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Bio-Detector Scans For 3,000 Viruses and Bacteria

Posted by timothy on from the can't-we-send-it-to-mars-and-settle-this? dept.

separsons writes "Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently unveiled a three-inch-long bio-detector than can scan for 3,000 different types of viruses and bacteria in just 24 hours. The device, dubbed the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA), boasts significant advantages over traditional bio-detectors, which can only identify a maximum of 50 pathogens. The three-inch-long glass slide is packed with 388,000 probes that can detect more than 2,000 viruses and 900 bacteria. The device may have huge implications in identifying agents released during biological and chemical attacks. Plus, in more everyday uses, LLMDA can ensure food, drug and vaccine safety and help diagnose medical problems. Scientists' next version of LLMDA is even more impressive: A new bio-detector will be lined with 2.1 million probes that can scan for 5,700 viruses and thousands of bacteria as well as fungi and protozoa."

5 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. No fun for doctors by hey · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In the olden days (now) a doctor would examine at you and see what virus you probably had then order tests. But tomorrow if they can just scan for everything there's no need for doctors. :(

    1. Re:No fun for doctors by Low+Ranked+Craig · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One step closer to Larry Niven's Autodoc.

      --
      I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
  2. A consumer version? by NicknamesAreStupid · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Mom might finally feel comfortable eating out.

  3. Probiotics? by Darth+Cider · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hope they consider the effects of beneficial bacterial flora in the body and create an array that can test for them too. It would be interesting to compare symbiotic cultures that reduce the effect of pathogens. (Now that antibiotics are so much less effective. Let the bacteria duke it out among themselves.)

  4. 24 hours? by TooMad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How is that useful in a biological or chemical attack? 11:05pm attack occurs, 11:06pm you've received lethal exposure to the biological attack, 11:05pm the next day...yep you're going to die to weaponized small pox alright. Or they could just use a chemical agent. After 24 hours they detect neither virus nor bacteria. Even if they could detect a chemical attack generally kills in a lot less than 24 hours. How is this device even remarkable at all? If I bought 388,000 cable subscriptions I could totally DVR 776,000 shows at once is that any more significant?