Gold medal for IISER’s malaria kit

Pune: A team of 14 students from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, who competed at the 2020 international Genetically Engineered Machines contest, have won a gold medal at the International Giant Jamboree held virtually between November 13 and November 22.
"The IISER Pune team worked to develop a library of protein-based therapeutics to combat the disease and a simple, cheap and efficient diagnostic kit along with an awareness campaign aimed at informing the public about the methods of prevention and cure," the statement said.
The team’s diagnostic kit consisted of an easy-to-use software developed with an accuracy of 95.45% that uses images of blood smears to detect malaria. These images can be cheaply and easily obtained using the existing technologies of a foldscope (a foldable microscope) and a paper centrifuge which cost under Rs 100.