New Japanese mask glows in the dark if wearer has COVID

An innovative new Japanese mask glows in the dark if it detects that the wearer has COVID.

Japanese scientists have developed an innovative new face mask that can detect the presence of COVID-19 using a filter made with ostrich cells.

The ostrich cells contain antibodies that bind to the virus, and the mask can identify the coronavirus in the wearer’s breath, causing it to turn fluorescent.

The mask was developed by a group of researchers led by Yasuhiro Tsukamoto at Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan. The project uses antibodies extracted from ostrich eggs that come from birds that have been injected with an inactive and non-threatening form of COVID.

Ostriches are capable of producing different antibodies that neutralise foreign bodies in the organism. When these antibodies come into contact with the filter on a mask, the reaction can detect whether the virus is present. The antibodies are marked with fluorescent colouring, and when they react the virus can be observed.

Tsukamoto and the group explained that they experimented over ten days with 32 patients with COVID. They discovered that the masks glowed under ultraviolet light. The researchers said that the ostrich antibodies captured the virus when the wearer coughs or sneezes.

It was also possible to observe the virus on the filter with the ostrich antibodies when an LED black light and the LED light of a smartphone were used as light sources. This means that the mask would be easy to use at home.

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