BIOSENSORS AND BRAIN MAPPING
BIOSENSORS AND BRAIN MAPPING
A biosensor is a detector or sensing device that combines a sensitive biological component with a physical or chemical detector component. The sensitive biological component may be cell receptors, tissue, enzymes etc.
A common example of a commercial biosensor is the blood glucose biosensor, which uses the enzyme glucose oxidase to break blood glucose down and help create an electric current whose measure can give the concentration of glucose. Recently, arrays of many different detector molecules have been applied in so called electronic nose devices, where the pattern of response from the detectors is used to fingerprint a substance.
Many of today’s biosensor applications are similar, in that they use organisms which respond to toxic substances at much lower concentrations than humans can detect to warn of the presence of the toxin. Such devices can be used in environmental monitoring, trace gas detection and in water treatment facilities. Other potential applications include:
- Glucose monitoring in diabetes patients
- Environmental applications such as the detection of pesticides and river water contaminants
- Remote sensing of airborne bacteria in counter-bioterrorist activities
- Detection of pathogens in protective masks and screens
- Determining levels of toxic substances before and after bioremediation
- Determination of drug residues in food, such as antibiotics and particularly meat and honey.
- Biosensors in food analysis
BRAIN MAPPING
Brain mapping is a set of neuroscience techniques involving the mapping of biological quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the brain, or maps. All neuroimaging can be considered part of brain mapping. Brain mapping can be conceived as a higher form of neuroimaging.
Of specific interest in Brain Mapping is using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET) and other non-invasive scanning techniques to map anatomy, physiology, perfusion, function and phenotypes of the human brain. Both healthy and diseased brains may be mapped to study memory, learning, aging, and drug effects in various populations such as people with schizophrenia, autism, and clinical depression.
Brain Mapping is also used in forensics. The Supreme Court in India in its historical judgment on several PILs has declared brain mapping, lie detector test and narcoanalysis as unconstitutional as it violates Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution. It cannot be conducted forcefully on any individual and requires one’s consent for the same. When it is conducted with one’s consent the material so obtained will be regarded as evidence during trial of cases according to Section 27 of Evidence Act.
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