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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

DNA-based sentinels could warn of radioactive leaks

Complexes of DNA and dye send a light signal in the presence of strontium ions created by nuclear power plants.
Observatory room shows reactor buildings and storage tanks for contaminated water at Fukushima nuclear plant.

Tanks holding tainted wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Credit: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty

A sensor based on DNA and a fluorescent dye could be used to monitor radioactive strontium pollution released in nuclear accidents1.

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Nature 616, 10 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00881-w

References

  1. Feng, L. et al. Nature Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01095-8 (2023).

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