A university of Virginia chemistry professor has created a device that he says can very quickly diagnose certain diseases at the earliest stages of onset.

University of Virginia's James Landers told Earth & Sky that this device - which resembles a glass microscope slide - uses nanotechnology. It works by analyzing the patient's blood. Tiny nanoscale pores embedded in the device allow it to examine DNA molecules in the blood for signs of disease.

The whole purpose of the clinical diagnostic procedure is to essentially evaluate certain parts of that DNA, and see whether or not the DNA sequences are normal, or whether there are abnormal or mutated sequences in there.

Landers said abnormalities in particular sections of a DNA strand can be signs of early-stage cancer or other problems. While standard genetic analyses for cancer can take days and even weeks, this device can do the same work in a matter of hours, according to Landers.

When you comparing that to three days or two weeks, it's a paradigm shift, and I think the MDs that we work with tell us that this changes how they do their job, which is what research is about.

And doctors know that the earlier they can detect cancer and other diseases, the better chance they have of treating and possibly curing them. More on nanotechnology at our website. With thanks to the National Science Foundation. We are Block and Byrd for Earth & Sky.