Skip to main content

Bio-Engineered Bacteria Colors Poo, Translates Your Health




Let’s get personal for a moment – how much attention do you pay to your poo? It might surprise you to know that your bowel movements can actually say a lot about your health. A group of scientists and designers wants to make it even easier for you to gauge your health just by looking at your solid waste with a product called E. chromi.



Users would have only to drink a special beverage laced with an engineered strain of E. coli – don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. When the bacteria makes its way through through the gut, it turns poo into a color that identifies what type of digestive system malady the user is suffering from. Rotavirus, worms, salmonella, colorectal cancer, colitis and stomach ulcers are all represented by different colors. But a normal brown result means that all is well in your bowels.

The bio-engineered bacteria could be useful not only for identifying the gnarly diseases making your gut feel gross – it could also be used in other industries in the future. The engineered bacteria could make for chemical-free food dyes in the future as well as eco-friendly textile dyes and simple water safety tests.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Modular housing concept boasts 64 possible combinations

Italian Designer Gabriel Aramu has conceptualized a modular housing system that seems to offer endless possibilities. Dubbed "Sliding Hub," these prefabricated cubes join together to create a temporary housing solution for multiple situations. In the event that emergency shelters are required, the modules can be packed and transported to any destination. On arrival, the modules are easily joined together, with the flexibility to house individuals, small groups or large numbers without limitation. Each module incorporates an insulation system suitable for all kinds of weather conditions. In addition, the temporary accommodation units provide a comfortable standard of living, important to natural disaster victims. Constructed with steel reinforcements, numerous modules can be assembled together to create various sizes and shapes, whilst sliding them open creates large internal spaces. According to Aramu, the system can be configured 64 different ways, wh...

A Father and Son

Father and son relationship are typically formed like this.

CRISPR technology

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology has recently occupied the Olympus of life-changing discoveries. In a couple of years this revolutionary technique that enables changing genomes in a fast and easier way has found an honored place in many areas of science, healthcare and industry. CRISPR deserves the name of a game changer and continues to be explored by scientists in different applications far beyond the walls of research laboratories. Despite continuous discussions about ethical limits of genome modifications, customizing of genomes in a wisely regulated way might have a lot of positive effects. Editas Medicine who was one of the pioneers of industrial applications of CRISPR technique, in a couple of years has reached enormous results in a field of medicine. Leaving out the discussions about ethical issues related to human germ line editing ,  flash4science focuses today on the use of CRISPR in food industry. Recent...