A pocket test for a person’s genetic profile is on the way. Affymetrix, a
company in Santa Clara, California, is putting copies of all 6200 genes in
baker’s yeast onto a thumbnail-size chip. After applying fluorescently tagged
RNA from one yeast to the chip, a researcher can identify the active genes by
checking any glowing spots.
Eventually a chip could be produced for any organism whose entire gene
sequence is known—and this will soon include humans.
