The prototype of the device

Researchers have developed an add-on to a mobile phone that can take detailed images and analyse them to diagnose diseases such as tuberculosis.

The CellScope works as a so-called fluorescence microscope that can identify the markers of disease.

It is hoped the device will be useful in the developing world, where such medical diagnostics are rare but mobile ownership and coverage are common.

The research is published in the free-access journal PLoS ONE.

The CellScope is made up of conventional microscope optics as well as some equipment to make it function as a fluorescence microscope.

Fluorescence occurs when certain molecules are illuminated with a certain colour and “shine” for a period in a different colour.

Fluorescent “tagging” molecules can be specially designed to latch on to, for instance, the bacteria that are a sign of tuberculosis (TB).

The device can work also as a conventional microscope

But diagnosing tuberculosis requires a fluorescence microscope, which can illuminate a blood sample that has been treated with “tagging” molecules and detect just the light that those molecules emit with great sensitivity.

However, typical fluorescence microscopes are bulky, expensive devices limited to hospitals and laboratories.

“There are other people who have been working on developing portable fluorescent microscopes,” said David Breslauer, a University of California Berkeley researcher and lead author of the study.

“The innovation on our front is that we’ve integrated that with a cell phone rather than just making a standalone microscope.”

The researchers used a standard Nokia handset with a 3.2 megapixel camera, developing a “snap-on” addition that includes the microscope optics and a holder for blood samples on glass slides.

The CellScope uses cheap commercial light-emitting diodes as the light source - in place of the high-power, gas-filled lamps used in laboratory versions of the device, and cheap optical filters to isolate the light coming from the fluorescent tags.

The device has a resolution of just over one millionth of a metre, and the team was able to identify tuberculosis bacteria in a sample. Several other tagging molecules are in development to address the diagnosis of other diseases.

Upon the removal of the filters, they were able to use the CellScope as a standard, white-light microscope, identifying malaria parasites and the misshapen cells typical of sickle cell anaemia.

‘Portable clinic’

Mr Breslauer says that more than just a camera, the incorporation of a mobile phone “gives us access to the computational power of the phone as well as the mobile communications aspect”.

That computational power could be put to use in running image analysis software, which could easily be built into a small application that the phone runs.

But it is the mobile communication aspect that makes the device particularly useful for use “in the field”.

“In many developing world and rural areas, you could be hundreds of miles from hospitals or miles away from power - but the mobile infrastructure is well-established and pretty much blanketing the globe,” Mr Breslauer said.

“So if you can have a portable, battery-operated system to take these images, analyse, and transfer them, you’re creating a portable healthcare clinic. Your doctor can see your samples without actually having to be present.”

The team is now making a more robust, “field-ready” version of the device, which will be used in field testing and clinical trials in the future.

It is still unknown why about 40,000 UK women a year give birth prematurely

A simple saliva test could help spot which expectant women are likely to go into premature labour, experts believe.

Early identification would enable these mothers to be given steroids which help in the development of the baby’s lungs, preventing disability and death.

UK researchers found women going into labour very early, before 34 weeks gestation, had abnormally low progesterone levels in their saliva.

Their study appears in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Each year in the UK more than 50,000 babies are born prematurely, before 37 weeks gestation, and the condition is still not well understood.

It would be wonderful if in the future we only had to ask a pregnant woman to produce a small sample of saliva to know whether or not she was at risk Lead researcher Professor Lucilla Poston

Experts suspect that the hormone progesterone plays some part and studies are underway to test whether giving women more of this hormone during pregnancy cuts the risk of a preterm birth.

The latest work by researchers at University College London and King’s College London, suggests monitoring progesterone levels in saliva could provide a cheap and convenient early marker for the condition.

When they studied 92 women deemed to be at increased risk of having a preterm birth, they found the women who delivered spontaneously before 34 weeks had much lower salivary levels of progesterone than those giving birth at term, after 37 weeks.

This measurable difference in progesterone was apparent at all gestational ages from 24 weeks onwards.

