Making Chips to Probe Genes Biochips are now a critical tool for
analyzing the human genome--and a lucrative product attracting
technology giants Over a decade of rapid advances in biology has
swept an avalanche of genetic information into scientists' laps.
But analysis of so vast an input, whether to deduce the inner
workings of cells or to diagnose diseases, would be impractical
without high-throughput technologies. Of these, DNA microarrays
are in the lead. These gene chips or biochips, to use their
popular name, allow scientists to look for the presence,
productivity, or sequence of thousands of genes at a time. Just
five years ago, no practical method could do that. Analysts
predict the US $300 million market in DNA microarrays will leap
ahead by about 50 percent per year through 2005. Currently, one
company, Affymetrix Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., dominates the
market. But as microarrays have caught on among others,
Affymetrix has found itself embroiled in patent disputes with a
host of other life science