|
I just thought this was interesting.
Infector Detector Tells What's Ailing You
Devices May Be Available Within 2 Years
UPDATED: 9:31 a.m. EST January 10, 2003
A scientist has come up with a way to detect what may be ailing you.
The Infector Detector uses gold to detect infectious agents.
Each particle of gold carries a tiny piece of genetic material that complements an infectious agent's DNA. If the DNA matches, the gold will change colors.
Research chemist Chad Mirkin said the detector can tell what agents are present in as little as a 30 minutes, compared to the days some tests currently take.
"If you see a particular color, that tells you that a particular disease agent is present. So if you're testing for anthrax, for example, we could have it set up so you got a red signal," Mirkin said.
Mirkin is the director of the Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University.
Mirkin said that within two years, infection detection kits as small as toasters will be available. Eventually, he said, these systems will be the size of today's Palm Pilots.
|
Linear Mode
