A "while-you-wait" detector can sense airborne pathogens from just a few dozen particles in less three minutes, more than seven times faster than the best sensors available today. Using genetically engineered immune cells (mice "B" cells)--which have been functionalized with antigens that bind to pathogens--as many as 48 different toxins can be simultaneously screened--from anthrax, plague, smallpox, salmonella and E. coli to chemical toxins, such as smallpox. The 37-pound prototype, crafted by its inventor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Labs, was recently reduced to a 20 pound commercial version by exclusive licensee, Innovative Biosensors Inc. (IBI, Rockville, Md.)
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206901866
