When people hear about bionics, they likely picture a man in a futuristic suit of robotic gear (iron man?). To be more technical, however, bionics can be defined as technology that models functions performed by living things in nature. Recent bionic developments have generated excitement and interest in the limitless applications of this particular type of technology. A classical example involves the unfortunate cases of when people lose their limbs; in such situations, people can’t help but wonder how their lifestyles will change as a result of missing limbs. Fortunately, bionic prosthetics offer the next best thing in terms of finding “replacement” limbs, a solution that would have been deemed as science fiction not too long ago. However, bionic technology is not limited to just limbs. A group of researchers have recently developed a bionic device that mimics the human nose.
Image Source: Ignacio Palacios
Researchers have developed a bionic nose that is capable of detecting scents just like a real human nose. Instead of using it as a replacement for those who have lost their noses, the researchers specifically designed the bioelectronic nose for sniffing out contamination in water. It serves as an alternative to other commonly used techniques for testing water contamination, which often take a lot of time and are generally inconvenient to use. The device is able to detect the bacteria-produced scents given off by two molecules, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, at concentrations lower than what a normal human nose can detect. Unfortunately, the bionic nose is far from being able to function as well as a human nose in terms of identifying different smells; in order to do so, the device would have to take into account the hundreds of different olfactory receptors contained in the human nose.
The results of this study may be useful for increasing the efficiency by which we test water contamination. However, applications of the bionic nose can be extended into medical settings as well. The researchers believe that their device has the potential to be used to detect diseases in a fashion similar to how dogs have been used, such as identifying certain diseases based on the unique scent given off by the patients’ cells. If a bionic nose is designed to specifically detect this scent, then using this device may serve as a new way to diagnose diseases in patients.
Feature Image Source: Grand Prismatic Spring (Excelsior Group, Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Hotspot Volcano, northwestern Wyoming, USA) 2 by James St. John
