Who Cares If They're Small? They're Sticky!

MIT, Harvard, and Massachusetts General Hospital have teamed up to commercialize a new diagnostic that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect viruses and bacteria, reports MIT’s Technology Review. The company, T2 Biosystems, has developed particles that are coated with molecules like antibodies or DNA; when exposed to a magnetic field, the particles bind to their target and form clumps that can be easily visualized. The hope is that the particles will be able to identify viruses and infectious pathogens earlier, as well as help monitor cancer more easily.