Light is key to ultrasensitive chemical sensors. Kwanchai Lerttanapunyaporn/EyeEm via Getty Images October 22, 2020 A tiny circular racetrack for light can rapidly detect single molecules Judith Su, University of Arizona An optical sensor that can detect individual molecules promises early detection of diseases and environmental contamination.
Tiny fuel cells convert sweat to electricity that can power sensors in electronic skin. Yu et al., Sci. Robot. 5, eaaz7946 (2020) April 22, 2020 A smart second skin gets all the power it needs from sweat Wei Gao, California Institute of Technology Lightweight, flexible materials can be used to make health-monitoring wearable devices, but powering the devices is a challenge. Using fuel cells instead of batteries could make the difference.
Nanotechnology that can detect illnesses will become available next year. shutterstock October 19, 2015 Explainer: a new nanochip that will detect bacterial infections in 15 minutes Willie Perold, Stellenbosch University A novel approach to detect bacterial infections in 10-15 minutes is expected to become commercially available next year.