PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A step toward diagnosing the flu with your tongue

2025-10-01
(Press-News.org) Flu season is fast approaching in the northern hemisphere. And a taste-based influenza test could someday have you swapping nasal swabs for chewing gum. A new molecular sensor has been designed to release a thyme flavor when it encounters the influenza virus. Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science say that they plan to incorporate this type of low-tech sensor into gum or lozenges to increase at-home screenings and potentially prevent pre-symptomatic transmission of the disease.

Staying home is critical to preventing the spread of infectious diseases like influenza; however, people with the flu are contagious before they develop symptoms. Current flu diagnostics like nasal swab-based PCR tests are accurate, but they are slow and expensive. At-home lateral flow tests, akin to those used to test for COVID-19, are convenient and generally low-cost, but don’t catch pre-symptomatic infections.

As written in their published study, Lorenz Meinel and colleagues address these flu detection shortcomings “by switching away from complex detectors and machinery and toward a detector that is available for anyone, everywhere and anytime: the tongue.”

The team developed a molecular sensor that releases a flavor that human tongues can detect — thymol, found in the spice thyme. The sensor is based on a substrate of the influenza virus glycoprotein called neuraminidase (the “N” in H1N1). Influenza viruses use neuraminidase to break certain bonds on the host’s cell to infect it. So, the researchers synthesized a neuraminidase substrate and attached a thymol molecule to it. Thymol registers as a strong herbal taste on the tongue. Theoretically, when the synthesized sensor is in the mouth of someone infected with the flu, the viruses lob off the thymol molecules, and their flavor is detected by the tongue.  

After developing their molecular sensor, the researchers conducted lab tests with it. In vials with human saliva from people diagnosed with the flu, the sensor released free thymol within 30 minutes. When they tested the sensor on human and mouse cells, it didn’t change the cells’ functioning. Next, Meinel and team hope to start human clinical trials in about two years to confirm the sensor’s thymol taste sensations in people with pre- and post-symptomatic influenza.

If incorporated into chewing gums or lozenges, “this sensor could be a rapid and accessible first-line screening tool to help protect people in high-risk environments,” says Meinel.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Federal Ministry of Research and Education (now called the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space) and have registered a patent with the European Patent Office on this technology.

The paper’s abstract will be available on Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscentsci.5c01179

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Its mission is to advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity, and its vision is a world built on science. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, e-books and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Registered journalists can subscribe to the ACS journalist news portal on EurekAlert! to access embargoed and public science press releases. For media inquiries, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Follow us: Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Pathogenic yeast strains found in urban air but not along the coast

2025-10-01
As city dwellers may know, escaping to the beach can provide a much-needed change of scenery or a mental reset. Historically, some doctors even prescribed trips to the sea to treat diseases. And now, research published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters provides another reason to visit the coast. A pilot study found that urban air contained pathogenic strains of Candida yeast that were absent in coastal air samples, revealing a potential transmission method. Candida yeasts are a group of common microbes that exist harmlessly on people’s skin and in ...

NYU Grossman School of Medicine leader to receive the 2025 Research Achievement Award

2025-10-01
Embargoed until 7 a.m. CT/8 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 DALLAS, Oct. 1, 2025 — Judith S. Hochman, M.D., FAHA, senior associate dean for clinical sciences and founding director of the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, will be recognized with the 2025 Research Achievement Award at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, to be held Nov. 7-10, 2025, in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice ...

New AI tool detects hidden warning signs of disease

2025-10-01
McGill University researchers have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can detect previously invisible disease markers inside single cells. In a study published in Nature Communications, the researchers demonstrate how the tool, called DOLPHIN, could one day be used by doctors to catch diseases earlier and guide treatment options. “This tool has the potential to help doctors match patients with the therapies most likely to work for them, reducing trial-and-error in treatment,” said senior author Jun Ding, assistant ...

Astrocyte-endothelial cell interaction in the aging brain

2025-10-01
Aging is the major risk factor for many central nervous system (CNS) pathological conditions and diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and stroke. In the aging brain, a dysfunctional or “leaky” blood-brain barrier (BBB) is considered a key trigger for neurodegeneration. Within the neurovascular unit, the functional BBB comprises cell-cell interactions between endothelium, astrocytes, pericytes, and the vascular basement membrane and matrix. Astrocytes lie in close contact with endothelial cells through their endfeet and participate in BBB maintenance ...

