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An interesting USD 1 paper device is able to analyse DNA so that it can diagnose hepatitis B and assess male fertility. It would be of special help in diagnosing residents in low-income areas, say researchers, according to nzhealth.

This device is an important DNA analysis tool in forensic science, genetics and disease diagnosis. However, calling for expensive lab equipment, the application goes out of reach for those people who live in resource-limited regions.

Yet, when there are some steps forward in nanomaterials, it is possible to make the genetic material available at reduced costs.

It was designed by a team led by David Sinton from the University of Toronto who were searching for a paper device with these nanomaterials, trying to test DNA without harnessing high-tech equipment.

Hence, they were involved in paper-based diagnostic test made from materials costing less than USD 1 per device.

They took a 10-minute run, after which the tool managed to locate the hepatitis B virus in blood serum at a reduced rate, so that it could flag an "early-stage acute infection". This is vital to keep it from spreading, according to ndtv.

The test could also locate the DNA integrity of sperm, which could predict fertility accurately from semen samples---like current clinical methods.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.