sentences:  The roots of Applied Biosystems trace back to GeneCo (Genetic Systems Company), a pioneer biotechnology company founded in 1981 in Foster City, California.Through the 1980s and early 1990s, Applied Biosystems, Inc. operated independently and manufactured biochemicals and automated genetic engineering and diagnostic research instruments, including the principal brand of DNA sequencing machine used by the Human Genome Project consortium centers.Applied Biosystems' close ties to the consortium project led to the idea for the founding of Celera Genomics in 1998 as one of several independent competitors to the consortium.