Kate Devine | Sep 3, 2000 | 3 min read
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for discerning odors that is far more sensitive than the human nose and has numerous potential applications in the workplace as well as the home. Ten to 100 times more sensitive than the human nose for many compounds, the artificial nose works by visualizing odors; it is simple, fast, and inexpensive. The technique, termed "smell-seeing" by its inventors, uses an array of vapor-sensitive dyes known as metalloporphyrins that cha