They concentrated on the make-up of the ion channels in the animals' cell membranes.
First up is the iON Adventure, a 1080p GPS-enabled helmet cam with a twist, almost literally.
One big question: will Rothberg, who still serves as chief executive of the Ion Torrent division, stick around?
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If the ion levels are rising then patients will be given an MRI scan to check for damage.
As you'll notice, the Ion doesn't cut the thinnest of figures and, in a way, we wish it would.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
It is in this lipid membrane that the ion channels, which are made of an artificial protein called gramicidin, sit.
Given those facts, the Ion videos come across as a little sharp.
That means that including the new machine and a computer server, the Ion Torrent PGM is about half as expensive as the MiSeq.
Conducting polymers are known as intelligent materials with the unique behaviour of trapping an ion into their structure and release the ion by an electric potential.
Like the Aura, the Ion and the forthcoming small cars will be based on cars developed and sold in Europe by GM's Opel division.
This is Sony's latest flagship, after all, and like the Ion before it, it boasts a 1, 280 x 720 HD Reality TFT LCD display.
The GoPro is not much better, but compared to the iON's and Contours, the more cuboid models are a bit of a heave at times.
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The promise of the Ion Torrent PGM is that it is based entirely on the kind of silicon chips the microprocessor industry has used for decades.
With its 4.6-inch display, the Ion matches up in size to other large-screen handsets, measuring 5.24 x 2.7 x 0.46 inches (133.1 x 68.6 x 11.7mm).
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
Like the iON Air Pro series, the iON Adventure is ultra-lightweight, weighing in at just 4.2 ounces, and fully compatible with the iON PODZTM accessory system.
ENGADGET: iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 sports cameras, we go hands on
Android 2.3.7 isn't the OS prospective fangeeks with credit cards at the ready -- nor we presume, Sony, with this much-anticipated debut -- wanted for the Ion.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
Sony's understandably proud of the Ion's 720p panel -- so much so that it's hung the phone's entire existence on its performance as an "HD Everywhere" hub.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
Now, he thinks he has found the perfect tool: a new DNA sequencing device called the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine, made by Life Technologies of Carlsbad, Calif.
Pitch it to a less savvy segment and the Ion is bound to simply become a smartphone as currently defined -- great for messaging, photos and social networking.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
Also being announced are the iON Air Pro 2-the second-generation of the company's flagship Air Pro line, and the iON Speed Pro for motor and marine sports and racing.
ENGADGET: iON reveals Adventure and Air Pro 2 sports cameras, we go hands on
There's at least one area where Sony has kept its finger on the consumer's pulse, and it's most apparent when you tally up the Ion's dearth of truly offensive bloatware.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
This is a rare brain disorder that is caused by an autoimmune response which destroys the human equivalents of the ion channels that are affected in the mutant fruit fly.
The Ion small sedan and the Vue small crossover will be replaced (not a moment too soon) late next year, and then Saturn will get at least one other small car.
Regarding that camera, it's the same Exmor R sensor Sony found in the Ion (though here the module gets a slight resolution uptick) and is housed within a gently protruding bump.
Now new entrants, like the Ion Torrent sequencing technology owned by Life Technology and the new types of sequencers being developed by Oxford Nanopore are fomenting more competition and driving costs down even further.
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If only both parties had found a way to plant their corporate flags across its back, the Ion would assume a greater level of visual majesty, akin to the minimally branded Galaxy Nexus.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
Mr. Lucier also seems to have put most of his eggs in the Ion Torrent basket, which as any businessman small or large will tell you, may be too risky in this day and age.
Contrast those dimensions with the Ion and you have two handsets, separated by a generational leap, that measure and weigh nearly the same all around -- though the TL is a hair lighter at 139 grams (4.8 ounces).
In the hands of a true geek, the Ion has the potential to see its feature set put to full use, but that close-knit niche isn't likely to be eyeing a mid-2012 Gingerbread handset with an outdated processor.
ENGADGET: Sony Xperia Ion review: an Android handset with a split personality
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