Dr Munehiro Asally, Dr James Stratford and colleagues, showed that bioelectrical signals from bacteria can be used to rapidly determine if they are alive or dead.

The findings offer a new technology which detects live bacteria in minutes instead of waiting for lab-test results which can take days.

When 'zapped' with an electrical field, live bacteria absorb dye molecules, causing the cells to light up and allowing them to be counted easily.

This rapid technique can detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Press Release