PAGE 8 The Herald, Wednesday February 26 2014 The Herald, Wednesday February 26 2014 PAGE 9THX-E01-S3THX-E01-S3 Live updates at plymouthherald.co.uk Live updates at plymouthherald.co.uk

A PLYMOUTH science lab is working with some of Britain’stop sports stars in a bid to make them more efficientathletes – and it’s all thanks to a glow-in-the-dark mollusc.Knight Scientific Ltd, at the Wolseley Close business park, isengaged in groundbreaking work with British cyclingchamps, top bodybuilders, and football stars at nearbyPlymouth Argyle and an un-named Premier League outfit.The firm made international headlines six years ago whenThe Herald exclusively revealed how it had been workingwith Britain’s track-and-field and sailing teams as theyprepared for Beijing.“Everything stems from the mollusc,” said managingdirector Dr Jan Knight.That mollusc – called the common piddock – is bio-luminescent, which means it can glow in the dark because aprotein reacts with molecules called free radicals.These are also found in white blood cells, so KnightScientific developed a product from the protein, calledPholasin, and a method whereby it can be mixed with bloodand the activity of white cells measured by how much lightis given off.Production of white bloodcells is an indication asports star may be tired orsuffering from an infection.Knight Scientific has beendeveloping its work and itsABEL-Sport test isbecoming widely used.The technology can helppredict over-training, adangerous condition inwhich an athlete mighttrain too hard withoutgiving his or her bodyenough chance to recover,resulting in illness ori n j u r y.The firm manufactureskits that can be used inlabs, and a new hand-held,portable device too.The Premier League team’sdoctor has been sendingsamples to Plymouth, andTeam Sky Pro Cycling andBritish Cycling have sentofficials to the city to meet Knight Scientific.Closer to home, the firm has been working with PlymouthArg yle’s performance manager, John Harbin, in a bid tokeep his footballers in shape.“We are able to feed back to him whether that person is fitor starting to look a bit tired,” Dr Knight said.“Tiredness can end up as over-training. So the coach can seewho should train and who should rest.“We can even see responses for physical factors likedepression or grief; our emotions are linked to our immunesystem.“We can’t put talent into people, but we can work withcoaches to bring out the best in players.“It’s a simple model: push and rest. Team sports areprobably the most receptive.”Dr Knight, who has a team of three scientists working withher in Plymouth, said they have tested players at four othermajor football clubs over the years.“And we have had interest from top European sides and anAmerican club,” she said. “Not a formal relationship, butthey are interested.“Now we want to get into working with rugby teams,triathletes, swimmers and divers.“We are selling kits to more than 30 countries and want toincrease exports by at least three times.“Our aim is to work with more sports teams and sell morek i t s. ”

Knight Scientific

■ Dr Jan Knight, left, withmembers of her team inthe laboratory at WolseleyClose business park

Ready and ABEL to move into other markets

Knight’s shining armour City scientists make lightwork of mollusc power inpioneering sports research

‘We can’t put talent intopeople, but we can workwith coaches to bring outthe best in players’

Dr Jan Knight

■ The magical light-emitting properties of acommon marine mollusc are being used tohelp gauge the fitness of top sports stars.Business Editor WILLIAM TELFORDlooks at the pioneering work of a Plymouthcompany in this field

A TEST developed byP ly m o u t h ’s Knight Scientificcould become a vital part ofthe Government’s new HealthAnd Work Service initiativeto help people on long-termsick-leave get back to work.The firm’s new Wellness Testhelps people become wellenough to work again bydetecting deficiencies in theirdiet and enabling healthprofessionals to suggestappropriate lifestyle changes.The Health And WorkService, being championed byMike Penning, Minister forDisabled People, will offeremployees support andassessments that are notdesigned to force them intowork but will, instead, givethem practical help in theirefforts to become well.“Our ABEL-TAC test willmake it easier for theGovernment to achieve itsaim,” said Dr Jan Knight,managing director.“It’s already used bynutritionists to show patients,scientifically, whether theirdiet is adequate for thedemands they make on theirb o d i e s.“The test can be repeatedafter patients have madedietary or lifestyle changes toshow how effective thoseinterventions have been.“The test can reveal a dietaryor nutritional deficiency thatthey might have beenunaware of, which can thenbe addressed by aprofessional nutritionist.“We don’t know which privateoperators will be tendering torun the service, but we hopethey will see the sense ofincluding our Wellness test aspart of the standard package.”

