About 1 million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The consequences for their health and income can be significant and long-lasting, with costs to the economy as well.
A routine blood sample contains a diverse collection of immune cells that can reveal important clues about health and disease. These cells, known as peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), are widely used to study infections, autoimmune disorders, cancer and the immune system's response to treatment. Scientists typically identify these cells using fluorescent labels that attach to specific surface markers. While effective, those methods provide limited information about how the cells are functioning and can alter the cells during preparation. As reported in Biophotonics Discovery, a recent study shows how advanced optical imaging can reveal a previously inaccessible layer of information: the metabolic activity of individual immune cells within a complex blood sample.
While the highly virulent avian influenza strain has only recently been discovered on Australian shores, researchers at Deakin University have been working behind the scenes for years, anticipating what an outbreak might look like.
Certain chemical substances, broadly called luminogens, have an inherent ability to emit light. Most fluorescent molecules emit light in solution but lose their emission in the solid state, where the molecules aggregate.
