Pinprick blood test could detect disease 10 years before symptoms appear, study finds
Medical research Pinprick blood test could detect disease 10 years before symptoms appear, study finds Molecular profiles will give detailed snapshot of person’s physiology and predict diseases from diabetes to cancer and dementia Ian Sample Science editor Wed 19 Nov 2025 19.01 EST Share The world’s largest study into key substances in the bloodstream has paved the way for a swathe of pinprick tests that can detect early signs of disease more than a decade before symptoms appear, researchers say. Work on the tests follows the completion of a project by the UK Biobank to measure the levels of nearly 250 different proteins, sugars, fats and other compounds in blood collected from half a million volunteers. The complex molecular profiles give a detailed snapshot of each person’s physiology, and when combined with medical records and death registries, allow scientists to predict the risk of a host of diseases from diabetes and heart disease to cancer and dementia. “It’s going t...
