Analysis and Detoxification in One Step

A smart chemoenzymatic method detects and removes hazardous phenols

13-Aug-2019 - Many industrial and agriculture processes use chemicals that can be harmful for workers and the ecosystems where they accumulate. Researchers from Thailand have now developed a bioinspired method to detect and detoxify these chemicals in only one step. As they report in the journal Angewandte ...

Metal-based probes for detection of dopamine receptors, a cancer biomarker

Discovery can be potentially developed as a novel early cancer detection technology

22-May-2018 - A team led by Dr Edmond Ma Dik-lung, Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has developed the world's first iridium(III)-based probes for imaging dopamine receptors in living cells. The discovery has enhanced the understanding of dopamine ...

How reliable is diagnostic testing for Zika?

05-Mar-2018 - Globally, Brazil has been the hardest hit by the current Zika outbreak. Almost all cases of Zika-associated malformations in newborns have been reported from this country. DZIF scientists from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have shown that molecular diagnostic tests for the Zika virus ...

Faecal Pollution: DNA Uncovers Culprit

CSI and forensics can be used to uncover not only serial killers but also the cause of water pollution

19-Jan-2018 - Despite wastewater management and treatment plants, human waste remains the main source of microbial faecal pollution in the river Danube. This is the most notable finding of a comprehensive analysis of faecal pollution in the Danube. The study used a new molecular genetics method that enables ...

A protein indicating higher breast cancer mortality risk

Researchers found new biomarker for breast cancer

21-Nov-2017 - With the support of the Austrian Science Fund FWF, oncologists found a biomarker for breast cancer having a poor prognosis and developed two viable methods to detect it in tissue samples. Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant tumour in women worldwide. In Austria, about 5,500 women develop ...

Cheap and simple detection of neurotoxic chemicals

02-Aug-2017 - There is a limited amount of data on the global health impacts of pesticides, but many injuries and deaths worldwide can be attributed to their misuse. Pesticide contamination of food and water sources is a very serious problem, particularly in third world countries. The detection of these ...

Tracking microbial faecal pollution in water

Identifying faecal bacteria by their DNA

30-May-2017 - In a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the microbiologist Andreas Farnleitner is looking at new methods for analysing faecal pollution in water. Using DNA analytics, the scientist aims to develop comprehensive and simple methods to determine the extent and origin of faecal ...

New method to detect ultrasound with light

15-Feb-2017 - A tiny, transparent device that can fit into a contact lens has a bright future, potentially helping a range of scientific endeavors from biomedicine to geology. Developed by Northwestern University scientists, the device, called the Micro-ring resonator detector, can determine the speed of the ...

New, carbon-nanotube tool for ultra-sensitive virus detection and identification

11-Oct-2016 - A new tool that uses a forest-like array of vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes that can be finely tuned to selectively trap viruses by their size can increase the detection threshold for viruses and speed the process of identifying newly-emerging viruses. "Detecting viruses early in an infection ...

New device detects bacteria and tests for antibiotic resistance

05-Oct-2016 - An interdisciplinary team of engineering and pharmaceutical researchers at the University of Alberta has invented a device that can rapidly identify harmful bacteria and can determine whether it is resistant to antibiotics. The device could save precious hours in patient care and public health, ...