NYU Chemistry Professor Alexej Jerschow, Professor Ravinder Regatte of the Department of Radiology at NYU's School of Medicine, Professor Gil Navon, Tel Aviv University, and Wen Ling, of NYU and Tel Aviv University have developed a non-invasive imaging method that can be used to diagnose and monitor a number of diseases such as osteoarthritis and inter-vertebral disc degeneration, in their early stages. The group looked at glycosaminogycans (GAGs), which are molecules that serve as the building blocks of cartilage. This work appeared in a recent issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).  The complete article can be viewed at the PNAS website.