This machine can sequence your DNA for just $1,000

Even a decade ago, sequencing a genetic code would set you back around $250,000. The target, of course, has been to crunch that figure down to a morereasonable sum, and now a company believes that it can do it for just $1,000 a go. Illumina Inc. has announced that the $10 million HiSeq X Ten kit will crank out tens of thousands of genomes per year. Even better, is that the $1,000 figure includes the hefty price for the hardware -- which is hoped will kickstart a new era of genetic research. Naturally, the first customers include the Harvard-MIT Broad institute and Regeneron, with the latter planning to use the tech to develop cheap new drugs to heal our ailing bodies.