Affymetrix is now Applied Biosystems, a brand of DNA microarray products sold by Thermo Fisher Scientific that originated with an American biotechnology research and development and manufacturing company of the same name.

[14] In January 2014, the Food and Drug Administration approved Affymetrix's postnatal blood test, CytoScan Dx Assay, looking at whole-genome correlates of congenital abnormalities and other causes of childhood developmental delay.

[17] Affymetrix, Inc. was spun-off from Affymax Research Institute by Alex Zaffaroni in 1993, and was eventually based in Santa Clara, California, United States.

[18][19] In the late 1980s, that group had developed methods for fabricating DNA microarrays, under the "GeneChip" Affymetrix trademark, using semiconductor manufacturing techniques.

[citation needed] In January 2014, the Food and Drug Administration cleared a first-of-a-kind whole-genome postnatal blood test that can aid physicians in identifying the underlying genetic cause of developmental delay, intellectual disability, congenital anomalies, or dysmorphic features in children, where it was noted that "[a]bout 2 to 3 percent of U.S. children have some sort of intellectual disability, according to the National Institutes of Health.