Next-generation sequencing (NGS), also known as high-throughput sequencing, is the catch-all term used to describe a number of different modern sequencing technologies including Illumina (Solexa) sequencing, Roche 454 sequencing, Ion torrent sequencing and SOLiD sequencing. These technologies allow for the sequencing of DNA and RNA much more quickly and cheaply than the previously used Sanger sequencing, and as such have revolutionized the field of molecular biology and genomics.