A DNA microarray (commonly known as gene chip, DNA chip, or biochip)
It is a collection of microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid surface. DNA microarray that reveals expression levels of 2,400 human genes. DNA microarray analysis is one of the fastest–growing new technologies in the field of genetic research.
DNA technology is the chemical manipulation of the genotypes and resulting phenotypes of organisms such that living organisms are modified. (Genotype is the genetic make–up of an organism and phenotype is the physical appearance of an organism). The use of DNA technology has revolutionized how scientists study genetics, biochemistry, even ecology and evolutionary biology of organisms, plus has allowed the development of novel biological products, indeed whole industries are now devoted to DNA–technology based production and analysis of biological materials.
One of the great achievements of modern science has been the sequencing of the human genome, which was largely completed by 2003. The sequencing of the first complete genome, that of a bacterium, had been achieved in previous years. During the intervening years, researchers accelerated the pace of DNA sequencing, while working on other genomes, aided by the development of faster and faster sequencing machines.
These sequencing accomplishments have all depended on advances in DNA technology, starting with the invention of methods for making recombinant DNA. This is DNA in which nucleotide sequences from different sources – often different species – are combined in vitro into the same DNA molecule. The methods for making recombinant DNA are central to genetic engineering, the direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes. Applications of genetic engineering include the manufacture of hundreds of protein products, such as hormones and blood–clotting factors. Using DNA technology, scientists can make recombinant DNA and then introduce it into cultured cells that replicate the DNA and express its genes, yielding a desired protein.