Researchers Use Crystals to `Listen In’ on Viruses
UK researchers believe that they have developed technology that will, one day, enable doctors to determine whether patients have a viral infection by `listening in’ on them with crystals. Using a technique known as rupture event scanning, scientists from Cambridge University found that they could listen to the sound made by viruses as they broke free from quartz crystals. The technique enables the team to determine how many viruses are present on the crystal, and is sensitive enough to detect just one virus. The researchers are now developing a portable version of their virus detector suitable for use by doctors in the clinic.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Nature Biotechnology 2001; 19:823-824, 833-837
