The test could
also tell the difference between pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, which have similar symptoms and are difficult to distinguish using existing screening methods like ultrasound.
While previous research had shown that plants can
clearly tell the difference between beneficial fungi and those that offer nothing or cause disease, how they make the distinction had proved mysterious.
The device might one day allow physicians to
tell the difference between live and dead microbes — and enable them to recognize effective and ineffective antibiotics within minutes.