University of Georgia researcher builds portable chemical detection device | 09.25.2007 | 07:35:26 | Views: 5711 | ID: September 25 '07: Using new research originally developed to help find new ways of producing human stem cells, one researcher at the University of Georgia has announced a new way to detect chemical agents in the field. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported that researcher Steve Stice said his neural cell research could "create a portable chemical weapons detection system that could be used for homeland security." The AJC continued: "The neural progenitor cells, far less controversial for research than the embryonic stem cells from which they are derived ... can be used to detect the presence of chemical agents" by placing them on an "array of electrodes that record changes in electrical activity, indicating the presence of an outside agent, like nerve gas." The neural cells can last for more than four months unlike current field detection systems that use mice cells which last only a few weeks. Stice told the AJC, "If you are in a war zone, you're not going to be able to pull out a bunch of mouse cells every couple of weeks. ... We think it's something we can fully develop within a year." Stice's research was funded through a $1 million federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security.
Copyright ©2007 TheBreakingNews.com. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction in part or full without prior written permission.
|