VirScan: The new test could reveal every virus that's ever infected you
Identifying the viral infection is one of the important parts in the diagnosis. Generally it was possible to find out the infection of one virus with one test. New method developed by researchers led by biologist Stephen Elledge of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School could look at every current or past viral infection in one fell swoop. It is possible because viruses are causing not only illness, but they leave footprints in the form of proteins. These proteins can be identified with the help of antibodies and later can be identified. The new test named as VirScan will be useful in identifying the history of viral infection of past since birth. VirScan uses DNA microarray synthesis & bacteriophage display to create a uniform, synthetic representation of peptide epitopes comprising the human virome. Immunoprecipitation and high-throughput DNA sequencing reveal the peptides recognized by antibodies in the sample. The analysis requires less than 1 μl of blood. It is one of the revolutionary development in the field of virology.
Links:
Original research:Comprehensive serological profiling of human populations using a synthetic human virome
Related article in Science Magazine:New test could reveal every virus that's ever infected you
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