SOME DISCOVERIES AREN’T OBVIOUS AT FIRST
A FINE DISCOVERY
You’re sitting around a waiting room with other people who look even worse than you do. When you finally get called, the doctor says “Whatever this is, it seems to be going around. Would you like me to give you some antibiotics?”
You say “Why ask me? Aren’t you the doctor?”
She says “Yes. But in this case, your guess is as good as mine. If it’s a virus, we’re wasting your money. But if it’s an infection, an antibiotic might help.”
“But,” you say,” I don’t want my guess to be as good as yours.”
“Of course you don’t..” she says.” But what can I do?”
A NEW TEST
What if there were a way to tell if it’s a virus?
Geoffrey S. Ginsburg, and Christopher W. Woods, both from Duke University, created a blood test that shows whether it’s a virus or not. It works and it’s accurate but it isn’t fast enough yet. It take about 12 hours to get a result. The team knows what it has to do to speed things up. The goal is to get the answer for the doctor before you leave her office.
There’s more.
The test can also help tell what kind of virus it is. If there happens to be a treatment for that specific virus, you’re lucky. If all it does is keep us from overusing (and wasting money on) antibiotics , it’s still a good thing, right?.
When the test gets polished up, I think it’s going to a very popular little thing.
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The drawing is mine