We've all seen first hand that technology is getting smaller and smaller every year. What is true for consumer technology is also true for research technologies and scientific equipment. When I used to work at the National Institutes of Health, I noticed that a lot of complex equipment, from gene sequencers to spectrographs, get smaller and smaller with each new model, and many are already small enough to sit on a lab bench. The Spartan DX DNA Scanner is an example of rapidly shrinking technology. The device can take up to 4 DNA samples and scan them for commonly known hereditary and congenital illnesses in up to 30 minutes, shrinking the time down by hours and days from previous DNA scanners.

The device is small enough to fit on a desktop, and while it's not approved for clinical or laboratory work yet, the Spartan DX is designed for small labs and advertised for "research purposes" only. When the Spartan DX is approved for clinical research, it could save labs time and money by providing them a small, easy to use DNA tester that can analyze multiple samples at a time and provide rapid results. It costs just under $15,000, and the manufacturer is giving away a free iPod Nano with each purchase, in case you needed some extra incentive.

[ via SciFi Tech ]