A drop of blood reveals almost every virus you've ever
met
Every disease that you've ever encountered is cataloged within your DNA, and now a team from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has worked out how to access that data. It's part of a project called VirScan that, it's hoped, will revolutionize medical testing and help Doctors catch illnesses long before they manifest. Even better, is that it's not even an expensive procedure, with each test slated to cost just $25 -- well, at least before your hospital slaps on their own fee on top.
The project has been led by Stephen Elledge, who
says that Doctors normally treat viral infestions with a trial-and-error system
of testing based on symptoms. By comparison, VirScan can just examine every
nasty thing your body has come into contact with and center in on what's
causing the trouble. The technique could become critical in finding and solving
conditions with a very long incubation time, like HIV and hepatitis C. As part
of the research, the team also discovered that most people's bodies deal with
infections in a similar way, and that the system could help develop vaccines
for previously un-treated conditions.
Elledge also believes that the technology is going
to help researchers investigate if there's a link between viral infections and
non-viral conditions like diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The good news
doesn't stop there, either, since it could also make medical research across
borders significantly easier. With a VirScan device, scientists could easily
compare and contrast the infection rates for various diseases across the globe.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/06/05/virscan-blood-testing/
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