Medical mysteries solved in record time through direct DNA sequencing
Forget diagnosis via patients' symptoms; this method takes scientists straight to the root of the problem. Image: House/FOX According to the TV series House, diagnosing mysterious illnesses is "more of an art than a science". Not any more... Next Generation Sequencing can now pinpoint the elusive agents of disease within 48 hours using fast DNA sequencing methods. Blood or spinal fluid is taken from the patient and searched for all DNA. The results are matched against a database of the DNA codes of viruses and bacteria. This week scientists at the University of California reported solving two tricky cases using this new method. One patient, a 21-year-old who came back from a trip to the Australian Outback with a fever and joint pains, was diagnosed with a virus related to chicken pox. Her case was published this week in the journal Genome Research. Another patient with life-threatening brain inflammation was cured after researchers found he...