Abstract: The present invention comprises a non-cognate hybridization system (NCHS). The NCHS generally includes a hybridization technology that is simply and economically used to probe for non-cognate nucleic acid sequences, i.e., for nucleic acid strands without known target sequences. NCHS causes nucleic acids, bound to a probe surface, to create a hybridization pattern that provides information about the presence and/or quantity of the nucleic acid sequences in a sample. The NCHS results normally orient the examiner towards a small number of specific diagnoses across a wide variety of diagnostic categories (including but not limited to infections, neoplasms and autoimmune diseases). The test will also identify final-common-pathway syndromes such as sepsis, anaphylaxis and tumor necrosis. While the test utilizes genetic information, it does not depend on prior knowledge of the genes involved in a particular disease or syndrome.