This is one of a series of 'Milestones' resources covering different biological topics produced by the Nature Publishing Group and of interest to undergraduates and researchers. It contains 23 short articles describing key DNA-related technologies that have led to important discoveries in biology. The Milestones are arranged along a timeline from 1952 to 2006 and each contains a short discussion of the selected method, along with a list of references. Subjects covered include electrophoresis, cloning, DNA sequencing, whole genome shotgun, PCR, microarray technology, DNA assembly programs and genome-wide maps of DNA methylation.
