Lab-on-a-chip technology seems to advance every day.  Recently, University of Rochester

DNA Nanosensors

Medical Center researchers reported on their nanosensor approach which employs hairpin DNA attached to a gold film at one end and a fluorescent tag at the other.  When the single stranded hairpin encounters complementary bacterial DNA, the tag glows under a fluorescent microscope.  In this way, a pathogen might be detected in minutes rather than having to wait days for the typical culture growing method.  MORE

Image Credit: Benjamin Miller, University of Rochester Medical Center and Technology Review