NEW YORK (360Dx) – By creating a reagent that's consumed by tuberculosis bacteria and causes infected cells to emit light, international researchers believe they have a new method for diagnosing tuberculosis that could broaden access to screening for people with TB symptoms.

The process, which is undergoing clinical trials to investigate its clinical utility, uses a reagent developed at Stanford University that combines a sugar molecule, called trehalose, and a chemical, called DMN, or 4-N,N-dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide.