A new test could significantly speed up the mass screening of large numbers of people to see if they are likely to pass on genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia to their children. Australian researchers can carry out the test in five hours - using DNA from the base of a single human hair. Standard gene probe tests can take several days.
'The technology offers tangible hope of avoiding many genetic diseases,' says James Dale from the Centre for Molecular Bio-technology at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
Once carriers of genetic diseases have been identified, their pregnancies can be more closely monitored and terminated if the fetus is found to be affected. Identification also allows carriers to plan their lives taking the disease into account.
One test would cost about A $50 ( £25). Dale says that the QUT process, called GeneCo Technology, lends itself ...
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