Asthma affects one in every 12 people in the United States. Some symptoms of asthma, like wheezing, may be obvious, but diagnosing asthma is not always easy. Traditional tests involve lung function exams and complicated blood tests. Now researchers have come up with a quick test that requires just a single drop of blood, and can diagnose just how severe a person's asthma is.

Originally released by American Institute of Physics, 2014. Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on November 22, 2014.