Uc Science Today

Hi there, thanks for tuning in to Science Today’s weekly roundup. As usual, we covered a range of topics and met with some really great researchers. First, as cool as it is to have a medical device to check up on the health of astronauts in deep space, it’s even better if the same technology can be used here on Earth. That’s just what research scientist Matthew Coleman at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had in mind when he developed a prototype of a handheld diagnostic device for NASA. In fact, he can see it being used for environmental monitoring, too. "To look at even just water. I mean, if it works with saliva, it will certainly work with water from the environment. It could work with material isolated from insects and plants and trees. So, we could do all kinds of environmental sensing." And since the handheld device is rugged enough for space, Coleman says it would be perfect to use in the African desert, too. Meanwhile, over at the Berkeley Lab, researchers are striving to unveil the secret