A GROUNDBREAKING new face mask that can detect the presence of Covid-19 has been developed by scientists in Japan.
The non-woven mask features a mouth filter made using ostrich cells. The cells contain antibodies that bind to the deadly virus.
Scientists have created a face mask that detects Covid-19[/caption]
It was developed by research group led by President Yasuhiro Tsukamoto of Kyoto Prefectural University.
The presence of Covid in exhaled breath is claimed to be detected by shining a fluorescent light on the mask to reveal patches of the virus.
Researchers say the LED light of a smartphone can also be used as a light source to broaden the number of people able to use the innovation.
Ostriches are capable of producing different antibodies that neutralise foreign entities in the body.
These antibodies are extracted from ostrich eggs from birds that have been injected with an inactive, non-threatening form of the coronavirus.
By spraying the antibodies on a filter from a worn mask, the reaction can detect whether Covid-19 is present.
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President Tsukamoto and the group experimented over ten days with 32 Covid-19 patients and found that the masks they wore glowed under UV light.
The researchers explain: “The ostrich antibody for corona placed on the mouth filter of the mask captures the coronavirus in coughing, sneezing, and water.
”Next, a fluorescent dye-labeled ostrich antibody is reacted and the virus is visualised by irradiating with light.
“We also succeeded in visualising the virus antigen on the ostrich antibody-carrying filter when using the LED ultraviolet black light and the LED light of the smartphone as the light source.
“This makes it easy to use on the mask even at home. Visualisation of the illness is possible.
“The presence of the virus can also be confirmed from the ostrich antibody-carrying mask used by a person infected with the new coronavirus for eight hours.”
A patent application has been filed for this technology, and there are plans to commercialise inspection kits and sell them in Japan and overseas, possibly by this year.
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The high-tech material glows in the dark when it detects the presence of the virus[/caption]
In other news, Samsung is reportedly killing off its beloved Note smartphone after more than a decade.
Apple has announced that it will let customers fix their own iPhones for the first time starting next year.
The UK is fighting an epidemic of hack attacks targeting consumers and businesses, according to officials.
And, NASA has slammed Russia after a missile it fired into one of its own satellites forced the space station to perform an emergency swerve.
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