Protecting art and passwords with biochemistry

New technology is based on a pool of one hundred million different DNA molecules and protects against counterfeiting

10-Apr-2024 - A new molecular test method helps to prove the authenticity of works of art. The new method could also help to make passwords secure against quantum computers. Instead of using algorithms, the method employs the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Security experts fear Q-​Day, the ...

Simplified screening of individual bacterial species in biosamples

Method saves time and costs when analysing complex microbiological samples

30-Mar-2023 - In medical research and diagnostics, the microbiome, i.e. the microbial colonisation of the intestine, is increasingly gaining attention. A stool sample can be used to precisely analyse the complex microbial ecosystem of the gut. There are basically two methods for this: traditional cultivation ...

Air pollution linked to higher risk of COVID-19 in young adults

22-Apr-2022 - Residential exposure to ambient air pollutants is linked to an elevated risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, an observational study of young adults in Stockholm, Sweden shows. The study was conducted by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and is published in JAMA Network Open. Since pollutants in ...

COVID-19: Vaccination greatly reduces infectious viral load

By comparing the infectious viral load, scientists from UNIGE and HUG highlight the benefits of vaccination

21-Apr-2022 - The diagnosis of COVID-19 consists of a PCR test performed on a nasopharyngeal or salivary swab. “This test is very effective in identifying infected people, but does not indicate whether they are infectious, that is, capable of transmitting the virus to other people,” says Isabella Eckerle, ...

Point-of-care diagnostics for multiple diseases, courtesy of photonics technology

New generation of diagnostic systems

21-Mar-2022 - COVID 19 has turned PCR and other antigen tests from tools known only to medical professionals into an everyday experience for all of us. To mark the successful completion of their research on the PoC-BoSens platform, the project consortium led by Fraunhofer IZM can announce the birth of a new ...

PCR: Activated by light

New approach could help to significantly improve diagnostic tests based on PCR

20-Dec-2021 - DNA polymerases and other enzymes that modify DNA are essential tools in biotechnology and diagnostics. They are the key component for COVID-19 diagnostics by PCR. As useful as they are, DNA processing enzymes often have important flaws. Some of them display significant activity during the ...

New corona mass test up to 100 times more sensitive than rapid antigen tests

The innovative corona test "LAMP-Seq"

02-Jul-2021 - A new corona test developed at the University Hospital Bonn can analyze a large number of swabs simultaneously using sequencing technology and has a similarly high sensitivity as the common qPCR test. The innovative method offers great potential, especially for systematic testing in daycare ...

SARS-CoV-2: Estimating infectiousness

Science publishes new study on viral load

31-May-2021 - What started as the preliminary analysis of routine laboratory data has since evolved into the largest-ever study of viral load levels in patients with SARS-CoV-2. A team of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now analyzed the PCR samples of more than 25,000 persons with ...

New COVID-19 diagnostic platform more efficient than commercial PCR test kits

Novel method detects asymptomatic cases with more than 95% sensitivity

05-Feb-2021 - Cima Universidad de Navarra researchers have developed a large-scale, highly sensitive COVID-19 diagnostic platform more efficient than the commercial PCR test kits currently available. It consists of a ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction method which allows large quantities of samples to be ...

Analysis system enables targeted investigation of antiviral surfaces for material developers

Use of real-time polymerase chain reaction to test antiviral effectiveness

28-Oct-2020 - The need for everyday objects with antiviral surfaces is high due to the COVID 19 pandemic. It is known that the material composition of an object has an influence on the viability of viruses on surfaces. This is where the work of the Fraunhofer IFAM comes in: In cross-disciplinary research ...