FAMILY doctors will soon be able to tell within minutes which bacteria are
making you ill. Instant diagnoses like these could become routine, thanks to the
arrival of a computer add-on that can identify traces of DNA in blood
samples.
A British company has squeezed the apparatus needed to perform the polymerase
chain reaction (PCR), which “amplifies” DNA, into a unit small enough to slot
into an Apple Mac computer. Conventional PCR equipment occupies a sizeable chunk
of bench space, takes as long as two hours to give a result and can only be
operated by a specialist. The unit…
