New tech could Make Disease Testing Easier

According to Science Daily

Yale university scientists have found a way to rapidly manipulate and sort cells in blood.

"Ferrofluids are comprised of magnetic nanoparticles suspended throughout a liquid carrier. They have been used in industrial applications for years, including in hard disk drives and loudspeakers. Now a team led by Hur Koser, associate professor at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, has developed a biocompatible ferrofluid -- one with the right pH level and salinity so that human cells can survive in it for several hours -- and has created a device with integrated electrodes that generate a magnetic field pattern, allowing them to manipulate and separate red blood cells."

So not only can human blood survive longer outside of the body, certain red blood cells can be separated using electrodes. This in consequence, can make disease testing much easier and hassle free, speeding up the process of disease testing - so perhaps sometime soon it could only take a day to know if you have cancer. (Or perhaps something less deadly.)

Love Sara