Imagine the entire trauma one has to go through when detected of cancer. To add to it several weeks of waiting for all the diagnosis which turns your life upside down. Scientists have developed a new chip to detect cancer which is not only fast but also cheap. The diagnostic chip miniaturizes and automates testing for chromosome mutations from many types of cancer, shortening the wait for diagnosis. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (Fish on chip) technology, attaches colored dyes to detect mutations such as breaks and reattachments in chromosomes. The test maps the DNA in a blood or bone marrow sample to tell doctors what type of cancer they're dealing with, and provides information on how to treat it. This technology saves the patients all the sufferings they undergo during therapies and they don't have to endure the side-effects.

While conventional tests take several days and highly skilled technologists, the fish on a chip version can be done in less than a day, including in rural areas where people would not have to travel to major centres to access it. The new test could cost as little as $10, one-tenth the cost of conventional diagnostic tests.
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