Brigham Young researcher Dr. Aaron Hawkins has been working to create microchips that can actually detect viruses and other materials down to the nanoscale. It uses a unique filtering mechanism that allows for concentration of viruses and proteins to enable detection even at very low concentrations. This is yet one step closer to creating a “Lab on a Chip” where doctors could run tests in the office rather than having to send blood samples out to labs. There are still many more steps to go – multiple filters on a single chip, method for introducing test samples, etc., but it is very exciting work. Here is the full article.