Simple check

It is not clear how the hormone influences the timing of labour, but experts do know progesterone has anti-inflammatory properties, suggesting low levels of the hormone in the maternal body might contribute to bacterial infection - a recognised cause of preterm birth.

Lead author Professor Lucilla Poston, from the Maternal and Foetal Research Unit at King’s College London, said they were now planning a much larger study to validate these preliminary findings.

“Saliva is easy to collect, there is no need for a needle or a blood sample and it would be wonderful if in the future we only had to ask a pregnant woman to produce a small sample of saliva to know whether or not she was at risk of very early premature birth,” she said.

Jane Brewin of Tommy’s, the charity backing the research, said: “We are delighted with the results of this initial study. Backed by further research, we hope these findings will also have an impact on the development of preventative measures for preterm births.”

Andy Cole of Bliss, the premature baby charity, said: “The development of a reliable test for premature birth is vital in ensuring our most vulnerable babies have the best possible outcomes.”

Dr Yolande Harley from the charity Action Medical Research said: “We welcome any increase in our understanding of what causes premature birth that may ultimately help save babies’ lives.”

Kadeer was, at one time, one of the top businesswomen in Xinjiang

Two Chinese directors have boycotted Australia’s biggest film festival over the screening of a documentary about political activist Rebiya Kadeer.

Richard Moore, head of the Melbourne International Film Festival, said their films were pulled after he ignored political pressure from Beijing.

He told the AFP news agency “It’s hard to draw any other conclusion.”

Chinese authorities blame Kadeer - leader of the World Uighur Congress - for inciting ethnic unrest in Xinjiang.

Earlier this month, at least 197 people died and more than 1,600 were injured during fighting in the region between the mostly Muslim Uighurs and a growing number of settlers from China’s Han majority.

Kadeer, 62, spent six years in a Chinese prison before she was released into exile in the US in 2005.

In 2004, she won the Rafto Prize for human rights.

She is expected to attend the screening of Ten Conditions of Love, by Australian documentary-maker Jeff Daniels.

‘Annoyed and irritated’

In a statement, Mr Moore said Jia Zhangke, director of the short film Cry Me A River, and Emily Tang, the director of Perfect Life, “have decided to withdraw their films from this year’s festival”.

He added that Ms Tang had cancelled her trip to Melbourne as a guest of the festival.

Clashes between ethnic groups claimed hundreds of lives

Mr Moore said the screening of Ten Conditions of Love, which has sold out at the event, was the subject of a phone call from a Chinese consular official last week.

But he said the festival would stand firm by its decision to include the documentary in the programme.

He told AFP: “It makes me feel angry, annoyed and irritated all at the same time, that they would try to interfere with our programme for blatantly political ends.”

China has not commented on the films being withdrawn.

A third Chinese film-maker, Zhao Liang, has also asked the festival to drop his film Petition, a controversial documentary examining injustices in China’s court system.

It is not the first time Liam has lost his temper with the crowd

Oasis singer Liam Gallagher walked off stage during a gig in London on Tuesday night after pints of beer were thrown at him.

The 36-year-old stormed off after saying to fans: “I hope you feel as uncomfortable as I feel.”

Brother Noel, 42, who carried on with the set by singing Masterplan, said: “I think someone’s in a bad mood.”

Liam returned to the stage at the Roundhouse in Camden, London, after an absence of almost half an hour.

Fans attending the iTunes Festival gig, which was also broadcast live on radio station XFM, posted their reaction on the Twitter website.

Oasis at Roundhouse was brilliant Fan Emma Mitchell on Twitter

Rob Ramsey said Liam had accused students in “stupid pointy shoes” of hurling the beer.

And the Camden New Journal newspaper twittered that the star was “throwing a tantrum because Camden students soaked his stage with beer”.

However, diehard fans did not seem disappointed by the walk-out.

Emma Mitchell wrote: “Oasis at Roundhouse was brilliant.”

On a page devoted to the iTunes Festival on website Facebook, Steven Buss wrote: “What an amazing night. Forgot what a stroppy sod Liam could be. Loved it.”

