The remote sensing device has the ability to detect a single bacterium, and to demonstrate, scientists at Princeton recently attached the ultra-thin device — made of strands of gold and silk — to the surface of an extracted cow’s tooth and had somebody blow across it. The device successfully registered the presence of bacteria.
“We can detect a single bacterium, which is really important because it can take only a few bacteria to make you sick,” said Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor at Princeton whose team of researchers developed the technology.
