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Cocaine Biosensor
Aaron Rowe writes "The MIT Technology review reports that a lab at UC Santa Barbara has created a biosensor by attaching a special type of DNA called an aptamer to a gold electrode. When cocaine is present, the aptamer tightly hugs a cocaine molecule and leans over so that a metal tag can touch the gold surface. This causes a spike in a plot of current versus voltage when the electrode is attached to a machine called a cyclic voltmeter."
Great, there goes my job.
and seconds after they turned it on, the sensor was activated by a passing UCSB undergrad...
> I'm a known gold bug and I've been very interested in the industrial applications of gold
I'm interested in economic applications, but unfortunately I don't have as much as I need for some of the experiments I'd like to try.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
When cocaine is present, the aptamer tightly hugs a cocaine molecule and leans over so that a metal tag can touch the gold surface.
Sounds kinky. Makes me regret not listening during chemistry class.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
There are a lot of "Cocaine biosensors" you could hire off the street for a few dollars ah hour. They will react quite strongly when they find the compound in question (i.e. the "good stuff").
No more crawling on the floor at 4am!!!
At-home pregnancy tests are the model of diagnostic simplicity: a tester just pees on a stick and within minutes knows if she has to buy a crib. Imagine if one could just as easily detect HIV infection or a drug overdose.
The real challenge is getting the corse to pee on the stick. I suggest the 'old hand in the warm water' trick.
I love the smell of Karma in the morning
It ended up taking about 68 kilos of cocaine to finally nail down the winning formula, reported biochemist George Placky. "We put in a lot of long nights, in fact we frequently would stay in the lab for 72 hours straight." "The team worked so hard we tried to accomodate them wherever possible." Indeed the lab is awash with stereo equipment, couches, and large screen TVs.
Univeristy officials confirmed the long nights. Security guard Paul Costas remakred "Yeah, those guys were going at it for days on end. I helped them smuggle chicks into their parti..ahh *research*."
"We feel that with another couple of years we will have similar sensors for crystal meth, heroin, and extasy." said Dr. Placky, who is currently applying for federal grants to fund the research, as well as provide sufficient quantities of the substances for thorough research.
"But actually trying to use m4 as a general-purpose langage would be deeply perverse" --ESR