SCIENTISTS USE OSTRICH CELLS TO CREATE MASKS THAT GLOW WHEN THEY DETECT COVID-19

Sun 12 December 2021:

Scientists have been trying to come up with vaccines and other tools to combat the virus since the pandemic began in December. Now, Japanese scientists have now produced masks that can detect the virus when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Yasuhiro Tsukamoto and his colleagues at Kyoto Prefectural University in western Japan have created an ostrich antibody-coated mask. Previous studies have shown that ostriches are very resistant to this virus.

Some test volunteers were required to wear masks coated with ostrich antibodies by the researchers. The masks were handed over to the researchers after they had worn them for eight hours and had the filters removed. If the virus was present on the surface, it was next treated with a chemical that lights under UV light.

When the light was shined on the filters worn by Covid positive people, a glowing element appeared around the nose and mouth surface.

These masks were first tried by Tsukamoto himself. He discovered that he has been infected by the deadly coronavirus after he spotted the same glowing elements in the ostrich antibody-covered mask that he was wearing. To confirm his fear, he went through a standard test which came back as positive for COVID-19.

His team is now working on sophisticated technology masks that will glow automatically even without special lighting if virus particles are present on the surface.

Until then, the researchers consider these masks to be one of the most cost-effective ways to test coronavirus at home.

This comes as the world struggles to combat a rapidly spreading new coronavirus strain known as Omicron. The new variety, according to experts, is more transmissible than the Delta version, but causes less severe disease than the formerly prevalent variant.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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