A prototype phone that can ‘sniff disease’ was introduced at nanotech 2009 by Nokia and Applied Nanodetectors (AND) Limited. They claim that the cell phone can detect various diseases by sniffing the user’s breath. There are sensors and a chip that somehow work together to detect gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. Somehow the gases are analyzed and compared to the composition you’d expect in someone who has a particular disease. I am intrigued by this but I don’t think there are enough details to determine just how this technology works. Plus I’m not sure how useful this would be. One of the claims is that asthma can be detected. Well, I’ve had that since I was a kid; I can tell you when I have a problem breathing. In fact, you can tell when I’m having trouble breathing; it’s very obvious. If you’re interested in more details, there’s [nano tech] Nokia Handset Checks Breath for Diseases or Phone Tech Detects Diseases by Analyzing Breath on Gearlog.

There’s  a ‘nano type’ movie opening at IMAX theatres in early 2009, according to Shekhar Garde at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Hidden Before Our Eyes: Tiny World Makes Giant Leap to Silver Screen on Pnysorg.com. It’s a simulation called Molecules to the Max which is being projected on the very large screens found in IMAX theatres. It’s a collaboration between artists and scientists. I hope it makes its way to Canada.