Poster #12: Multiplexed Pathogen Detection

The symposium held today had a poster entitled "Multiplexed Pathogen Detection via a Portable Fixcytometer." What drew me to it was the heavy and effective use of graphics. The graphic that caught my eye was a picture of a bar-code scanning device, the kind that are used at stores. The authors of the posters explained that one of the scientific techniques they developed, using tagged branched-DNA sequences, worked very similarity to bar codes in that each species of bacteria has its own unique DNA sequence, much like each type of cereal at the grocery store has its own bar code. By using this analogy, the authors of the poster were able to simplify their idea so that laypeople (like me) could understand it. A lot of the scientific details were lost to me, but I could understand the basic idea of the project through the use of analogies.
The project was also interesting because it combines both science (the DNA of specific species of bacteria) and engineering (how the information is displayed and read). When I talked to the presenter of the poster, he said that current machines cost a million dollars, and that technicians charge $40/hour for working on identifiying pathogens. There is also a time delay in getting the sample out to the lab, sequencing and figuring out what is in the sample, and sending the results out. This new machine would cost $500 and be easy for farmers to use out in the field. The machine makes science more accessible and cheaper. They are currently working on getting the results to be displayed on smart phones (i.e. blackberries, iphones) with a corresponding key. Although this idea was not presented with the poster, if information is collected in this way scientists could ask for the results to be sent to them, so they can chart the epidemiology of the disease. This would be a "bidirectional" flow of information, as the info would be going from a "downstream source" (the farmers) to an "upstream source" (the scientists).
When the poster-presenter explained to me how the results would be displayed, he used the analogy of an at-home birth test, saying that the different intensities of colors meant different bacteria. Again, his use of analogies was helpful in explaining the information in a clear way.