A Sharper Nose for Danger

Biodetectors have come a long way in just a few years. And their potential uses range beyond homeland security

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May 25, 2004 at 4:00 AM UTC

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Research into biodetectors to sniff out potentially deadly pathogens has gone on for years. Even so, the devices the Homeland Security Dept. uses in BioWatch, its network of biosensors that analyze air in more than 30 major U.S. cities, are only a tad smarter than a vacuum cleaner. Basically, they just suck in air and deposit the samples onto special filters. Then someone has to collect the samples and take them into a lab.

It's all pretty Old Tech -- and expensive. Today the network costs about $2 million per city, per year, says Penrose "Parney" Albright, Assistant Secretary for science and technology at Homeland Security. That's mostly due to the labor involved.