Testing

While we're making progress in phasing out animal testing in the cosmetics industry around the world, there's still a ways to go in developing reliable alternatives. 3D-printed 'imitation skin' could be the ticket.

China is now home to the world's most powerful centrifuge capable of creating artificial gravity. This facility will enable a range of experiments to help make sense of scientific phenomena, simulate geological events, and test new materials.

Daily finger-prick blood tests are an uncomfortable fact of life for diabetics, but they may not always have to be. Scientists from Canada and the US have developed a prototype home-use device that measures blood glucose levels via saliva samples.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise globally. A series of studies have found that testing for STIs in the privacy of your own home is accurate and could remove the stigma associated with maintaining sexual health.

Sodium nitrite is often added to cured meats, in order to prevent spoilage and provide flavor. It can also cause health problems in large amounts, however, which is why a color-changing film has been created to indicate nitrite levels.

After developing a system that could detect 17 different contaminants in a drop of water, researchers have now added "molecular brains" to that setup so the hand-held device not only confirms contamination but also indicates concentration levels.

US researchers have developed an innovative smartphone-based kit that can test saliva samples for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Early studies have found the cheap system is as accurate as current lab-based testing and much faster.

How do rapid antigen COVID-19 tests work? Why did the US government just pledge to buy 280 million of them? And is that even enough to help curb the spread of the virus?

In people with liver disease or other metabolic disorders, blood ammonia levels can quickly climb to dangerous levels. And unfortunately, checking those levels is not a fast and easy process. A newly developed device, however, could change that.

In the age of a global pandemic, some researchers are suggesting the current vaccine trial process is too slow, and to test potential COVID-19 vaccines we will have to deliberately infect healthy people.

A novel form of cancer immunotherapy has shown exceptional promise in a new clinical trial, with 93 percent responding positively. The treatment involves supercharging a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer then reintroducing them to the body.

The James Webb Space Telescope has crossed another milestone on the path to its long-awaited launch. NASA engineers have now completed a deployment test, unfurling the telescope’s gigantic mirror into the configuration it will take in space.