Researchers unveiled a nanopore sequencing workflow that analyzes plasma cell‑free DNA to report both tissue‑of‑origin signals and pathogen presence from a single blood draw. The approach was developed and tested in critically ill patients to provide rapid, minimally invasive insights that combine host injury profiling with infectious agents. The team reports the method yields actionable signals for tissue damage and microbial detection in plasma cfDNA, potentially shortening diagnostic timelines in intensive care settings. The workflow leverages real‑time nanopore readouts that can be adapted for urgent clinical decisions. For practitioners and diagnostic developers: combining tissue‑origin methylation or fragmentomics with pathogen reads in cfDNA could compress multiple assays into one test and change acute diagnostic algorithms in hospitals.