A water purity detection device has been created by the lab of Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. It can detect poisons and contaminants invisible to the naked eye immediately, rather than through sampling and testing.

Modifying special fibers developed in his Tel Aviv University lab, Prof. Katzir can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum which distinguish between pure and contaminated water. Not visible to the naked eye, this spectrum is normally only seen by certain animals, like snakes or vampire bats, to track down prey. Connected to a commercial infrared spectrometer, the fibers serve as sensors that can detect and notify authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

In the lab, the fiberoptic system detected poisons such as pesticides in amounts well below the World Health Organization safety threshold. Preliminary field experiments have already been done at several European sites, and the results were reported recently in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.

This will remind Dune fans of the poison snooper used by all noble-born persons on a regular basis. Pictured below is a hand-held version from a 1984 movie version; the quote below is from Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel.

Poison snoopers were installed over banquet tables for the sake of the guest’s piece of mind:

The Duke said: “Paul, I’m doing a hateful thing, but I must.” He stood beside the portable poison snooper that had been brought into the conference room for their breakfast. The thing’s sensor arms hung limply over the table, reminding Paul of some weird insect newly dead.
(Read more about the poison snooper from Dune)

From Science Daily; thanks to an anonymous reader for contributing the tip and the reference.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/22/2009)

http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=2317

 

Tel Aviv — Israeli scientists say they have developed a technology that can monitor the safety of a building’s or community’s water supplies to detect chemoterrorism.Tel Aviv University physics Professor Abraham Katzir says most Americans take the safety of their drinking water for granted, but he said ordinary tap water could become deadly within minutes.

To defend against contamination, as well as pollution caused by industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage, Katzir and his team created special fibers that can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum that distinguish between pure and contaminated water.

The researchers said their fiber optic system could become one of the first real-time water monitors in the United States to provide protection from chemoterrorism attacks.

“It’s unlikely that someone will poison the water supply in Afghanistan,” Katzir said, “but America is in grave danger and needs to arm itself against chemical threats to its drinking water.”

Preliminary field experiments have been conducted at several European sites, and the results were reported recently in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Although most people take the safety of their drinking water for granted, ordinary tap water could become deadly within minutes, says Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

Modifying special fibers developed in his lab, Katzir can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum that distinguish between pure and contaminated water. Connected to a commercial infrared spectrometer, the fibers serve as sensors that can detect and notify authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

In the lab, the fiberoptic system detected poisons, such as pesticides, in amounts well below the World Health Organization safety threshold. Preliminary field experiments have already been done at several European sites, and the results were reported recently in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.

Once in use, the sensor system would be one of the first real-time water monitors to provide protection from chemoterrorism attacks – a threat to which water supplies in places like the US are particularly susceptible.

“It’s unlikely that someone will poison the water supply in Afghanistan,” says Katzir, “but America is in grave danger and needs to arm itself against chemical threats to its drinking water.

With our naked eyes we can’t distinguish between pure water and water that contains a small amount of alcohol or acetone. They’re all clear. We can’t do it even with a spectrophotometer, which measures visible colors,” explains Katzir.

“But we can clearly distinguish between liquids using an infrared spectrometer which can distinguish between ‘colors’ in the invisible infrared spectrum.”

The special fiber sensors make it possible to monitor the quality of water in a remote location, such as a lake, a river, or a pipeline, and detect trace amounts of contaminants in real time, adds Katzir.

Water management executives in Florida’s Everglades and officials in Germany are among those who have expressed an interest in using the technology.

“Toxic materials are readily available as pesticides or herbicides in the agriculture industry, and can be harmful if consumed even in concentrations as low as few parts per million,” says Katzir.

Cities like New York are especially susceptible to a chemoterrorist threat. With many skyscrapers holding water reserves on the top of the building, a terrorist only needs to introduce poison into a tank to wreak havoc.

“A terrorist wouldn’t have to kill tens of thousands of people. Only 50 deaths – as horrible as that would be – would cause nationwide panic,” Katzir says.

Currently, water authorities in America test water reservoirs usually once every day or two, with no system in place to detect chemical threats instantaneously.

“This new system can cut millions of dollars from the cost of testing water manually,” he says,

The fiber sensors developed by Katzir are made of insoluble, non-toxic, and biocompatible materials.

“You can eat them and nothing will happen to you,” he notes.

Katzir’s determination to fight terrorism through science has a personal side as well. His father, world-renowned scientist Prof. Aharon Katzir, was assassinated by the Japanese Red Army in a terror attack in 1972.

“I am trying to walk in his footsteps by doing applied research that can be a practical tool in an important battle,” he says. “This system can be ready for use in less than a year.”

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212416749&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Although most Americans take the safety of their drinking water for granted, that ordinary tap water could become deadly within minutes, says Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

To combat the threat of contamination due to industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage, the physicist has developed a new system to monitor the safety of a building or community’s water supply in real time.

Modifying special fibers developed in his Tel Aviv University lab, Prof. Katzir can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum which distinguish between pure and contaminated water. Not visible to the naked eye, this spectrum is normally only seen by certain animals, like snakes or vampire bats, to track down prey. Connected to a commercial infrared spectrometer, the fibers serve as sensors that can detect and notify authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

In the lab, the fiberoptic system detected poisons such as pesticides in amounts well below the World Health Organization safety threshold. Preliminary field experiments have already been done at several European sites, and the results were reported recently in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.
Although most Americans take the safety of their drinking water for granted, that ordinary tap water could become deadly within minutes, says Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy.

To combat the threat of contamination due to industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage, the physicist has developed a new system to monitor the safety of a building or community’s water supply in real time.

Modifying special fibers developed in his Tel Aviv University lab, Prof. Katzir can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum which distinguish between pure and contaminated water. Not visible to the naked eye, this spectrum is normally only seen by certain animals, like snakes or vampire bats, to track down prey. Connected to a commercial infrared spectrometer, the fibers serve as sensors that can detect and notify authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

The Colors of Danger
Once in use, the sensor system would be one of the first real-time water monitors in the United States to provide protection from chemoterrorism attacks ― a threat to which U.S. water supplies are particularly susceptible. “It’s unlikely that someone will poison the water supply in Afghanistan,” says Prof. Katzir, “but America is in grave danger and needs to arm itself against chemical threats to its drinking water.

“With our naked eyes we can’t distinguish between pure water and water that contains a small amount of alcohol or acetone. They’re all clear. We can’t do it even with a spectrophotometer, which measures visible colors,” explains Prof. Katzir. “But we can clearly distinguish between liquids using an infrared spectrometer which can distinguish between ‘colors’ in the invisible infrared spectrum.”

Such an instrument can be used to detect hazardous chemicals, pollutants and threats in the water, “seeing” water in the same way as a snake does. The special fiber sensors make it possible to monitor the quality of water in a remote location, such as a lake, a river, or a pipeline, and detect trace amounts of contaminants in real time, adds Prof. Katzir. Water management executives in Florida’s Everglades and officials in Germany are among those who have expressed an interest in using the technology.

Skyscrapers in New York City a Likely Point of Attack

“Toxic materials are readily available as pesticides or herbicides in the agriculture industry, and can be harmful if consumed even in concentrations as low as few parts per million,” says Prof. Katzir.

Cities like New York are especially susceptible to a chemoterrorist threat. With many skyscrapers holding water reserves on the top of the building, a terrorist only needs to introduce poison into a tank to wreak havoc. “A terrorist wouldn’t have to kill tens of thousands of people. Only 50 deaths ― as horrible as that would be ― would cause nationwide panic.”

Currently, water authorities in America test water reservoirs usually once every day or two, with no system in place to detect chemical threats instantaneously. “This new system can cut millions of dollars from the cost of testing water manually.” The fiber sensors developed by Prof. Katzir are made of insoluble, non-toxic, and biocompatible materials. “You can eat them and nothing will happen to you,” he notes.

Prof. Katzir’s determination to fight terrorism through science has a personal side as well. His father, world-renowned scientist Prof. Aharon Katzir, was assassinated by the Japanese Red Army in a terror attack in 1972. “I am trying to walk in his footsteps by doing applied research that can be a practical tool in an important battle. This system can be ready for use in less than a year.”

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/afot-mwt051209.php

To combat the threat of contamination due to industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage, the physicist has developed a new system to monitor the safety of a building or community’s water supply in real time.

Modifying special fibers developed in his Tel Aviv University lab, Prof. Katzir can detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum which distinguish between pure and contaminated water. Not visible to the naked eye, this spectrum is normally only seen by certain animals, like snakes or vampire bats, to track down prey. Connected to a commercial infrared spectrometer, the fibers serve as sensors that can detect and notify authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

In the lab, the fiberoptic system detected poisons such as pesticides in amounts well below the World Health Organization safety threshold. Preliminary field experiments have already been done at several European sites, and the results were reported recently in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.

The Colors of Danger

Once in use, the sensor system would be one of the first real-time water monitors in the United States to provide protection from chemoterrorism attacks — a threat to which U.S. water supplies are particularly susceptible. “It’s unlikely that someone will poison the water supply in Afghanistan,” says Prof. Katzir, “but America is in grave danger and needs to arm itself against chemical threats to its drinking water.

“With our naked eyes we can’t distinguish between pure water and water that contains a small amount of alcohol or acetone. They’re all clear. We can’t do it even with a spectrophotometer, which measures visible colors,” explains Prof. Katzir. “But we can clearly distinguish between liquids using an infrared spectrometer which can distinguish between ‘colors’ in the invisible infrared spectrum.”

Such an instrument can be used to detect hazardous chemicals, pollutants and threats in the water, “seeing” water in the same way as a snake does. The special fiber sensors make it possible to monitor the quality of water in a remote location, such as a lake, a river, or a pipeline, and detect trace amounts of contaminants in real time, adds Prof. Katzir. Water management executives in Florida’s Everglades and officials in Germany are among those who have expressed an interest in using the technology.

