We'll go ahead and warn you: if you're hoping to purge your mind of all things science this weekend, this post isn't the one to be reading. For the rest of you knowledge seekers, Arizona State University researcher Wayne Frasch has developed a biosensing nanodevice that could possibly revolutionize health screenings and speed up that grueling airport security process. Put simply (well, as simply as possible), he discovered that the enzyme F1– ATPase can be equipped with an optical probe and "manipulated to emit a signal when it detects a single molecule of target DNA." Currently, a prototype of the DNA detector is already being worked up, but there's no word on when (or if) the device will escape the lab and hit the commercial realm. Still not geeked out? Hit the read link and hold on for dear life.

[Via Physorg]

Robots have taken yet another step toward their goal of dominating humans in just about every sport, this time setting their digital sites on America's favorite pastime, baseball. Thomas G. Sugar, a robotics engineer from Arizona State University, has been developing robots designed to play the field for more than six years, and his latest model is pretty impressive. The yet-unnamed (might we suggest eRod?) bot uses a motion-sensing camera to determine when a ball is put into play, and an on-board computer system that calculates trajectory. Using that information, the cyber-fielder hurries to gather the ball with a foam pad -- a glove is a feature to be added in the future. Its four-wheel drive transmission allows it to reach speeds of about 30 feet per second, which is almost as impressive as its estimated .750 fielding percentage. Sadly, it can't swing a bat, but luckily there are other robots for that.