Tiny testers

What do mobile phones, PDAs and drug- testing laboratories have in common? They may all be able to fit into the palm of your hand if research at

goes according to plan.

Electrical engineers, in collaboration with the Institute of Biology and Life Science, are developing a micro-engineered lab-on-a-chip device that mimics the living cell environment and analyses the effects of mechanical, electrical or chemical stimuli on a cell, which could eventually reduce the need for animal testing.

Dr Huabing Yin, Royal Society of Edinburgh personal research fellow in Glasgow's department of electronics and electrical engineering, explained how the new technology would offer a quicker, cheaper, more reliable and more controlled method of cellular analysis compared with conventional techniques.

'Traditionally, in-vitro cellular analysis uses a Petri dish or multi-well plate containing a 2D layer of cells. Using this method, you normally measure tens of thousands of cells in static conditions and get an average response to a stimulus,' said Yin.