Researchers at Khalifa University led the original study tracking the virus that causes Covid-19 in sewage. It was so successful authorities plan to create a dedicated waterwater tracking lab in conjunction with G42 Healthcare. Khalifa University
Researchers at Khalifa University led the original study tracking the virus that causes Covid-19 in sewage. It was so successful authorities plan to create a dedicated waterwater tracking lab in conjunction with G42 Healthcare. Khalifa University
Researchers at Khalifa University led the original study tracking the virus that causes Covid-19 in sewage. It was so successful authorities plan to create a dedicated waterwater tracking lab in conjunction with G42 Healthcare. Khalifa University
Researchers at Khalifa University led the original study tracking the virus that causes Covid-19 in sewage. It was so successful authorities plan to create a dedicated waterwater tracking lab in conju

Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi to establish lab to screen wastewater for infectious diseases


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Authorities in Abu Dhabi are expanding a programme that analyses sewage for signs of infectious disease.

Researchers have been tracking the virus that causes Covid-19 in wastewater since early in the pandemic.

Studies have shown that people infected with the virus, even those who do not develop symptoms, shed it through their excrement.

And because levels of coronavirus in wastewater shows the prevalence of infection in the population, studying sewage gives authorities an indication of its spread in the community.

The research project, which was conducted by Khalifa University, was so successful authorities now plan to open a laboratory, said Awaidha Al Marar, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy.

"Our objective is to protect the community at all times by developing systems to detect and curb threats to public health,” Mr Al Marar said.

The Wastewater Monitoring Lab will analyse samples for infectious diseases and harmful substances.

It will be run in collaboration with G42 Healthcare and be operational within a year.

Ashish Koshy, chief executive of G42 Healthcare, said the lab would be the first of its kind in the region.

Mr Koshy said it would use the latest technology to analyse wastewater samples for traces of infectious diseases and harmful chemicals.

"Application of artificial intelligence in this lab will enable an early-warning system that will determine, with high accuracy, the origin of the outbreak or pollutant behaviour, detect the virus in locations with limited monitoring and track the spread of a disease during an infectious outbreak,” he said.

The lab will screen wastewater for contaminants including biotoxins and industrial chemicals.

Many countries screen their wastewater to trace the spread of the coronavirus.

Analysis conducted in Italy showed it was in circulation long before the first known cases.

Italian scientists found traces of the virus in sewage water from two cities in December, two months before the country’s first confirmed infections.

Shedding happens early in the progression of the disease, well before people develop symptoms.

Researchers test the samples using the same method as that when people are swabbed, to search for the presence of genetic matter that is specific to the virus.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

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Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
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Tuesday, Oct 1
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SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES

Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

The biog

Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates

Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.

Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.

Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.

Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile 

Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran

Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars

Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.

Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.

After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.

Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.

It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.

 

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WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Profile

Company name: Marefa Digital

Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

Number of employees: seven

Sector: e-learning

Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019

Investors: Friends and family 

Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site

The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.

A general guide to how active you are:

Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary

5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active

10,000  - 12,500 steps - active

12,500 - highly active

Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers