This ostrich-cell mask glows if you have COVID

Put it under ultraviolet light and if this happens, that means Covid-19 is present.

This is a new technology developed by Japanese scientists. Face-mask filters are coated in ostrich antibodies and will glow around the nose and mouth area when exposed to ultraviolet light if Covid-19 is detected.

A team at the Kyoto Prefectural University came up with the idea after previous research showed the birds have strong resistance to disease.

The university's President Yashuhiro Tsukamoto hopes this technology will help reduce asymptomatic transmission.

“If asymptomatic people wear these masks all the time, I think it's good because they can find out if they have COVID. So basically the advantage of this mask is that asymptomatic people can easily detect the coronavirus."

In a small study, test subjects wore the ostrich-antibody mask filters for eight hours, they were then removed, sprayed with a chemical and tested under ultraviolet light.

Now the team hopes to go one step further and develop the masks so they will automatically glow without special lighting once the virus is detected.

And it may not be long before you can get your hands on one. Tsukamoto says his team plans to merchandise the masks by July 2022.