Fulton Schools Assistant Professor Chao Wang and his Graduate Research Associate Md Ashif Ikbal are among scientists and engineers experimenting with new ways to test for viruses that could prevent future pandemics like the one resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. A recently released study details a design by Wang and his lab team for a new kind of technology to detect pathogens that the researchers says is more efficient and accurate than existing techniques. Wang, Ikbal and their colleagues stress that the threat of new viruses is becoming more urgent as human activity increasing encroaches on wild spaces around the world, which leads to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Those factors could result in the emergence of viral strains for which there would not be effective methods to test for and stop the spread of infections. (Access to much of the content on the Arizona Republic website is available only to subscribers.)

See Also: Researchers make cheap, portable nanosensor for disease detection, KJZZ (NPR), Feb 7

Novel nanoanibiotics kill bacteria without harming healthy cells, Paradigm, February 9

Simple, Inexpensive, Fast and Accurate Nano-sensors Pinpoint Infectious Diseases, Dr. Miller’s RMM Blog, February 6