Wireless, wearable toxic-gas detector

Inexpensive sensors could be worn by soldiers to detect hazardous chemical agents

04-Jul-2016 - MIT researchers have developed low-cost chemical sensors, made from chemically altered carbon nanotubes, that enable smartphones or other wireless devices to detect trace amounts of toxic gases. Using the sensors, the researchers hope to design lightweight, inexpensive radio-frequency ...

Engineers take first step toward flexible, wearable, tricoder-like device

24-May-2016 - Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed the first flexible wearable device capable of monitoring both biochemical and electric signals in the human body. The Chem-Phys patch records electrocardiogram (EKG) heart signals and tracks levels of lactate, a biochemical that ...

New method for exhaustively isolating olfactory receptors responding to specific odorants

29-Apr-2016 - A research group led by Osaka University and Panasonic Corporation developed a method for making a prompt, exhaustive isolation of olfactory receptors (ORs) responding to the odorant of interest. This achievement will enable quick and easy exhaustive analysis of ORs responding to specific ...

Sniffing out a dangerous vapor

31-Mar-2016 - Alkane fuel is a key ingredient in combustible material such as gasoline, airplane fuel, oil -- even a homemade bomb. Yet it's difficult to detect and there are no portable scanners available that can sniff out the odorless and colorless vapor. But University of Utah engineers have developed a ...

Biosensor measures signaling molecules within cilia

Scientists can measure the dynamics of signaling molecules in subcellular compartments

30-Mar-2016 - Scientists of the Research Center caesar in Bonn, an Institute of the Max Planck Society, developed a new biosensor, which allows to measure nanomolar levels of the second messenger cAMP. The sensor makes it possible to study cAMP signaling with high precision, even in subcellular compartments. ...

Aphids as biosensors

17-Mar-2016 - Do plants have some kind of nervous system? This is difficult to establish as there are no suitable measurement methods around. Plant researchers from Würzburg used aphids for this purpose – and discovered that plants respond differently to different kinds of damage. When a plant is mechanically ...

Hydrocarbon storage, fracking and lightning risk

16-Mar-2016 - Fires caused by lightning strikes on hydrocarbon storage plants are a century-old, yet to be addressed, problem. In the era of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, this is becoming an even more poignant issue for the fossil fuel industry. Sterling Rooke of X8 Inc in Crofton, Maryland, and Miroslaw ...

Researcher finds gold - and other metals

Gold sensor is latest in a series of metal-detecting biosensors

22-Feb-2016 - Instead of a pan and a pick ax, prospectors of the future might seek gold with a hand-held biosensor that uses a component of DNA to detect traces of the element in water. The gold sensor is the latest in a series of metal-detecting biosensors under development by Rebecca Lai, an associate ...

Sweating for science

Wearable device detects, analyzes real-time changes in chemical composition of sweat

29-Jan-2016 - A team of researchers has combined two separate technologies to create a health-monitoring device that is noninvasive, doesn't interfere with strenuous outdoor activities and can continuously track a user's health at the molecular level. The two-part system of flexible sensors and a flexible ...

New patent on fast measurements in liquids

27-Jan-2016 - A new invention will open the doors for an entirely new way of measuring properties within liquids. The invention, a sol-gel matrix, will make it possible to perform measurements that are reliable, incredibly rapid and can be conducted over extended periods of time. The development will be a boon ...