[janejane]

ECO, I actually think you might be okay leaving "next generation" in the tag line. I mean, we are always going to be discussing the "next generation" (plus some of the last generation, probably).

I like the idea of always having the "next gen" name.

[kedes]

It will be "XGen": Before X PRIZE, After X PRIZE

How to identify sequencing technologies will become straightforward after some team demonstrates they can win the $10M Archon Genomic X PRIZE <http://genomics.xprize.org/>. The stringent requirements of the AGXP will distinguish all platforms capable of achieving such goals and henceforth sequencing platforms would be identified as “X PRIZE Capable” versus those that are not.

Larry Kedes
Senior Advisor. X PRIZE Foundation
Scientific Director, Archon Genomic X PRIZE

[Joann]

Oh, the gels I have poured....

I did not have any bubble problems with acrylamide gels--would simply degas a solution of 5x recrystalized acrylamide before pouring....

Additionally, I've made purified whole protein samples, but never got to perform sequencing on those. Protein sequencing provided us the first glimpse at evolutionary conservation and those isoforms in action. Now we have the short course.

[GW_OK]

How about Age of Aquarius Sequencing? We could all grow our hair out, it'd be groovy.

[[email protected]]

Which generation?

By my count Sanger is 3rd generation. The 1st nucleic acid sequence I remember was a tRNA sequence obtained by analysis of nuclease products on 2D thin layer chromatography. Then Maxam-Gilbert chemical sequencing emerged as the 1st tractable way to sequence longer stretches of DNA (how many or you know how to pour a meter long, 0.5mm thick polyacrylamide gel with no bubbles?). Then came the Sanger method which was much less finicky than chemical sequencing and ruled for more or less a human generation (albeit with technical improvements like switching to capillary electrophoresis along the way).

Now what you have is the parallel evolution of a variety of different technologies. I think the generational analogy has broken down. Perhaps a speciation analogy is more applicable now. I don't see single molecule sequencing as the next wave per se, rather each technology competing now has a niche application and often two technologies need to be combined to do a particular job well.

[GW_OK]

"All samples will undergo Markedly Faster and Slightly Longer Than Last Year sequencing to identify rare variants".

[ECO]

OK, so how about LBP (little bitty pieces) sequencing?

Not all technologies are short read.

[Joann]

LBP sequencing

OK, so how about LBP (little bitty pieces) sequencing?

[steven]

the acronym is not the sexiest though..

[GW_OK]

I like it, too. "All samples will undergo Markedly Faster Than Last Year sequencing to identify rare variants".

[ECO]

"Next Generation" does have a nicer ring to it than "Markedly Faster than Last Year (but wait until next year)"

Winner!

SEQanswers: The Markedly Faster than Last Year Sequencing Community

[krobison]

"Next Generation" does have a nicer ring to it than "Markedly Faster than Last Year (but wait until next year)"

[flxlex]

I think we should just call all the new (non-sanger) stuff "high-throughput sequencing."

Sequencing centers with massive numbers of capillary sequencer were (are?) sequencing at high-throughput also, IMO. So, I vote for sticking with 'Next-Generation'...

[kmcarr]

Doesn't the Ion Torrent technology rely on pulses of nucleotides just like 454? In that sense it is not "real time".

perhaps a better term than "real time" is "continuous data acquisition" -- this distinguishes PacBio and LifeTech/Visigen from any of the extant platforms (and Ion Torrent, if I'm correct)

You're correct. I don't know what I was thinking of when I wrote that. I'll amend the original post.

[krobison]

Doesn't the Ion Torrent technology rely on pulses of nucleotides just like 454? In that sense it is not "real time".

perhaps a better term than "real time" is "continuous data acquisition" -- this distinguishes PacBio and LifeTech/Visigen from any of the extant platforms (and Ion Torrent, if I'm correct)