\nAfter a good amount time, allowing for hybridization and co-valent attachment to occur, you'll do some wash steps.  The wash steps remove any unbound probe (the probe is always added in huge amounts compared to your "test" DNA) from the assay.  \n\nThis step is also critical, because it will allow you to "read" the final results with greater acuity.  In other words, you'll have less false positive results.\n\nThe wash steps are done with lower salt concentrations.  Just the opposite of the hybridization step, with the goal of removing any probes that have inadvertently attached to the "test" DNA imperfectly without co-valent attachment.\n\nNow its time to read the results. The "read out" method is based on the molecule you attached to your probe. So if you had a fluorescent probe, you will use a fluorescent reader.  If you chose an isotope, you'll use a radio-graphic technique.\n\nEarlier I mentioned this example would be a method to detect a mutation in the genome of a patient (but you vary this method to detect a lot of different things).  So if you saw something "glowing" in your read out, then you could assume that the patient had the mutation.  If you saw no "glow" then you could assume the patient did not possess the mutation.\n\nIn reality, when one visualizes a positive result, they usually follow it up with a more sensitive test.  \n\nProbing nucleic acids is a quick way to screen for one thing on many samples. \n\nBut it can be a good way to probe one sample for many different things.  You would be limited by how many unique indicator molecules you can have (and afford) to have on your many probes that would give you unique signal.\n\nI had fun thinking about your question.  Please pass on the good Karma!
847587
There are 3,000,000,000 base pairs in the human genome, in EVERY SINGLE CELL.  There are 10^14 cells in the human body, and many of them divide.  Many of them divide MANY times.  So for every cell that divides, 3,000,000,000 base pairs of DNA need to be replicated.  Replication is not a computer, it is molecules, and mistakes are made all the time.  We have mechanisms that repair mistakes, but sometimes mistakes fall through the cracks.\n\nNow, of the 3,000,000,000 base pairs, only 3% of that falls into coding regions (of 25,000-30,000 genes).  A huge majority of DNA serves little function, and this might be explained by simple probabilities by evolution.  If such a small portion of DNA is in coding regions, then there is only a 3/100 chance that a mutation will occur within a coding region.  Of course there are other regions of DNA that are important, but still, mutations in a huge portion of DNA will show no effect.