When Washington tried to starve industries of loans—and failed

2025-10-01
In 2013, the US Department of Justice quietly launched a program called Operation Choke Point. Its aim was to pressure some banks into cutting ties with businesses that, while legal, were deemed risky from a social or reputational standpoint. Included in the operation were payday lenders, firearm and ammunition dealers, tobacco vendors, online gambling sites, and even escort services. The strategy was simple: If targeted banks refused to lend to these controversial companies, their access to capital would dry up, eventually squeezing ...

Cassini proves complex chemistry in Enceladus ocean

2025-10-01
Scientists digging through data collected by the Cassini spacecraft have found new complex organic molecules spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This is a clear sign that complex chemical reactions are taking place within its underground ocean. Some of these reactions could be part of chains that lead to even more complex, potentially biologically relevant molecules. Published today in Nature Astronomy, this discovery further strengthens the case for a dedicated European Space Agency (ESA) mission to orbit and land on Enceladus. In 2005, ...

Parkinson’s ‘trigger’ directly observed in human brain tissue for the first time

2025-10-01
Scientists have, for the first time, directly visualised and quantified the protein clusters believed to trigger Parkinson’s, marking a major advance in the study of the world’s fastest-growing neurological disease. These tiny clusters, called alpha-synuclein oligomers, have long been considered the likely culprits for Parkinson’s disease to start developing in the brain, but until now, they have evaded direct detection in human brain tissue. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge, UCL, the Francis Crick Institute ...

Next-generation CAR T cells could expand solid cancer treatment options

2025-10-01
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, which uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer, has emerged as a powerful way to treat lymphoma and other blood cancers. But researchers have struggled to adapt the treatment for solid tumors—including prostate, breast, lung and ovarian cancer—which make up about 90% of all cancer cases. Now, a research team from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, in collaboration with City of Hope, a national cancer research and treatment organization, ...

Fungi set the stage for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

2025-10-01
New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of years before the emergence of land plants. The five paths to a complex world Professor Gergely J. Szöllősi, author on this study and head of the Model-Based Evolutionary ...

DNA evidence closes gaps in global conservation databases for Amazon wildlife

2025-10-01
PHOTOS: https://sandiegozoo.box.com/s/h8ne3q1md09rpor6ewp7070qvzv9k7nh SAN DIEGO (Oct. 1, 2025) – Recent studies led by an international consortium of researchers, including scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, unveiled groundbreaking findings in biodiversity conservation through in situ DNA barcoding in the Peruvian Amazon.  Measuring the earth’s biological richness in one of its most remote and biodiverse regions is no small task. The Peruvian Amazon is in imminent danger of losing species to wildfires and habitat ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New AI enhances the view inside fusion energy systems

Combined resources will improve cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic care

Chatbots the new ‘doc?’ FAU researchers explore AI in health behavior coaching

A step toward diagnosing the flu with your tongue

Pathogenic yeast strains found in urban air but not along the coast

NYU Grossman School of Medicine leader to receive the 2025 Research Achievement Award

New AI tool detects hidden warning signs of disease

Astrocyte-endothelial cell interaction in the aging brain

When Washington tried to starve industries of loans—and failed

Cassini proves complex chemistry in Enceladus ocean

Parkinson’s ‘trigger’ directly observed in human brain tissue for the first time

Next-generation CAR T cells could expand solid cancer treatment options

Fungi set the stage for life on land hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought

DNA evidence closes gaps in global conservation databases for Amazon wildlife

New software tool aims to help scientists better analyze complex spatial data from tissues

And Swiss glaciers continue to melt

Scientists discover a key role of protons and superoxide ions in the respiratory chain

Rare fossil reveals ancient leeches weren’t bloodsuckers

Study links shift work to higher risk of kidney stones, influenced by lifestyle factors

Stronger together: Community involvement is key for new transport adoption

Scientific evidence that pianists can change timbre through touch

A polygenic risk score may predict future breast cancer in patients with early-stage diagnoses

Genetic test can predict who could develop invasive breast cancer

Uncovering the molecular basis of long COVID brain fog

Poor sleep may accelerate brain ageing

The Lancet Infectious Diseases: New study suggests risk of long COVID in children may be twice as high after a second infection

Risk of long COVID in kids doubles after second infection

Patient-reported outcome analysis of NRG Oncology trial in limited-stage small cell lung cancer suggests quality of life benefit with twice - (vs once -) daily radiation

NRG Oncology trial analysis shows improvement in survival outcomes for glioblastoma patients receiving proton therapy, trial moves to phase III

In a landmark move, ECMWF is poised to announce a new phase in its data sharing strategy

[Press-News.org] A step toward diagnosing the flu with your tongue