ixLight to meet long-standing need aiding research in drug discovery, weather forecasting

BANGALORE: Like many life sciences companies around the world, Bangalore-based Strand Life Sciences needs enormous amounts of gene sequence data to develop its products and services. Researchers in developed countries and China have easy access to such data, but India has had no direct connectivity to international databases. In scientific terms, connectivity means really fat pipes. Gene sequence databases run into terabyte sizes and normal Internet connections are not enough to download them. So, Strand kept using the traditional method: ask someone in the US to download the data and send it through a storage medium like a DVD or a hard disc. "It is difficult," says Strand CEO Vijay Chandru. "Someone must've the time and the willingness to do this repeatedly."