Biology, Computing, and the History of Molecular Sequencing

Miguel Garcia-Sancho obtained his Ph.D. at Imperial College London, UK, and has worked at the University of Manchester and Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). He is currently a Chancellor's Fellow at the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies of the University of Edinburgh. His interests lay in the history and social studies of twentieth century biomedicine, as well as science communication and free-lance scientific journalism.

Introduction: An Historical Approach to Sequencing PART I: EMERGENCE: FREDERICK SANGER'S PIONEERING TECHNIQUES (1943-1977) The Sequence of Insulin and the Configuration of a New Biochemical Form of Work (1943-1962) From Chemical Degradation to Biological Replication (1962-1977) PART II: MECHANISATION – 1: COMPUTING AND THE AUTOMATION OF SEQUENCE RECONSTRUCTION (1962-1987) Sequencing Software and the Shift in the Practice of Computation Sequence Databases and the Emergence of 'Information Engineers' PART III: MECHANISATION – 2: THE SEQUENCER AND THE AUTOMATION OF SEQUENCE CONSTRUCTION (1980-2000) A New Approach to Sequencing at Caltech The Commercialisation of the DNA Sequencer Conclusions: A Long History of Practices Appendix 1: Oral Histories Appendix 2: Archival Sources Notes Bibliography