It is not the first time Liam has lost his temper with the crowd.

Earlier this month, Noel called his brother “hilarious but quite undignified” after he told fans to stop clapping at a concert in Coventry.

Oasis are expected to play on Friday at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.

Kiefer Sutherland is the son of actor Donald and plays Jack Bauer in 24

Assault charges brought against actor Kiefer Sutherland after he allegedly head-butted a fashion designer in May have been dropped.

A New York district attorney office spokeswoman said it would not pursue criminal charges against the 24 star.

Sutherland, 42, turned himself in to police after claims he attacked Jack McCollough in a Manhattan nightclub.

He and McCollough subsequently released a joint statement saying they had settled their differences.

McCollough had previously claimed that Sutherland broke his nose at nightclub SubMercer in the early hours of 5 May.

According to the district attorney’s spokeswoman, however, the case could not continue because the actor’s alleged victim would not co-operate with prosecutors.

Probation

Sutherland allegedly took issue with McCollough after the designer bumped into actress Brooke Shields.

The actor, best known for his role as driven government agent Jack Bauer in 24, is currently on probation over a drink-driving conviction.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said on Tuesday the alleged altercation was not serious enough to violate the actor’s probation.

In the joint statement, released in May, Sutherland said he was “sorry about what happened” and that he “sincerely regretted that Mr McCollough was injured”.

Speaking in May, a lawyer for Brooke Shields said the actress was friends with both parties and called the situation “unfortunate”.

Like most carmakers, Fiat has seen a big fall in sales

Italian carmaker Fiat has said “an extremely difficult trading environment ” contributed to a 179m euros ($254m; £155m) second-quarter loss.

The Turin-based firm said the loss was mainly due to a steep decline in sales from the same period last year.

But the firm, which has a 20% stake in US carmaker Chrysler, said the rest of the year should show an improvement.

Fiat sells cars under the Fiat, Lancia and the Alfa Romeo brands, and trucks, farm and construction equipment

‘Depressed demand’

“Major strategic developments during the quarter include finalisation of the alliance with Chrysler and the signing of a framework agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture with GAC in China,” it said.

Europe’s sixth-largest car maker by sales also confirmed its targets for a 2009 trading profit over 1bn euros and end of year net debt below 5 billion.

It warned that the “the truck market and the construction equipment business will continue to suffer depressed demand”, only seeing signs of recovery in the fourth quarter.

In June Fiat and Chrysler completed the strategic alliance to put Chrysler’s good assets into a new firm controlled by Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne.

Fiat did not pay any money for its 20% of the new firm but is contributing technology to make smaller Chryslers.

Morgan Stanley said it was taking on new staff to improve performance

Morgan Stanley made a loss of $159m (£97m) between April and June, a significant drop on the $698m profit it made in the same period a year earlier.

It is the third consecutive loss for the Wall Street bank and was worse than analysts had expected.

It was also hit by the cost of repaying government funding. Including that charge, losses totalled $1.3bn.

It comes after a number of other major US banks reported significant rises in in their profits.

Its worse-than-expected results caused some banking shares to decline. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley all fell when the market opened.

The bank said it was disappointed by its performance in some divisions and was hiring “key trading and investment talent” to try and improve results in those areas.

The Dreamliner project has been regularly behind schedule

Planemaker Boeing says it has found a “technical solution” to a problem which had delayed the appearance of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Last month, Boeing said it would delay the maiden flight of its new Dreamliner 787 aircraft once again.

Boeing also said second-quarter profits rose 17%, helped by a strong performance from its defence business.

Boeing earned $998m (£417m) between April and June, up from $852m in the same period a year before.

Sales were up 1% to $17.15bn. Boeing’s defence unit, which makes about half of the company’s revenue, saw sales rise 9% to $8.7bn.

Revenue impact

Last month’s delay of the Dreamliner was the fifth time the launch date had been put back. The long-range, medium-sized plane is already more than two years behind schedule.

The firm said it would reveal a new delivery schedule for the 787 in the current financial quarter.

