Monday, September 29, 2014

Biology students aim for fast, portable Ebola test

Rostam Zafari and Brian Goldstone have made a video appeal to support their idea.

By Kimber Williams, Emory Report

Two Emory freshmen have turned a classroom challenge into an exercise in real-life social entrepreneurship, advancing their idea to create a new method of testing for the Ebola virus into an online crowdfunding campaign that is already gaining steam.

The result? A student-powered proposal to develop REDS, Rapid Ebola Detection Strips, a portable, fast, less expensive, user-friendly approach to detecting the virus in the field.

It was on the first day of classes this semester, during an Introduction to Biology course, that Brian Goldstone and Rostam Zafari heard Senior Biology Lecturer Rachelle Spell mention a way to earn extra-credit: Learn how doctors currently test for the Ebola virus and come up with a faster, more affordable idea.

Read the full story.

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