View Press Releases
Graz University of Technology enhances their genome analysis capability with the addition of TimeLogic’s FPGA-based Biocomputing platform
CARLSBAD, CA, UNITED STATES - Nov 28, 2016 - Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has added TimeLogics latest Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) hardware to their computational tools platform. This sophisticated technology will help TU Graz scientists in their efforts to identify DNA markers for chronic diseases and develop rapid and cost-effective screening systems for the presence of particular DNA Sequences in the environment.
TimeLogics DeCypher systems greatly increase the speed of sequence comparison by combining custom field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuitry with optimized implementations of BLAST, Smith-Waterman, Hidden Markov Model and gene modeling algorithms. With the inclusion of this hardware from TimeLogic, TU Graz researchers have significantly enhanced their high-throughput genome annotation efforts. According to Michael Murray, Manager of Sales & Marketing for TimeLogic products at Active Motif, Our customer at TU Graz, Dr. Christoph Sensen has been a TimeLogic customer for a long time and were thrilled that hes chosen to incorporate our latest FPGA hardware revision into his sizeable compute facility.
Ted DeFrank, President of Active Motif added, Recent advances in next-generation DNA sequencing technology have created great opportunities for our TimeLogic division and, as a result, Active Motif is investing heavily in this portion of our business. In addition to a major hardware revision, TimeLogic has several additional projects ongoing and we are excited about their continuation as we strive to further strengthen our position as the leader in the field of FPGA-accelerated Biocomputing solutions.
Dr. Christoph Sensen, head of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology at TU Graz added, We now operate 17 TimeLogic boards overall, including one of the latest FPGA models, which allows us to accelerate our next-generation genomics research projects tremendously when compared to generic compute facilities, while at the same time maintaining a small footprint especially with respect to energy consumption. Right now, our lab is the only facility in Austria which is equipped with this advanced computational infrastructure. Especially for our research on serum-based diagnostic markers for chronic diseases in humans, production animals and pets, we have incorporated the capabilities of the TimeLogic machines into our discovery pipeline at this point in time, giving us acceleration levels between 20- and 1000-fold when compared to generic compute equipment.
About Graz University of Technology (TU Graz)
Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has built up an impressive record of achievements in teaching and research over 200 years. Five areas of strength - the Five Fields of Expertise - go to form the unmistakeable academic fingerprint of the Styrian University located in the heart of Europe.
Currently, some 13,200 students from almost 100 countries take advantage of a full range of science and engineering subjects in seven faculties and some 100 institutes - their fingers on the pulse of the times through close networks with cutting-edge research. Around 2,400 graduates leave the University each year and find superb career opportunities on the job market.
The powerful network of TU Graz with industry, business and research leads to extraordinarily successful co-operations, such as NAWI Graz, BioTechMed-Graz and TU Austria. The future-oriented focus of TU Graz is its carefully implemented internationalization. With the conversion of PhD and masters programs into English, students are ideally equipped for the global market place. Added to this are strategic co-operations with internationally chosen leading universities. Further information: www.tugraz.at
About TimeLogic
TimeLogic, a division of Active Motif, Inc, is the world leader in hardware accelerated bioinformatics search tools which accelerate genome annotation by combining optimized bioinformatics applications with powerful FPGA-based PCIe accelerator cards. This blend of specialized hardware and optimized software provides a perfect combination of performance, accuracy and value. Furthermore, these systems are simple to maintain and scale easily. Utilizing a TimeLogic system reduces pressure on over-used CPU-clusters by off-loading BLAST, Smith-Waterman (SW) and Hidden Markov Model (HMM) tasks to a highly time and energy efficient solution. From the earliest genome sequencing projects in the 1990s to the largest Metagenomics projects undertaken to date, TimeLogic has provided the enabling technology to make this research possible. Active Motif/TimeLogic operates globally through its corporate headquarters in Carlsbad, California, European headquarters in Rixensart, Belgium and Japanese headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Active Motif/TimeLogic applies a multi-disciplinary approach to create new and modify existing technologies to meet the current and future needs of life science researchers.
Find out more by visiting us at http://www.timelogic.com or contact Carol Carriere at tlsales@activemotif.com.