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Wearable Synthetic Biology – Clothing that can detect pathogens and toxins

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What if we could create clothing that harnesses synthetic biology to detect the wearer’s exposure to toxins and pathogens? A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute and M.I.T. did just that by​embedding freeze-dried, synthetic biology-based sensors into flexible materials and textiles. These sensors can detect pathogens such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus and toxins such as nerve gas, creating the first programmable biohybrid garments.

Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

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