Yeast Badges Detect Radiation Exposure

Aug-10-18 Wearable badges of yeast colonies act as canaries in coal mines to offer quick warnings of radiation exposure.

Individuals who work regularly around radiation, like radiology workers, wear badges that monitor their exposure. However, the badges are worn for months before being sent to a lab for a data reading, and that reading can take weeks to receive.

To offer a more immediate source of information, the team from Purdue University created a living dosimeter made up of yeast sandwiched in a badge of freezer paper, aluminum and tape. After a day of work, the badge’s yeast population is counted by adding water and noting how well the yeast conduct electricity. If a large amount of yeast has died due to radiation exposure, the conductivity will be lower.

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[FUTURITY.ORG]
[PURDUE.EDU]

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