Biomarkers

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have created a more sophisticated version of the paper-based test strips that can be applied in complex tests such as HIV, Ebola and Malaria. Its construction is a 3D structure of valves and channels and it can handle multiple agents.

In lieu of an effective medical test, physicians rely on assessments of behavioural patterns and social skills to diagnose autism. But new research has identified biomarkers in the saliva of children with the condition, potentially paving the way for earlier, and more reliable, diagnoses.

Scientists at the University of Cincinnati and the US Air Force Research Laboratory are developing a system in which a Band-Aid-like skin patch is able to gather and transmit medical data in almost real time, by analyzing the patient's sweat ... and you just need a smartphone to read it.

A new ultra-sensitive test can potentially detect the earliest stages of a disease to give any treatment the best possible chance of succeeding.

A new blood test may predict heart attacks in advance.

New technology allows paper testing strips to act as their own timers.

A new diagnostic technique that measures the patterns of electrical activity in the brain's vestibular (or balance) system could dramatically fast-track the detection of mental and neurological illnesses.

Researchers have developed a microchip small enough to fit in a device the size of a mobile phone, and sensitive enough to detect the signature biomarkers indicating the presence of cancer at a cellular level in just 30 minutes.