Gene Sequencing Supercomputer Can Help Save Lives

A supercomputer has been recruited to help analyze the genetic causes of some major diseases. With its help, scientists claim they may be able to unravel the mystery of some diseases in a matter of days.

A supercomputer, fondly called "Beagle," has been recruited by University of Chicago researchers for the use in analyzing human genomes suspected to be behind many of the world's most infamous diseases and conditions. The computer, named after the ship that Charles Darwin took on his historic journey to the Galapagos Islands, can analyze and collect data on 240 complete human genomes in only two days.

The benefit of this? For one, it saves time. According to an analysis of Beagle's use in the journal Bioinformatics, it used to take scientists months to analyze a single human genome. For another, it can indirectly save lives. According to the publication, gene behavior and defect has been found as the cause behind numerous lethal diseases and life-altering conditions. Oftentimes locating and understanding these genes can mean the development of some groundbreaking treatment options.

Beagle has also allowed the practice of gene analysis to stretch its curative legs a little, getting out of the lab, and directly into a patient's hospital room. The author of the analysis in Bioinformatics, Megan Pucklewartz noted that with the speed and vastness of the supercomputer's gene sequencing ability, analysis of the human genome can suddenly be used as a diagnosis technique, determining if an illness is genetically caused in only a handful of days -- just enough time for testing for viral causes to also report in.

Of course, as things stand, Beagle will be primarily used as an extremely effective research tool, helping speed along studies of multiple genetic conditions and illnesses in record time. There is only one, after all.

The analysis also noted that beagle currently is only used to analyze 2 percent of the total human DNA sequence. Thankfully, 85 percent of all genetic disorders originate from problems in this region, making the focus on that part of the sequence worthwhile.

It will be a long time coming before supercomputers like beagle are seen in every treatment center in America, but with leaps and bounds being made in advancing computer technology every year, I certainly won't be the first to tell you not to hold your breath.

The analysis was published in Bioinformatics on February 12.