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Detecting the Small Stuff

Oct 05, 2009

A cheap nanoscale detector for bacteria could be available in a few years, says Technology Review. The University of Rochester Medical Center's Benjamin Miller developed a sensor that combines a hairpin complementary DNA, a fluorescent tag, and a gold film. "The DNA stays folded over until a target genetic sequence links to it. Its unfolding results in the fluorescent molecule moving away from the gold film and glowing, which can be seen under a fluorescent microscope," the article notes. Diagnosis of infections could then take 15 minutes to two hours.

Breaking News
The Scan

Alzheimer's Risk Gene Among Women

CNN reports that researchers have found that variants in MGMT contribute to Alzheimer's disease risk among women but not men.

Still Hanging Around

The Guardian writes that persistent pockets of SARS-CoV-2 in the body could contribute to long COVID.

Through a Little Spit

Enteric viruses like norovirus may also be transmitted through saliva, not just the fecal-oral route, according to New Scientist.

Nature Papers Present Method to Detect Full Transcriptome, Viruses Infecting Asgard Archaea, More

In Nature this week: VASA-seq approach to detect full transcriptome, analysis of viruses infecting Asgard archaea, and more.