Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

William769

(55,147 posts)
Tue May 13, 2014, 03:58 PM May 2014

BREAKING: High School Student Discovers New, Better Way to Test for HIV

An astounding high school science project may change the face of HIV diagnosis the world over. IFLScience.com reports that 16-year-old Nicole Ticea has developed an HIV test that allows a user to place a drop of blood on a microchip and receive a near instant test result.

This test actually tests for the virus, unlike current testing technology which looks for antibodies. More recently an antigen test was approved for use in the U.S., and it shrinks the window between infection and detection as well. The antigen test looks for a specific protein from the viral envelope. In some instances, PCR technology—the test which looks for the virus in the blood by amplifying it—can also be used for early diagnosis. But the PCR technology is lengthy and costly. Ticea's test is likely to be much more simple.

The technology Ticea's test uses is already in use for diagnosis of other diseases as well.

The new test, if approved, could result in earlier diagnosis and earlier intervention with ARV treatment. That could result in less transmisson of HIV and better outcomes for people living with HIV.

http://www.hivplusmag.com/testing/2014/05/13/breaking-high-school-student-discovers-new-better-way-test-hiv

26 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
BREAKING: High School Student Discovers New, Better Way to Test for HIV (Original Post) William769 May 2014 OP
incredible and inpiring ALBliberal May 2014 #1
Agreed. William769 May 2014 #2
This is great news on both fronts. Whisp May 2014 #3
Behind every man theres seems to be a great woman. William769 May 2014 #6
Great science project! A+++++++++++++++++ BrotherIvan May 2014 #4
That's two big discoveries by HS students in 2 years? rurallib May 2014 #5
Maybe it a new way of thinking with the younger generation. William769 May 2014 #7
I work with some of the best and brightest HS students in the country... DemocraticWing May 2014 #24
It must be quite a thrill(?) to be able to work with kids like that rurallib May 2014 #25
Wow. You mean if you put a bunch of money into letting people discover shit jtuck004 May 2014 #8
Wow! Way better than my vinegar baking soda volcano! JaneyVee May 2014 #9
LOL Good one. n/t FourScore May 2014 #20
Wow.. that's great, William! Thank you for letting us know~ Cha May 2014 #10
Anytime. William769 May 2014 #11
.. Cha May 2014 #15
See? This is what happens when you allow girls to have an education theHandpuppet May 2014 #12
... William769 May 2014 #13
I hope she got first place Dorian Gray May 2014 #14
Brava Nicole! sheshe2 May 2014 #16
Well I do have a vested interest in this. William769 May 2014 #17
K & R !!! WillyT May 2014 #18
I hope this is true, this is a big step forward IronLionZion May 2014 #19
A very big step. William769 May 2014 #22
And her name is eerily similar to Nikola Tesla, too!!! n/t FourScore May 2014 #21
This looks to be from a solid source, Damansarajaya May 2014 #23
There have been so many great stories recently about teen girls doing incredible things Arugula Latte May 2014 #26

ALBliberal

(2,342 posts)
1. incredible and inpiring
Tue May 13, 2014, 04:17 PM
May 2014

Maybe a case of being removed from "group think". The young lady has a bright future!

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
4. Great science project! A+++++++++++++++++
Tue May 13, 2014, 04:45 PM
May 2014

I hope this test comes to fruition and helps to battle this virus. Amazing!

rurallib

(62,426 posts)
5. That's two big discoveries by HS students in 2 years?
Tue May 13, 2014, 04:50 PM
May 2014

or maybe 3 years? The other being the test for pancreatic cancer
wikipedia - Jack Andraka in 2012

Way to go youngsters!

DemocraticWing

(1,290 posts)
24. I work with some of the best and brightest HS students in the country...
Wed May 14, 2014, 04:31 PM
May 2014

And these kids blow me away on a regular basis. These kids are spending hours in research labs unlocking whatever they can discover. If they keep it up over the next few decades, this world is going to be far better for it.

rurallib

(62,426 posts)
25. It must be quite a thrill(?) to be able to work with kids like that
Wed May 14, 2014, 05:11 PM
May 2014

I bet you go home at night exhausted and exhilarated.

 

jtuck004

(15,882 posts)
8. Wow. You mean if you put a bunch of money into letting people discover shit
Tue May 13, 2014, 05:17 PM
May 2014

all day, learn new things, you will come up with new discoveries.

Who the hell would have ever guessed that?

Huh. Maybe we shouldn't be cutting people's food stamps. Maybe instead we open up junior colleges to everyone without cost.

Might find a cure for cancer instead of a cute lead story about high school kids on the evening news.

Good work, btw. Too bad it stands out because we are doing so little else other than watching ice melt and student loan debt increase.

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
12. See? This is what happens when you allow girls to have an education
Tue May 13, 2014, 07:23 PM
May 2014

Just last night my partner and I mused about what the world might be like today had women and girls been allowed equal access to education over the centuries.

Congratulations, Nicole!

sheshe2

(83,793 posts)
16. Brava Nicole!
Tue May 13, 2014, 09:56 PM
May 2014

What an amazing child. What an extraordinary accomplishment.

No wonder the GOP and Baggers don't want math and science in schools, or girls for that matter. Knowledge scares them as the want us deaf dumb and stupid so we follow like sheep.

This could mean so much to so many people William! Thank you for spreading the word~

William769

(55,147 posts)
17. Well I do have a vested interest in this.
Tue May 13, 2014, 09:59 PM
May 2014

As does everyone else if they thought about it.

Ignorance can be a deadly disease.

IronLionZion

(45,462 posts)
19. I hope this is true, this is a big step forward
Wed May 14, 2014, 10:59 AM
May 2014

Catching it early on mission critical towards preventing the spread of the disease. Making it easier and cheaper and more accurate to test is very important.

 

Damansarajaya

(625 posts)
23. This looks to be from a solid source,
Wed May 14, 2014, 04:02 PM
May 2014

but I'd feel a lot better about it if it came from, say, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Not sure how a 15 year old gets access to a high-powered research lab and HIV infected blood, BUT it is Canada, after all.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/teenager-creates-new-hiv-test

 

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)
26. There have been so many great stories recently about teen girls doing incredible things
Wed May 14, 2014, 05:14 PM
May 2014

in various scientific fields. Love it!

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»BREAKING: High School Stu...