Spartan DX personal DNA tester goes for a mere $15k
By Paul Miller 
posted June 13th 2007 12:18PM
posted June 13th 2007 12:18PM
Just we always wanted, a DNA tester to call our very own! We've been waiting for them to break that crucial $15k pricepoint, and now Spartan Bioscience has finally accomplished such a feat with its Spartan DX Personal DNA Analyzer. The thing can do 4 samples at a time, and takes about 30 minutes to run a Polymerase Chain Reaction to identify the perp. Unfortunately, Spartan claims the device isn't approved for anything beyond research use, but that shouldn't stop us from doing a bit of home-based forensics: no more name calling, we'll know once and for all who stole the cookie from the Engadget HQ cookie jar.[Via Gadget Lab]
Wow, and you get a free iPod nano with every purchase! Sign me up!
LIES!
Sweet! I can finally find out which kids are actually mine!
I want it...
Not that I would be able to use it for anything, but being rich and all I'm always looking for stuff like this to spend my millions on. I already bought one of those porsche drills...this (along with my iPhone(s)) will be the perfect thing to stuff the stockings at Christmas Time.
This is just a low volume Thermal Cycler: a relatively cheap machine common to labs since the 80s. You can buy a higher volume Thermal Cycler (96 samples) for just a little more.
One example:
http://www.vwrsp.com/catalog/product/index.cgi?catalog_number=62111-416&inE=1&highlight=62111-416
While it is not a bad machine, it is nothing special.
It's actually a Real-Time PCR instrument which is a much more advanced instrument that contains a CCD camera that measures flouresence during PCR reactions and has a variety of uses.
This is absolutely not a "personal DNA tester" in any sense, and I think the company is just trying to get their name out there.
who me?
Couldn't be!
"Spartan claims the device isn't approved for anything beyond research use"
Device is for entertainment purposes only.
I am a researcher in a cancer lab, and I can tell you this isn't special at all. PCR has been around for many years now and someone already won a Nobel price for it. But seeing the cost of the machine, maybe people will understand why more funding is needed for research in this country.
Well I assume the big difference is that you can take this one into the field, hence personal. 15K isn't a fantastic price for a PCR machine. You can find noname brand ones from China in the 3-5K range and they'll do 96 samples at a time. You'll need to find an outlet though.
Maury will take 2
You guys realize that this is a REAL TIME pcr machine. Not your common thermocycler. But still useless for home use since you first need to extract clean RNA or DNA, and buy primers, probes, fluorescent markers, buffers....
yeah, it's just an uninpiring thermocycler...
Ok, this is a PCR machine with a fluorometer built in essentially. It's integrated with some sort of software to plot data and shit, which is nice. I think that this will have the most function as a thermocycler in undergraduate labs for teaching. The fluorometry is nice too, but all in all, this is grossly overpriced.
The real time aspect would make changes in mRNA expression easy to visualize though. But yeah...this is a good idea for a rich undergrad lab.
Whatever, it doesn't matter. RT-PCR or PCR, it's a lab equipment. And it's not reserved for an undergraduate lab. Everybody uses PCR.
Uh that reminds me those dna checker at the entrance of buildings in Gattaca.
The Spartan DX was designed in response to demand from microbiologists because they often have 1 or 2 samples and want rapid yes/no DNA results for bacteria and viruses. e.g. do you have chlamydia or not?
Batched real-time PCR machines range in price from about $35-150K, with most coming in around $40-50K. Therefore, a price of $15K for the non-batched Spartan DX is reasonable as a complement to the batched machines.
DNA chemicals are coming down in price. You can order master mix kits online that let you test samples for about $3/reaction. It is now possible for motivated home hobbyists to build their own personal molecular biology labs:
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7854327
P.S. I work at Spartan Bioscience