Final Considerations

By looking at an example with only four genes and five samples, we hope you gained a better understanding of what a daunting task it is to analyze thousands of genes with hundreds of samples.

Yet, advances in computer technology have made powerful analytical tools readily available. Even a modest home computer can analyze a data set of 3,000 genes with 100 samples in minutes.

In real situations, additional complications need to be taken into account, such as making sure that comparing fluorescence from different microarrays does not introduce additional variability.

Other microarrays may use different detection and analytical techniques. Some, for example, do not use fluorescence.