Prototype paper test can detect Ebola strains

DNA-programmed blotting paper could soon be giving doctors a simple disease test that will reveal an infection in 30 minutes for just a few pence, the BBC reported.

Researchers have proved the technique works by developing a prototype Ebola test in just 12 hours, and using just $20 of materials.

The smart diagnostics use a soup of biological ingredients including the genetic material RNA.

The researchers say this can be freeze-dried and preserved on ordinary paper.

Team leader Jim Collins, who has joint appointments at Boston and Harvard Universities, says the biological powder can be reactivated by simply adding water, like living powdered soup.

"We were surprised at how well these materials worked after being freeze dried," he told the BBC.

"Once they're rehydrated, these biological circuits function in these small paper disks as if they were inside a living cell."