Nanosensor Hunts for Life's Vibrations

Jan-02-15 A tiny sensor sensitive enough to detect the vibrations of microscopic beings could be used to hunt for life on other planets.

Based on technology used in atomic force microscopes, the motion sensor is equipped with a cantilever that extends horizontally to hold the sample under scrutiny. The basic metabolic functions of a living being—even as tiny as an individual cell—will cause the cantilever to vibrate, which is detected using lasers. In tests, the system was able to detect motion in bacteria, yeast, human and mouse cells.

Since alien life forms could be very different chemically than life as we know it, seeking them out by chemical signatures may not be effective. Movement, however, is a much more universal standard of life.

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[DISCOVERY.COM]
[EPFL.CH]

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