Researchers sequenced and assembled the E.coli bacteria from scratch with the device.

TORONTO, June 15 (UPI) -- Researchers sequenced and assembled the full genome of the bacteria Escherichia Coli, or E.coli, using nanopore sequencing data and a device the size of a cell phone.

The device, the MinION, manufactured by the U.K.-based Oxford Nanopore, uses ionic currents passed through nanopores, nanoscale holes on a chip, to decipher the genome and the device uses a three step process to assemble the genome based on physical data gathered from the nanopore.

Samples are dropped into the device, which can be plugged into a laptop using a USB cable. DNA is read as it is unzipped while passing through nanopores in the device. The proteins in DNA cause unique changes in an ionic current, which are detected and recorded by the device. Each of these changes represents a protein in the DNA.
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The device, which can be plugged into the USB port of a laptop, is designed to allow real-time genome sequencing in doctor's offices or on-site during an emergency.

Researchers said they expect over time to be able to quickly sequence larger and larger organisms genomes, including humans.

"Long reads are necessary to assemble the most repetitive parts of genomes but we need a lot of reads if we want to sequence human genomes. The small size of the MinION suggests there is room to scale up and sequence larger and more complex samples," said Dr. Jared Simpson, Principal Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research.

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Does this mean I can finally have my prehensile tail and retractable claws?