While more COVID-19 testing centers and access to free of affordable tests would be helpful, scientists in Japan are working on a coronavirus-detecting mask that works as a person wears it, identifying infections that might otherwise have been missed.
Early models of such a mask utilize a special filter that can be eliminated and sprayed with COVID-19 antibodies extracted from eggs of ostriches.
As indicated in a Fast Company report, ostriches, which have an ultra-charged immune system, can help make "low-cost antibodies" sans putting the birds in danger.
When a person is shining a black light on the filter, it will glow if that individual who has been wearing the mask is infected with the virus.
A lot of early cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant are asymptomatic, and as with early strains of the virus, that means there is a danger that those who are not infected will not realize it and could unintentionally infect another person who might fall sicker or even die.
It remains unclear how dangerous this new variant is going to be. However, more testing could contribute to the slowing down of the transmission, and at present, people usually just get tested when they begin to feel the symptoms.
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When a person is shining a black light on the filter, it will glow if that individual who has been wearing the mask is infected with COVID-19.
The Glowing Mask
At present, the researchers are working on a version of the mask that can glow even without the help of a black light.
It's not the only mask being developed, aiming to double as a test kit. MIT and Harvard researchers also designed sensors entrenched in masks and detect COVID-19. In research, they discovered that the design worked too, as the gold standards laboratories are using.
Through avoidance of the perceived discomfort of basic tests for COVID-19, some people may be hesitant to stick a swab in their nose, although present at-home tests are not painful, it might make people more possible to test themselves.
And if a person is wearing a mask every day, a daily test could turn into a habit. Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, the lead researcher in the Japanese team, found that he was infected after wearing one of the experimental masks and later confirmed a positive result through a PCR test, a similar News 18 via MSN News report specified.
Made from Ostrich Eggs
According to a KETK report, Tsukamoto said in March 2020 that they have produced ostrich antibodies to a lot of viruses, bacteria, and allergens, although they are pleased to see how rapidly the ostriches developed immunity and placed the "COVID-19 antibodies in their eggs."
He added that they were even more pleased to see how capable the antibodies were in blocking the virus causing COVID-19. The said masks were tested in a small study in which volunteers were wearing them for eight hours.
Researchers then sprayed the filters using a special dye made with ostrich coronavirus antibodies that will glow under ultraviolet light if the virus exists, Kyodo news agency reported.
The masks worn by the study participants who had COVID-19 glowed in the parts nearest their mouth and nose. Essentially, the brightness of the glow decreased as the test subjects recovered and their viral load lessened.
The lead researcher explained mass-produced antibodies can be mass-produced from ostriches "at a low cost." He added that he wants to make this invention into an "easy testing kit" that any individual can use in the future.
The research team at MIT and Harvard said they want to bring the mask to market, as do the Japanese researchers.
Report about the glowing mask made from ostrich eggs is shown on Reuters' YouTube video below:
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