Technology developed by scientists at the Methodist Hospital Research Institute could halve the time it takes to diagnose tuberculosis infection, and also tell doctors in a day or two whether the bacteria are drug resistant -- a process that currently takes weeks. Initial tests of the device were recently described in Scientific Reports, a Nature online journal.
Nearly 11 years have passed since the 2001 bioterrorism-related anthrax attacks that shook the nation, killing five people and injuring 17, but according to Alan Zelicoff, MD, director of The Institute for Biosecurity at Saint Louis University, the country has still not learned its lesson.
Diarrheal 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.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an update on West Nile virus (WNV) activity as reported to ArboNET, by state.