What is NextGen Sequencing

In brief, NextGen Sequencing is a method of sequence analysis that enables high-throughput sequencing at relatively low cost. For example, the price of sequencing a typical PCR fragment (say 500 to 900 bp) using traditional Sanger-based methods is somewhere between $5 and $10 yielding 500 to 900 bp of sequence. Let's say $0.01/bp. On our last Illumina/Solexa run we obtained 15 million reads of average size 80 bp for a cost of approximately $2000. That works out to about $0.0000017/bp or 6,000 x cheaper than Sanger!

To see how the Illumina platform works check out this Illumina video

So how does this change the way we do science? That's next.