Anthrax, plague and small pox are some of the possible pathogens terrorists could use against us; but now, researchers say jellyfish are helping prevent these kinds of attacks.
In the lab, Todd Rider first developed the CANARY Sensor using jellyfish DNA and a high-voltage electrical charge. “I was in the lab with the electric creator,” says Rider, a biologist at MIT. “I had mouse cells and the jellyfish DNA, and I frizzed my hair, said please give me life and pressed the buttons — and the jellyfish DNA went inside the cells, and we had glowing mouse cells.”
The glowing cells reveal the presence of a targeted pathogen. Still, scientists had no way to test air samples for pathogens until Harper created the PANTHER.
Read the rest of the article at: Science Daily.