News Microbes

A new way to make bacteria glow could simplify TB screening

The stain could also speed up tuberculosis drug-resistance tests

tuberculosis bacteria

MARKING MICROBES  When tuberculosis bacteria, seen in this scanning electron micrograph, gobble up a new synthetic molecule, they glow under a microscope — making them easy to spot in tests.

NIAID/Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

By Maria Temming

- More than 2 years ago

A new molecule that reveals active tuberculosis bacteria in coughed-up mucus and saliva could simplify TB diagnoses and speed up tests for detecting strains of the disease that are resistant to drugs.