DNA sequencing has revolutionized biomedicine, and progress in the field has been unrelenting
since it was invented over 30 years ago. The complete DNA sequence of the human genome was
obtained as the culmination of a decade of work by a large number of scientists. Less than ten years
later, so-called ‘next-generation’ instruments now make it possible for a single lab to produce the
same amount of data in a week. But while the instruments are increasingly automated, upstream
sample processing remains a challenge. Here I review the current state of the art in preparing
genomic and RNA samples for high throughput sequencing.