MIT, Harvard Develop Face Mask That Can Detect Covid

CIDRAP: Face Mask Prototype Used To Diagnose COVID-19
Tiny, disposable sensors to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection can be fitted into face masks and integrated into clothing like lab coats, according to a study yesterday in Nature Biotechnology. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University built off previous research that created paper-based diagnostics for viruses like Ebola and Zika based on freeze-dried cellular machinery. Upon activation with water, the first freeze-dried biological reaction cuts open the virus membrane to expose RNA, the second amplifies the spike-coding gene, and the third detects, cuts, and reports any spike gene fragments via technology based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), according to a Harvard news release. (6/29)

Boston Herald: Face Masks That Can Detect Coronavirus: Harvard, MIT Researchers Create Wearable Tech
The face mask that you wear in the future could alert you of a coronavirus diagnosis, thanks to researchers at Harvard University and MIT. Researchers have created wearable biosensors that can detect the presence of the virus in a person’s breath. These button-activated masks give COVID results within 90 minutes in a simple-to-read format similar to an at-home pregnancy test. The mask can diagnose COVID at accuracy levels comparable to standard diagnostic tests, according to the researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and MIT. (Sobey, 6/29)

And more in the medical field are pushing for FFP3 masks —

BBC News: Covid: Masks Upgrade Cuts Infection Risk, Research Finds
The quality of face masks healthcare workers wear makes a huge difference to their risk of coronavirus infection, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust research has found. Wearing a high grade mask known as an FFP3 can provide up to 100% protection. By contrast, there is a far greater chance of staff wearing standard issue surgical masks catching the virus. (Shukman, 6/29)

The National News.com: Doctors Urge Mass Production Of 'FFP3' Face Mask That Cuts Covid-19 Delta Variant Risk
Doctors in the UAE have called for mass production of a three-layer face mask that gives more protection against the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19. It is known as the FFP3 (filtering facepiece) and provides four times the protection of the commonly used two-layer N95 mask, medics say. (Nasir, 6/29)

The Scotsman: FFP3 Mask: What Are FFP3 Masks? Are They The Best Face Masks To Wear For Covid?
Filtering Face Piece 3 (FFP3) masks are respirator masks which commonly feature a filter or valve to help wearers breathe through the slightly thicker, tighter fabric and protect them from exposure to airborne particles. (McMahon, 6/30)

In other covid research news —

WJCT 89.9 FM Jacksonville: COVID Researchers At UNF Receive Grant From Gates Foundation 
University of North Florida COVID-19 researchers have been awarded a $39,160 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant is part of the Foundation’s push to help researchers use the COVID-19 Research Database, a de-identified medical database with 85 billion records from 250 million people. UNF’s team is one of 15 groups to receive a grant. (Wood, 6/29)

The Guardian: ‘I Felt Betrayed’: How Covid Research Could Help Patients Living With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 
In the fall of 2016, Ashanti Daniel, a nurse in Beverly Hills, California, went to an infectious disease physician looking for answers about a weird illness she couldn’t shake. After falling sick with a virus four months earlier, she still felt too tired to stand up in the shower. The appointment lasted five minutes, she said. The doctor didn’t do a physical exam or check her vitals. His assessment: her illness was psychogenic, resulting from something psychological. (Frangou, 6/30)