Nanotech tool may help detect diseases using a smartphone

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A 3D model of the nanostructure fabricated by the scientists at the University of Melbourne. Shown is a less than 200nm thick array of so called ‘nanorods’ that allows the device to visualize transparent objects like biological cells. Photo Credit: University of Melbourne & ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems.

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 12.05.2022 (SciDev.Net): A nanotech imaging device, tiny enough to fit on a smartphone camera lens, has the potential to make the diagnosis of certain diseases accessible and affordable for people in rural and remote regions, say Australian scientists who developed it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought diagnostics into sharp focus and the World Health Organization has called on countries to prioritise investments in quality diagnostics as the first step in control, treatment and prevention of disease.

The scientists from the University of Melbourne and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) published details of the device in the journal ACS Photonics.

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COVID-19 bans hit women’s access to water in Pacific Islands

0 Comments read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 03.05.2022 (SciDev.Net): COVID-19-related restrictions have further exposed inequalities in people’s access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the Pacific Island countries, especially among women, experts say.

Women and girls have a larger role relative to men in WASH activities, including in agriculture and domestic labour. Ninety per cent of the total population in the Pacific have access to an improved drinking water source, but this rate is significantly lower in rural areas. Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu host 81 per cent of the population without access to improved sanitation, according to the CARE Rapid Gender Analysis COVID-19 Pacific Region 2020 report.

“Women and girls feel the impacts first when it comes to lack of access to clean water and hygiene facilities. The impact of climate change, ongoing disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic will increasingly test the resilience of sanitation systems and the availability of safe water owing to floods, droughts and extreme weather patterns, impacting vulnerable communities in our Pacific communities,” says Shirleen Ali, Pacific senior gender and inclusion adviser for CARE International.

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Safeguarding the Pacific from any further nuclear contamination

0 Comments read Features, Nuclear Disarmament

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 12.04.2022 (IDN-InDepth News Analysis): The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the region’s leading political and economic policy organisation, has appointed a panel of global experts on nuclear issues to provide independent scientific and technical advice to Pacific nations in their discussions with Japan over its intentions to discharge treated nuclear wastewater from the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Island countries, in the past, have been unwilling victims of nuclear weapons testing by the United States, the United Kingdom and France. This has made them staunch opponents of any nuclear-related activities in the region. Fishing and coastal communities are worried about the impact the release of wastewater perceived as “contaminated” will have on the ocean, which is the main source of their livelihood and subsistence.

The PIF Secretary General Henry Puna said in a media release, “Our ultimate goal is to safeguard the Blue Pacific – our ocean, our environment, and our peoples – from any further nuclear contamination. This is the legacy we must leave for our children.”

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