Soon, cheap HIV test using DVD scanners
Researchers have developed a novel
technique for cheap, quick and on-the-spot HIV testing using DVD scanners. Researchers
said the cheap optics in DVD players may find a new life in a cost-effective
and speedy technique for on-the-spot HIV/AIDS testing and other analytics.
Aman Russom, senior lecturer at the School of Biotechnology
at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, said that his research team
converted a commercial DVD drive into a laser scanning microscope that can analyse
blood and perform cellular imaging with one-micrometre resolution.
The breakthrough creates the possibility of an inexpensive
and simple-to-use tool that could have far-reaching benefits in health care in
the developing world. "With an ordinary DVD player, we have created a
cheap analytical tool for DNA, RNA, proteins and even entire cells," said
Russom.
The so-called "Lab-on-DVD" technology makes it
possible to complete an HIV test in just a few minutes, he said. In a proof of
concept demonstration, the researchers collected cell-type CD4 + from blood and
visualised it using the DVD reader technology, DVD LSM.
Enumeration of these cells using flow cytometry is now
standard in HIV testing, but the practise has been limited in developing
countries. Russom says DVD-based technology will provide an attractive option. The
Lab-on-DVD reaps 30 years of research and development on optical storage
technology to create an alternative to flow cytometry, the standard equipment
for hospitals.
Flow cytometry units can cost upwards of USD 30,000,
excluding maintenance. By contrast, mass-produced Lab-on-DVD units could be
made available for less than USD 200, Russom said. And unlike the bulky and
technically-complex flow cytometry instruments, a Lab-on-DVD would be portable
and require less training to operate.
"The low cost of the technology makes it suitable as a
diagnostic and analytical tool in clinical practise close to the patient,"
Russom said. "And because it delivers extremely fast analysis, the patient
does not need to go home and wait for a response. They can get it right on the
first visit to a doctor," said Russom.
Source:
www.indianexpress.com
03.05.2013
Irish twins born 87 days apart set to
enter Guinness World Record books!
An Irish twin set a new world record by being
born a staggering 87 days apart! Their mother Maria Jones-Elliot calls them –
Amy and Katie – her ‘little miracles’. Maria went into labour four months
premature and gave birth to Amy but Katie was born three months later.
Irish miracle twins born 87 days apart are set to
create a new Guinness World Record for longest interval between the births.
Their incredible births will now become a
Guinness World Record for the ‘longest interval between the birth of twins’.
The previous record is 84 days, ‘The Mirror’ reported. Doctors told Maria and
husband Chris they have achieved the medical equivalent of winning the lottery,
with both girls surviving and healthy. ‘I call the girls our little miracles.
Amy was fighting for life in an incubator and Katie was struggling to survive
in my womb. It was the hardest three months of our lives,’ she said.
After a gruelling two days of labour at Waterford
Regional Hospital in Ireland, Amy was born at exactly 24 weeks – almost four
months before her due date. After the birth, every day Maria was on a knife
edge waiting for the second twin to arrive safely. Finally, Maria was induced
on August 27 at 36 weeks and three days, after doctors decided it was safe for
her to give birth to Katie.
Guinness World Records spokesman Damian Field
said: ‘If the claim of 87 days between the birth of the twins is substantiated
they will break the world record.’The existing record is held by Peggy Lynn of
Pennsylvania, US, with a gap of 84 days between births, the report said.
Source: http://health.india.com
03.05.2013
Hormone replacement therapy can improve
muscle strength in women
Swiss scientists have proved
that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can improve muscle strength and fibre
function in women, says a study. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
significantly improves muscle function — down to the muscle fibre level — in
post-menopausal women, said a new study published Wednesday in The Journal of
Physiology. Some studies published over the last decade have led to negative
publicity around HRT, a treatment used to relieve symptoms of menopause,
resulting in many women being reluctant to use it.
This new study, however, offers
a positive outcome from the treatment, reports Science Daily. Doctor Lars
Larsson, from Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, who led the study, said:
‘We found that even though individual muscle fibre did not change in size, the
muscles of HRT users showed greater strength by generating a higher maximum
force compared to non-HRT users.’
‘It is thought that using HRT,
at least in part, reduces modifications of muscle contractile proteins that are
linked to ageing,’ said Larsson.
Source: http://health.india.com
03.05.2013
If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be
correct
CONFUCIUS