“The 787 programme has identified a technical solution to the previously announced requirement to reinforce an area within the side-of-body joint, and is currently evaluating alternative ways to implement that solution,” Boeing said in a statement.

“The company expects to complete its assessment of the schedule and financial implications during the third quarter.”

However, analysts were disappointed that Boeing did not announce a permanent fix to the problem.

“As expected, the 787 now looks increasingly likely not to fly at all this year - if that’s the case, with 777 production decreasing next year and the likelihood of no 787 deliveries, the impact on revenues for 2010 could be profound,” said aerospace analyst Saj Ahmad.

During the second financial quarter the Dreamliner programme had new orders for 13 planes, but orders for 41 planes were cancelled.

The firm said that total confirmed orders were now for 850 aircraft from 56 customers.

Both Boeing and Airbus face dwindling orders for new planes as the global recession hits demand for air travel and cargo services.

The wrestlers wear masks in keeping with their adopted characters

A woman has been arrested in Mexico over the deaths of two midget wrestlers - twin brothers - discovered in a hotel room last month.

Prosecutors allege she was one of two women who spiked the wrestlers’ drinks with eye-drops as part of a robbery.

The 65-year-old woman denies the charges. The police said they were searching for her alleged accomplice, known as “The Fat One”.

The wrestlers were part of the popular Lucha Mini wrestling circuit.

The brothers, Alejandro and Alberto Perez Jimenez, 35, fought under the names El Espectrito II (”The Little Ghost”) and La Parkita (”Little Death”). Many professional Mexican wrestlers wear masks as part of their adopted characters.

‘Big dose’

Prosecutors say the suspect met the two wrestlers in the centre of Mexico City and agreed to go back with them to their hotel room.

There, it is alleged, she and her friend put eye-drops into the brothers’ alcoholic drinks.

Surveillance cameras showed the two women leaving the hotel. The suspect held by police was allegedly traced through calls made on one of the wrestlers’ mobile phones.

The prosecutors say female gangs have been drugging men to rob them. The suspect and her accomplice, they allege, failed to take into account the wrestlers’ small stature, and gave them too big a dose.

She admits meeting the wrestlers but denies drugging or killing them, telling prosecutors she stayed in their hotel room for just 20 minutes.

William Cranston told the court he “lost his rag”

A man who stabbed his partner and his best friend to death after he found them having sex on his canal boat has been jailed for 12 years.

William Cranston was previously cleared of their murders but convicted of manslaughter, by reason of provocation.

The 44-year-old killed Kay Morton, 39, and Paul Wilkins, 55, on a narrow boat in Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire in September.

Cranston was sentenced to 12 years by a judge at Kingston Crown Court.

‘Remorse genuine’

Judge Anthony Leonard QC told Cranston: “You are responsible for the deaths of two individuals who did not deserve to die at your hands.

“It was clear when you gave your evidence that you showed remorse for what you had done and I felt that the remorse was genuine.

“I take into account that you tried to administer first aid as they lay in the cabin.”

But he said the 12 year sentence was a necessary reflection of the “seriousness” of the two killings, Cranston’s “short fuse” and the “sustained” attack he inflicted on Mr Wilkins.

At Cranston’s trial last month Reading Crown Court heard how he, Ms Morton and Mr Wilkins had been drinking at a nearby pub before returning to the narrow boat where they continued drinking and smoking cannabis.

Cranston went to bed but later woke up to find his partner and friend having sex.

‘Lashed out’

He told police after the stabbings: “Paul jumped up and came towards me.

“I can’t remember picking up the knife. When he came towards me, I just sort of lashed out to find out what was going on.

“Literally five seconds later, they were both on the floor bleeding to death, and I’ve got a knife in my hand.”

The jury had been told Cranston’s baby son, Kevin, had died the previous February on the sofa where he discovered the pair.

Cranston told the court: “I can’t believe this has happened to everybody. I just walked in there and lost my rag completely.”

Cranston, who was handed two 12-year jail terms to be served concurrently, will have time already spent in custody deducted from the sentence.