RNA sequencing

UK-based Oxford Nanopore Technologies devised a system to directly sequence RNA with a device called the MinION, where electrical current is applied across a nanoscale molecular pore and current fluctuations detect the RNA sequence as the RNA molecule snakes through the pore. This RNA sequencing device was used by NASA on the International Space StationInternational Space Station because NASA is interested in using it to identify on board microorganisms and to monitor changes in human health or microbiomes and also the possibility of detecting life based on DNA or RNA elsewhere in the universe.