'Tricorder' Sensor Has Real-Life Promise
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Feb. 27, 2007 -- A handheld sensing system that its creators liken to Star Trek's "tricorder," which was used on the show to analyze the chemical components of alien worlds, could have down-to-earth applications.
The portable system, the "Mini 11," is an ultrafast chemical-analysis tool that has numerous promising uses, such as testing foods for dangerous bacterial contaminants including salmonella, which was recently found in a popular brand of peanut butter, or detecting everything from cancer in the...