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NASA's new e-nose can detect scent of cancerous brain cells
NASA's recently developed electronic nose, intended for air quality monitoring on Space Shuttle Endeavour and later the International Space Station, has a rather fortunate and unintended secondary role. In addition to being able to detect contaminants within about one to 10,000 parts per million, scientists have discovered it can also sniff out the difference in odor between normal and cancerous brain cells -- not a new use for e-noses, but certainly one that helps to advance the field. Groups such the as Brain Mapping Foundation, City of Hope Cancer Center, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been testing the technology and hope it one day leads to a new understanding of cancer development. We'd also wager it can accurately detect what cologne or perfume you're wearing, another unintended side effect and probably not as fun of a party trick as it seems. [Via Slashdot; image courtesy of RSC]
NASA's newest e-nose for ISS thinks you're wearing too much cologne
Electronic noses are nothing new, but it's always interesting when you throw space into the mix. NASA's most recent Endeavor mission has taken with it a third generation e-nose that's the size of a shoebox, where it will act as a detection and warning system for air contaminants. The ISS currently has no system and relies wholly on the astronauts' actual noses. Developed and built by AEMC, the new nose's dynamic range is from less than one part per million to about 10,000 parts per million -- much more sensitive than human honkers. The e-nose has 32 sensors made of polymer films that respond to different chemicals by changing electrical conductivity, and it's capable of both detecting and analyzing what it "smells." The nose is going to be operational on the space station for a beginning trial period of six months, and we have a feeling that its first accomplishment will be to point out that there's something strange about the water. [Via Physorg]
Researchers developing advanced electronic nose
Creating minuscule devices that can mimic olfactory systems is nothing new, but an international team of researchers are reportedly working to improve an existing design by basing it on metal oxide nanowires. Granted, the actual technology is a bit above our noses, er, heads, but according to Dr. Andrei Kolmakov, the team's aim was to "demonstrate the excellent performance of a practical device made by combining bottom-up fabricated SnO2 nanowires / nanobelts as sensing elements with a multi-electrode KAMINA [e-nose] platform." More specifically, these gurus decided to implement a "completely new morphology of the sensing layer" composed of tin oxide nanowires rather than the traditional thin-film sensing element. Not surprisingly, those working on perfecting the device are hoping to one day have it installed in areas where intelligent sensor systems are used, but we wouldn't overlook the possibility of finding these things embedded in shirts of the future for those paranoid about their freshness.[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
Ubiko nursebot retasked with sniffing out fires
One of the many ways in which robotic laborers are superior to their human counterparts is their ability to be easily re-purposed: one day you're an underpaid, under-appreciated nursebot chain-smoking with your co-workers in the break room, and the next day you're equipped with some new peripherals and tasked with ratting out those very same smokers along with other potential fire hazards. Such is the life of a Tmsuk-manufactured robot named Ubiko, who was snatched away from its budding career as an unassuming hospital receptionist by researchers from Kyushu University and the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, and retrofitted with a unique olfactory sensor programmed to recognize the distinctive odors of smoke and ash. This new electronic sniffer allows Ubiko to pick up scents too faint for the human proboscis to detect, giving it a "nose up" when it comes to tracking down small fires before they turn into raging infernos. Since the bot isn't equipped with any actual firefighting paraphernalia, its only job is wirelessly alerting authorities to potential problems and then scooting away before it melts into the floor; these so-called "authorities" then have the grueling task of pressing yet another button to deploy either an Anna Konda or SACI bot to make short work of the lit candle or smoldering cigarette butt.[Via Pink Tentacle]
UC Berkeley's disease-detecting E-Nose
The last time we checked in on electronic nose technology, hospitals were using the still-boutique devices for very specialized institutional work such as monitoring nasty bacteria outbreaks. Recent breakthroughs by a company called Nanomix, however, could make E-Noses a standard tool in every patient examination room, with UC Berkeley researchers using the company's tech to design cheap devices that can "sniff out" disease-laden molecules in samples a person's breath. Nanomix's "Sensation" detection platform uses multiple, configurable carbon nanotube-based sensors to instantly provide a reading from a puff or air, although the exact diseases that the battery-powered devices will be programmed to detect have not been announced. We do know that the first application of this tech will probably be for carbon dioxide detection, allowing emergency personnel to immediately determine the efficacy of breathing tubes used to stabilize patients on board an ambulance.