KNIGHT Scientific’s ground-breaking science is all down to amollusc called the commonp i d d o ck .The creature, which looks like atwo-inch clam, lives around theBritish coast and burrows intosoft rock.It is also bio-luminescent, which

means it glows in the dark with agreen-blue light.Knight Scientific has developedan ingenious method of detectingwhite cell activity in blood-streams using this bio-l u m i n e s c e n c e.White cells protect the bodyagainst disease and are primed

for action before symptomsdevelop, meaning illnesses can bep re d i c t e d .The mollusc’s glow is the result ofa protein which reacts withmolecules called free radicals –also found in white blood cells.Knight Scientific developed aproduct from the protein, called

Pholasin, and a method wherebyit can be mixed with blood andthe activity of white cellsmeasured by how much light isgiven off.“We test for white blood cells,which tell us if there is aninfection,” said managingdirector Dr Jan Knight.

■ Knight Scientific’s work with thepiddock mollusc is helping topsportspeople like the British cyclingteam, world-class sailors, and closer tohome, Plymouth Argyle, whose TopeObadeyi is pictured above.(Argyle picture: Dave Rowntree/Pinnacle)

IN ADDITION to working with top sports starsKnight Scientific is delving into other lucrativem a rke t s.The Wolseley Business Park-based firm isinvolved in the cosmetics and food industry, andin medical testing and research.Its work centres on the product Pholasin and itsAnalysis By Emitted Light (ABEL) kits.The company makes standardised test kitswhich companies, hospitals and universitiescan buy and use for their own projects.And it produces bespoke ones too and now thehand-held Abel-meter.“We have about 21 different varieties of kit and140 different components,” said managingdirector Jan Knight.She said the firm has received recent interestfrom a Japanese company that wants it toinvent an instrument especially for it to use.“If we can devise the right kit it will be animportant product for us,” she said.

“We ’ve always got new things coming along andI like to think of us as problem solvers.”Among diverse income streams KnightScientific is now involved in are clinical trialsaround a test for sexually-transmitted diseases(STDs).With funding from the Department of Health itis carrying out trials on 500 men, the idea beingit will cut out the need for further testing whenan initial assessment shows no trace ofinfection.“We can test early-stage infection,” Dr Knightsaid. “That could save 75 per cent of tests whicheventually come back negative.”Knight Scientific is also testing products andformulations developed by the burgeoning SMEcosmetics industry and will be attending thehuge Making Cosmetics expo in Coventry, nextmonth.By detecting the presence of free radicals andanti-oxidants, scientists can work out acidityand anti-inflammatory activities of products.

This can help firms with marketing claims andquality assurance.“Making cosmetics is fun,” said Dr Knight.“Then they want to sell them but can’t withoutregulatory approval.“Our role is added value, helping them get acompetitive advantage, and showing it works.“We can measure absorption by the skin, andthen test.”The firm is also working in the food industry,using its tests for antioxidants to determineshelf life.“We have looked at the shelf-life of carrots andw i n e s, ” Dr Knight said.And Knight Scientific has become involved incollaborative research, working with majorclients, who remain confidential.“We have helped escalate a blue-sky idea on abig project, a multi-million-pound medicald ev i c e, ” Dr Knight said.

We l l n e s stest helpspeopleget backto work

The firm has beenworking withPlymouth Argyle’sperformancemanager, JohnHarbin (right), in abid to keep hisfootballers in shape