Test allows doctors to see disease without microscope

PARIS (AFP) - Scientists in Britain say they have developed a super-sensitive test using nano-particles to spot markers for cancer or the AIDS virus in human blood serum using the naked eye.

As it does not need sophisticated equipment, the test-tube technique should be cheap and simple, making it a a boon for disease detection in poor countries, the team wrote in Nature Nanotechnology on Sunday.

Researchers from Imperial College London used the technology to scan for molecules of p24, a marker for HIV infection, and Prostate Specific Antigen or PSA, an early indicator of prostate cancer.

Their method is used to analyse serum, a light-yellow fluid that is extracted from blood by a centifuge and is commonly used in health tests.