Scientists hail new mobile handheld DNA reader that tracks diseases from anywhere

An inexpensive handheld device that can read strands of DNA has been hailed as revolutionary by scientists who tested the product.

The palm-sized sequencer gives researchers the power to analyse DNA almost anywhere, and could help track disease outbreaks, run checks on food, and combat the trafficking of endangered animals.

The gadget marks a major step towards what Mark Akeson, a co-inventor at the University of California Santa Cruz, called “the democratisation of sequencing”, where anyone can gather and process DNA samples for themselves.

Scientists have scores of projects in mind, but some future uses of the technology will inevitably be controversial. More advanced versions of the DNA reader could, for example, be used to mimic tests in the film Gattaca , where stands of hair are analysed to assess the genetic suitability of potential space flight personnel from an elite group.

The 10cm-long, 90g device, named MinION by its British developers, Oxford Nanopore, has already been used by some scientists. In April, a team in Guinea read the genomes of 14 Ebola samples within 48 hours of them being taken from patients. Early next year, astronauts are due to use gadget to read DNA for the first time on the International Space Station.

“This is so revolutionary,” said David Buck at the Oxford Genomics Centre. “If you’re a fan of Star Trek, you can think of it as getting close to having a tricorder in your hand.”

In a report published on Thursday, an international team of researchers, including Buck, describe a series of experiments that put MinION through its paces. Though an earlier prototype suffered from technical glitches, they found the latest version performed well.