A 15-year-old girl might have made HIV tests as easy as pregnancy tests.

[eridani]

http://www.upworthy.com/a-15-year-old-girl-might-have-made-hiv-tests-as-easy-as-pregnancy-tests

See, HIV testing usually requires expensive lab equipment and time to process the test. But Nicole used a new method called isothermal nucleic acid amplification, which means that tests can be done anywhere — potentially, even in remote locations around the world — and quickly. Then she found a way to test for the HIV virus itself rather than for humans' reaction to it, which means the virus can be detected much sooner — as early as one week after infection.

Bam! Faster testing. Take the test and you could have results in under an hour.

Oh and did I mention you wouldn't even need electricity? The device would be disposable, and it should cost less than $5 to produce. Double bam!

This is a new technology that hasn't been peer reviewed yet, so these magical HIV-tests-that-are-as-easy-as-pregnancy-tests aren't coming to a store near you right away (Nicole just invented it!). There's a lot more that has to be done before this brilliant idea can become a reality or to know if it really will work exactly like Nicole hopes it will. But this is one HUGE step toward a healthier world.

The earlier you catch HIV infection, the greater your chances of survival are. Plus, the risk of passing on the disease diminishes HUGELY.

[DetlefK]

1. We should wait for the reviews.

If the test reacts to the HIV then this means it detects the protein-shell of the virus. A tiny mutation can easily produce a protein that has a wholly different shape and then the test wouldn't recognize the virus.