A nanopore detector has a nanometer-scale trans-membrane channel across which a potential difference is established, resulting in an ionic current through the channel in the pA-nA range. A distinctive channel current blockade signal is created as individually captured DNA molecules interact with the channel and modulate the channels ionic current. The nanopore detector is sensitive enough that nearly identical DNA molecules can be classified with very high accuracy using machine learning techniques such as Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs).