By Tim Welch

The ability to conduct DNA tests in the palm of your hand might sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but the technology could be available for widespread use sooner than you thought.  Research scientists at the University of Virginia are developing a device about the size of a microscope slide that could pave the way for handheld DNA tests that would produce results in minutes, perhaps eliminating the need for a central laboratory.  Such devices could be crucial to doctors in diagnosing infectious diseases in minutes rather than days, as well as to crime scene investigators in gathering forensic information on scene.  While handheld DNA tests would have many useful applications, they would also raise important questions.

If doctors were able to receive DNA test results in minutes, rather than wait days to hear back from a laboratory, their response time in diagnosing and treating infectious diseases would be shortened dramatically.  This would be extremely useful with diseases that worsen quickly when left untreated, such as meningitis.  In addition, a cheap and effective handheld DNA test could reduce the cost of treating patients with "personalized medicine," or a therapeutic regime based on a patient’s own genetic code.

In forensics, a handheld DNA test with almost instantaneous results would allow investigators to test samples on scene.  Since the samples would not have to be transported to a laboratory, the risk of sample mix-up could be reduced.  In some cases, such as some sexual assault crimes, a DNA test could be performed almost immediately, giving the perpetrator less time to get away.

Despite these merits, a handheld DNA test would still raise questions.  Like all forensic tests, a handheld DNA test would not be free from error.  There would always be the chance it could identify the wrong person.  Would a jury be more inclined to believe results from a handheld test because perhaps the technology seems so futuristic and impressive?  A handheld DNA test also does not avoid the issue of identifying a criminal for the wrong reason.  Since the DNA of siblings is so similar, a criminal with no prior record could be caught because a handheld DNA test flagged his brother (who has committed a crime before) in a genetic database.  And what would happen if these tests were made widely available to the public?  Would employers start using them to learn about the medical risk of employees they are thinking of hiring?  Would neighbors begin prying into the genetic lives of each other?