Day: December 14, 2020

Researchers at Binghamton University have developed a device that can rapidly detect certain types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The device uses paper as a substrate, and allows a user to rapidly test the effects of specific antibiotics on patient bacterial samples. It measures the effects of antibiotics on the electron transfer bacteria, providing a new way to measure antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a growing crisis, with nearly 3 million antibiotic-resistant infections occurring in the US annually and 35,000 related deaths.…

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a rapid test for SARS-CoV-2 that uses an enzyme to cleave viral RNA, initiating a fluorescent signal that can be detected using a smartphone camera, and which can provide a quantitative measurement of the level of viral particles in the sample. The test produces a result in as little as 30 minutes and does not require bulky or expensive laboratory equipment. Rapid testing is key to measuring and stopping the spread of COVID-19, but…