Chip to track SARS!

A molecular test can quickly identify tiny changes in genetic make-up of the Sars coronavirus.

Researchers have now developed a molecular test that can quickly identify tiny changes in the genetic make-up of the Sars coronavirus, mutations which happen as the virus spreads through the population.

The detection chip can thus, help to trace where and when a victim may have caught the disease and gives the authorities more time to control its spread.

The Genome Institute of Singapore, working with United States-bbbased Biotech Company NimbleGen Systems, developed the test that they say halves the time taken to trace the virus' genetic roots to three days.

"While it doesn't tell you whether you have Sars or not, this test tracks the mutations in the virus, and can be done by a single lab technician in a small lab, rather than a group of people," Professor Edison Liu, the institute's executive director, said.

"So it can help the authorities approximate how the disease spread to the patient, and even which country it came from," he added.

"Within 36 hours, we knew that his virus was the same as the one that came from the vial at the EHI," said Prof Liu, a fact which was confirmed by conventional tests days later.