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Redefining the purity ring
"I know that we can't change people's behavior," says Irina Rymshina, "but in later life they may want children and they certainly don't want cancer. I think that we can help them." She's talking about Hoope, a wearable device that, it's hoped, will be able to put an STD clinic on your thumb. If successful, then you can say goodbye to the idea of having to pee in a cup to make sure that you can go out this weekend.
First home HIV test goes on sale in Britain
Although sexual health has become less of a taboo subject, ensuring that people get tested for STDs remains a big issue. The NHS now offers DIY kits for those worried they might have caught something from a partner and don't want to get tested by a doctor, but home HIV screening has not been possible -- at least until today. Britain's first legally-approved HIV test is now on sale, promising 99.7 percent accuracy from three months after a person suspects they may have been exposed to the infection. It requires a drop of blood and can provide a clear result in around 15 minutes.
Scientists create first computer simulation of a complete organism
Everyone, meet Mycoplasma genitalium, the subject of many scientific papers, even more vists to the clinic and now the first organism to be entirely recreated in binary. Computer models are often used for simplicity, or when studying the real thing just ain't viable, but most look at an isolated process. Stanford researchers wanted to break with tradition and selected one of the simplest organisms around, M. genitalium, to be their test subject. They collated data from over 900 publications to account for everything going on inside the bacterial cell. But it wasn't just a case of running a model of each cellular process. They had to account for all the interactions that go on -- basically, a hell of a lot of math. The team managed to recreate cell division using the model, although a single pass took almost 10 hours with MATLAB software running on a 128-core Linux cluster. The representation was so accurate it predicted what M. genitalium looks like, just from the genetic data. And, despite the raft of research already conducted on the bacterium, the model revealed previously undiscovered inconsistencies in individual cell cycles. Such simulations could be used in the future to better understand the complicated biology of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's. Looks like we're going to need more cores in that cluster. If you'd like to hear Stanford researcher Markus Covert's view on the work, we've embedded some footage beyond the fold.
$1 chip tests for HIV in 15 minutes flat, fits in your wallet
Getting tested for STDs used to mean a doctor's visit, vials of blood, and days, weeks, or even months of anxiously waiting for results. mChip aims to change all that, while simultaneously ridding your brain of viable excuses not to get tested. It works as such: one drop of blood goes on the microfluidics-based optical chip, 15 minutes pass, and boom, the AmEx-sized device will confirm whether or not you have syphilis and / or HIV. The bantam gizmo is practically foolproof, as reading the results doesn't require any human interpretation whatsoever. Plus, it's cheap -- cheaper than a coffee at Starbucks. One dollar cheap. Researchers at Columbia University claim the mChip has a 100 percent detection rate, although there's a four to six percent chance of getting a false positive -- a stat similar to traditional lab tests. As you'd likely expect, there's hope that the inexpensive mChip will help testing efforts in places like Africa to detect HIV before it turns into AIDS. Next stop: the self-service pharmacy at CVS?
Funding brings at-home STD tests closer to reality
It's an idea that's been around the medical block a time or two already, but so far, no one has really stepped up to the plate in an effort to make at-home and on-the-go STD testing a mainstream reality. According to a new Guardian report, however, a grand total of seven entities (including the Medical Research Council) have moved to fund development in the space. The UK Clinical Research Collaboration is the end result, with £4 million at its disposal right from the get-go. The idea is to develop small chips that can accept urine samples, and then those chips would be plugged into PCs or mobile phones (likely via a USB adapter of some sort) in order to give individuals information on any sexually transmitted infection they may have. The goal is to provide that data in private and "within minutes," and experts in the field are hopeful that this kind of innovation would help reduce the growing number of STIs across the UK. If all goes well, the "rapid testing devices" could be sold for £1 or less in "vending machines in nightclubs, pharmacies and in supermarkets," but there's still no clear indication of when it'll happen.
UK entices young to get tested for STDs with Wii raffle
There really isn't a better way to get young folks to get tested than a free Wii, if we may say so. Unless you handed them a wad of cash, a home-cooked meala and a 24K gold limousine driven by Mr. Peanut, there really isn't a more effective way to get the young's attention. Maybe if Hannah Montana sponsored the thing, we guess ... Anyway, we're getting off the subject here. In the Northumberland and Tyne and Wear areas, the NHS Chlamydia Screening Programme will allow folks to get tested for STDs. Of those that get tested between the ages of 15 and 24, they'll be entered into a raffle to win a Wii, which was donated by South Tyneside Youth Support Service.Really, it shouldn't have to come down to this to get youngsters in and caring about their health and that of those around them. Be responsible, folks.
