Skip to Content

New sensor technologies have given rise to a faster and cheaper test for cystic fibrosis. Researchers at Dublin City University in Ireland have developed a diagnostic instrument that fits around a patient’s wrist like a watch and produces results within 30 minutes. The device stimulates sweating by passing a chemical over the skin, then collects sweat samples and sends them to a separate unit where an array of sensors simultaneously measures sodium, chloride and potassium levels-which are significantly elevated in patients with the disease. The data is then fed to a laptop computer for analysis. While standard tests also use sweat samples, each ion must be analyzed separately using different techniques, a process that can take up to a day. According to Dublin City chemist Dermot Diamond, the ultimate goal is to integrate the sampling device and the sensors into a single unit equipped with a radio transmitter to send data to a remote computer for analysis.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language

A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.