Technology developed and tested at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio is helping protect U.S. military troops around the world. It’s a portable unit that can detect deadly pathogens and save lives.
In an Air Force research lab at Brooks, workers handle deadly pathogens that threaten troops all over the world. They are organisms with names that strike fear in people.
“Some pathogens would be salmonella, e. coli,” explained Elizabeth Escamilla, a molecular biologist. “Some of your biothreat agents would be your anthrax, your bubonic plague, your tularemia.”
Every living thing has a DNA fingerprint. By taking a tiny sample and amplifying it in the lab, scientists can pinpoint what is in the environment, or the food, or in patients that’s making them sick. Early detection is key.
“It’s very important to diagnose things as early as possible,” said David Maserang, Ph.D., chief of the Applied Technology Center at Brooks, “number one, to prevent further transmission, but also to help ameliorate through treatment the disease as it’s progressing through individuals.”
Now, technology developed and tested here is changing the way the military tests for biothreats in the field. It’s a portable DNA amplifier called the J.B.A.I.D.S. for “joint biological agent identification and diagnostic system.”
Incredibly, it can be deployed by the Air Force, dropped from a plane, and used by troops on the ground to find answer to microbiology mysteries in a matter of minutes instead of days.
It’s an easier way to conduct what is usually sophisticated lab testing. “You don’t have that out in the field,” stated Escamilla. “And since you don’t have a lab, you need something that’s faster, quicker, easily transportable and can be tested and used out in the field.”
Hundreds of these suitcase-sized testers are in use in military settings around the globe, protecting troops from the unknown and keeping the fighting force healthy.
The mobile testing unit has a new function this year, helping to detect the H1N1 swine flu virus. Faster results mean a faster return to their mission for troops.
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