1) The original research article is open access so you can take a look for yourself. The differences were statistically significant between the two groups (ASD-positive versus -negative) but there isn't enough data to estimate a sensitivity or specificity for using this as a test. 2) It could be a diagnostic test. In theory that would allow potential treatments to begin before the behavioral aspects of ASD manifest (which is around 2yo correct?)

The MinIon does 150Mbp per hour for six hours, so about 900 megabases. And anyone who works with DNA sequencing knows that 50kb reads are unbelievably fantastic. If it works that alone will change the way genomics is done.

They have a rack-mounted system that runs samples (or aliquots of the same sample) in parallel. They claim 20 of these could do a human genome in 15 minutes. So, big system for genomes, little USB system for fieldwork and smaller target sizes.

Maybe everyone should read the article. They're being genotyped (700,000 SNPs by Affymetrix array) not sequenced. There is a significant difference...

Since the maximum lifespan of a lab mouse is about three years, and the record is 5, you're maybe asking a bit much.