Four-legged, dog-like robot ‘sniffs’ hazardous gases in inaccessible environments

Portable mass spectrometry for on-site detection of hazardous volatile organic compounds via robotic extractive sampling

12-Jun-2024 - Nightmare material or truly man’s best friend? A team of researchers equipped a dog-like quadruped robot with a mechanized arm that takes air samples from potentially treacherous situations, such as an abandoned building or fire. The robot dog walks samples to a person who screens them for ...

Doping by athletes could become tougher to hide with new detection method

Ion mobility-mass spectrometry to detect known dopants and newly created illicit steroids not yet known

12-Apr-2021 - As the world awaits the upcoming Olympic games, a new method for detecting doping compounds in urine samples could level the playing field for those trying to keep athletics clean. Scientists report an approach using ion mobility-mass spectrometry to help regulatory agencies detect existing ...

Detecting fake wine vintages: It's an (atomic) blast

24-Mar-2010 - Two decades of atomic bomb testing in the atmosphere are yielding an unexpected bonus for consumers, scientists reported here at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). It's a new test to determine whether that Bordeaux or burgundy is from a fine vintage year and ...