ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

In just a few hours, scientists can tell which variant has infected a COVID-19 patient -- a critical task that can potentially influence treatment decisions but takes days or weeks at most medical centers.

Schiff base-metal complexes exhibit promising antibacterial and antioxidant properties. However, conventional methods for their preparation can be time-consuming. To reduce the reaction time and improve the quality and quantity of the products, researchers designed a new synthesis technique that uses microwave irradiation and methanol for the preparation of amino acid Schiff base copper complexes in just 10 minutes. The resulting products exhibit desirable properties, such as mild antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli.

Researchers have developed a rapid and effective antibody detection method for SARS-CoV-2 that is minimally invasive and applicable in resource-limited settings. Their methodology, which uses a patch sensor containing porous microneedles and a paper-based immunoassay, could have far-reaching implications for the blood-free detection of COVID-19 and many other infectious diseases.

Researchers have developed a novel microfluidic chip that can detect very small concentrations of dissolved contaminants using just 100-picoliter sized samples. By using a terahertz point source, the detection area can be made very small. This work may lead to lab-on-a-chip technology for environmental and health care monitoring.

Researchers studied the effect of the 'attitudes' of a semi-autonomous telepresence robot on its human operator. They found that when a person controlled only a part of the body of a semi-autonomous robot, its expressed opinions affected him or her. This work may help assist in the development of new semi-autonomous robots to perform labor more efficiently.