Scrutinizing Blood

James Heath and Leroy Hood's microfluidic chip to test blood for cancer proteins is under development, reports Technology Review. In the chip, blood droplets enter a microscale channel that then narrow so that only serum can pass through. These narrower channels are lined with DNA bound to antibodies to capture proteins and that fluoresce. That fluorescence can then be read under a microscope or by a scanner and the amount of light can indicate the concentration of that protein. Heath and Hood describe their work in Nature Biotechnology.

Meanwhile, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital report in Nature Cell Biology that microvesicles released from tumors, particularly gliablastomas, can be found circling in a cancer patient's blood. They think that the vesicles can be used as biomarkers for treatment progression, tumor recurrence, and to individualize treatment.