Ewww! Vomit-bot tests spread of vomit and norovirus

newscientist.com

Scientists have developed a vomit projectile machine robot – called vomit-bot – that simulates a person vomiting in order to test the spread of vomit. It also helps to provide evidence of how stomach bugs spread after someone has spewed (New Scientist, August 19, 2015).

Lee-Ann Jaykus, of the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, created the robot mouth and machinery – the vomit-bot. It is quarter of the size of a real face and mouth, and it can vomit, and vomit, and vomit, with ‘exacting regularity.’ The vomit can be modified to the amount, thickness, and pressure of the fluid that the machine ejects. It vomits into a glass cage, not onto the laboratory floor!

Researchers have used the machine to test the spread of vomit and whether it can project norovirus into the air, and if so, how much and how far does the virus spread. Norovirus is contagious and is responsible for 21 million infections each year in America.

Instead of testing the real virus, researchers used the safe, harmless virus MS2 bacteriophage. They wanted to test if it carries to other people through the air – i.e. whether it is airborne.

After tests of ‘forceful faux-vomiting’ the researchers found that only about one in 5000 virus particles were airborne (in spray). But this is still thousands of virus particles per vomit. And this can infect other people.

Norovirus – often called the winter vomiting bug – can remain virulent for weeks, so anyone touching the contaminated areas is at risk of contracting a viral gastroenteritis infection. It affects people of all ages, and can cause over 200,000 deaths globally each year (generally in less developed countries).

The next stage of testing is to investigate how long virus particles can survive and travel in the air.

Journal reference: PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134277

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28063-watch-vomiting-machine-simulate-how-stomach-bugs-spread/

Comments

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog