Sequencing single molecules of DNA

Massachusetts company has published data from a DNA sequencer that can read individual letters from single molecules of DNA. The machine, produced by Helicos BioSciences, is the first of a new generation of devices, called single-molecule DNA sequencers, to enter the market.
Single-molecule approaches are widely regarded as the future of sequencing, because they do not require the DNA to be 'amplified' (copied into multiple, identical strands) before it is sequenced. The amplification step can introduce errors into the sequence and does not work well for some DNA fragments, making it difficult to sequence a genome’s full complement of DNA.
By avoiding these complications, single-molecule approaches may reduce the time and the cost of sequencing an individual’s genome. “They're cool,” says Edward Rubin, director of the US Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute, a genome-sequencing facility in Walnut Creek, California. “Eventually, single-molecule sequencing will be what we use.”