Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Chinese Lab Speeds Through Genome Processing With GPUs

Posted by timothy on from the looking-for-the-reset-button dept.

Eric Smalley writes "The world's largest genome sequencing center once needed four days to analyze data describing a human genome. Now it needs just six hours. The trick is servers built with graphics chips — the sort of processors that were originally designed to draw images on your personal computer. They're called graphics processing units, or GPUs — a term coined by chip giant Nvidia. This fall, BGI — a mega lab headquartered in Shenzhen, China — switched to servers that use GPUs built by Nvidia, and this slashed its genome analysis time by more than an order of magnitude."

5 of 408 comments (clear)

  1. The Future Is Here!! by mastershake82 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like these newfangled "GPUs" are gonna change the world.

  2. News for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always wondered what GPUs are. Thanks Slashdot!

    1. Re:News for nerds by galanom · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, it's "Guinea Pig Units"

    2. Re:News for nerds by nevillethedevil · · Score: 3, Funny
      I thought it was 'Gnomes Processing Underpants' and that we finally had that elusive missing step

      1. Steal underpants
      2. Process underpants
      3. Profit

      --
      Be gone from my sight or prepare to feel my flaming wraith!
  3. For the curious... by Cow+Jones · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... this is what a Chinese lab looks like.

    --

    Ah, arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari