Japan's glow-in-the-dark masks can expose the Coronavirus
19 Jan 2022
Japan's glow-in-the-dark masksSource: Kyoto Prefectural University
What do you get when you mix antibodies extracted from Ostrich eggs and a bunch of scientists from the University of Kyoto Japan? Reportedly, you get a really cool way of detecting the Coronavirus without having to resort to tests.
A team of scientists at Kyoto Prefectural University in western Japan led by veterinary professor and President of the University, Yasuhiro Tsukamoto released a statement expressing their hopes that these masks will essentially make it easier to detect the novel virus.
Ostriches have strong natural defenses against foreign antigens and professor Yasuhiro Tsukamoto has been studying their antibodies for years. The report added, “A coronavirus sample glows on a face mask filter under an ultraviolet light after being sprayed with a fluorescent dye containing antibodies".
The mask has to be used by inserting a special filter that can be interchanged from within the face mask. The report also instructed, “The filter can be taken out and sprayed with a fluorescent dye containing the coronavirus antibodies from the ostrich eggs. If the virus is present, the filter will glow when shone under ultraviolet light".
Following government approval, Japan may just go on to be the first nation to implement the most simplistic Covid-19 fetection to date.