IBM is getting in on the $1,000 genome race — and plan to bring that cost even lower, to $100. The company's approach is based on what it calls "DNA transistor," reports the New York Times. (Our sister publication GenomeWeb Daily News covers this here.) IBM plans to develop a silicon-based system containing a million nanopores through which DNA can be ratcheted to sequence a genome in a few hours. "To bring about an era of personalized medicine, it isn't enough to know the DNA of an average person," says IBM's Gustavo Stolovitzky. "As a community, it became clear we need to make efforts to sequence in a way that is fast and cheap." However, Elaine Mardis tells the Times that previous attempts to develop a silicon-based nanopore system didn't pan out. "DNA strands seem to have a mind of their own," she says.