Students Create Low-Cost Biosensor to Detect Contaminated Water in Developing Nations
September 7th 2012Diarrheal disease is the second-leading cause of death in children under 5 years old killing as many as 1.5 million children worldwide every year. These startling statistics from the World Health Organization (2009) point to the reason why a group of undergraduate students from Arizona State University is working to develop a low-cost biosensor a simple device that would detect contaminated drinking water.
TB Outbreaks Could be 'Solved' by DNA Tracking
September 4th 2012Reconstructing the spread of killer diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) from person to person using DNA sequencing quickly identifies the origin and movement of pathogens. This approach is directly informing public health strategies to control infectious disease outbreaks, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.