Talk:DNA microarray: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:43, 12 May 2019

Revision as of 20:53, 30 August 2019

Line 264:

Under the Data analysis section is "...in the case of commercial platforms, the analysis may be proprietary.[citation needed] "

Here is one citation, where the company clearly states their algorithm is proprietary: [http://prosigna.com/x-us/overview/prosigna-algorithm/] <!-- Template:Unsigned IP --><small class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/184.100.44.130|184.100.44.130]] ([[User talk:184.100.44.130#top|talk]]) 00:29, 9 June 2017 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->

== Huh? ==

I like to think of myself as fairly scientifically literate, but after skimming through this page, and a couple of other web descriptions, I still don't understand what DNA chips are.

The most fundamental issue to explain seems missing: is this an actual biological sample taken from a living being (human or whatever) that's somehow affixed to a solid surface, or is this a purely synthetic pattern affixed to a microscope slide or other support? If the latter, why not just encode it into a computer program, why bother with a physical form at all?

I think that the people who've written about this (here on Wikipedia and elsewhere) know too much about the subject, and don't know how to introduce it to an audience who know nothing about it. I think the page should start with a much more basic explanation of what's being discussed.