RNA chip breakthrough

A Yale University research team has produced a prototype RNA-based microarray that will, they believe, lead to powerful diagnostic labs on chips. The team put RNA switches on a silicon surface to create a biosensor array capable of detecting and measuring a range of compounds. These switches provide far greater flexibility than DNA chips, which are designed only to identify specific DNA or RNA sequences. The prototype successfully detected and identified different strains of E. coli. Team leader professor Ronald Breaker aims to "put the capability of a thousand scientists into a dime-sized chip while generating the answers you want a thousand times faster."

The source article is at techreview.com.