Skyscrapers in New York City a Likely Point of Attack

“Toxic materials are readily available as pesticides or herbicides in the agriculture industry, and can be harmful if consumed even in concentrations as low as few parts per million,” says Prof. Katzir.

Cities like New York are especially susceptible to a chemoterrorist threat. With many skyscrapers holding water reserves on the top of the building, a terrorist only needs to introduce poison into a tank to wreak havoc. “A terrorist wouldn’t have to kill tens of thousands of people. Only 50 deaths — as horrible as that would be — would cause nationwide panic.”

Currently, water authorities in America test water reservoirs usually once every day or two, with no system in place to detect chemical threats instantaneously. “This new system can cut millions of dollars from the cost of testing water manually.” The fiber sensors developed by Prof. Katzir are made of insoluble, non-toxic, and biocompatible materials. “You can eat them and nothing will happen to you,” he notes.

Prof. Katzir’s determination to fight terrorism through science has a personal side as well. His father, world-renowned scientist Prof. Aharon Katzir, was assassinated by the Japanese Red Army in a terror attack in 1972. “I am trying to walk in his footsteps by doing applied research that can be a practical tool in an important battle. This system can be ready for use in less than a year.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512193241.htm

(IsraelNN.com) Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy has developed a new system modeled after the biology of snakes to monitor the public water supply for poisons and contaminants in real time.
The successful results of preliminary field experiments performed at several European sites were recently reported in the Journal of Applied Spectroscopy.

Using fibers modified in his lab, Katzir found that he could detect “colors” in the infrared spectrum which distinguish between pure and contaminated water. His invention connects the fibers to a commercial infrared spectrometer that detects and notifies authorities immediately if a contaminant has entered a water reservoir, system, building or pipeline.

The infrared spectrum, not visible to human eyes, is typically used by animals like snakes and bats to track down prey.

“With our naked eyes we can’t distinguish between pure water and water that contains a small amount of alcohol or acetone. They’re all clear. But we can clearly distinguish between liquids using an infrared spectrometer which can identify ‘colors’ in the invisible infrared spectrum,” he added.

According to Katzir, ordinary tap water can become contaminated and deadly within minutes due to industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage. He said that his system could detect poisons like pesticides in amounts well below the World Health Organization safety threshold. “Seeing” water like a snake does, could be the first real-time water monitor to provide protection against a chemical terror attack.

“It’s unlikely that someone will poison the water supply in Afghanistan, but America is in grave danger, and needs to arm itself against chemical threats to its drinking water,” said Katzir. “Toxic materials are readily available as pesticides or herbicides in the agriculture industry, and can be harmful if consumed even in concentrations as low as few parts per million.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131353

STORY:

Israeli physicists have discovered that the heat from laser light can weld flesh back together. Now they’re experimenting with using it to heal wounds instead of using traditional stitching.

The bonding is also achieved using a blood protein called albumin. It works a bit like micro hooks on each side of the cut. They attach to each other and bond tightly after the skin has cooled down.

Professor Abraham Katzir demonstrates his laser technique on a piece of chicken breast.

[Abraham Katzir, Head of Applied Physics]:
“Both the edges of the cut and the albumin all stick together. And what the advantage is that you get, first of all, a strong bond, instead of sutures. Secondly it’s watertight, so that infection can not penetrate.”

But it has also proven successful on human flesh. Wounds from patients have healed faster and with less scarring.

The next step for Professor Katzir is to design a pen-like laser instrument. That way any doctor or medic could potentially use this technique.

[Abraham Katzir, Head of Applied Physics]:
“You will simply have an instrument that maybe will be in every hospital or in an emergency situation, or in an ambulance service, or in a battle field, that the less qualified surgeon or a medic, if there is a cut they can do it exactly like they do it in the Star Trek series…the television series. So it is science fiction made real.”

Professor Katzir is referring to the futuristic sci-fi TV series that used a so-called “Dermal Regenerator” to mend wounds.

According to Katzir, this new laser method could also be used in keyhole surgery to seal internal wounds. This would then avoid the need for making large invasive incisions on the body.

Katzir and his team hope to see their invention in operating rooms around the world in just a few years time.

Professor Abraham Katzir demonstrated his laser technique on a piece of chicken breast, presented by Reuters. “Both the edges of the cut and the albumin all stick together. And what the advantage is that you get, first of all, a strong bond, instead of sutures. Secondly it’s watertight, so that infection cannot penetrate,” said Abraham Katzir, head of Applied Physics, at Tel Aviv University.

However, since the main focus is surgery and wound healing in people, Dr. Katzir claims that the same technique has also proven successful on human flesh, as wounds from patients have healed faster and with less scarring. Since the technique is already proven to be efficient, all that’s left to do is develop an instrument to apply it. This way, the next step for Professor Katzir is to design a pen-like laser instrument. That way, any doctor could potentially use this technique.

“You will simply have an instrument that maybe will be in every hospital or in an emergency situation, or in an ambulance service, or in a battle field, that the less qualified surgeon or a medic, if there is a cut they can do it exactly like they do it in the Star Trek series… the television series. So it is science fiction made real,” he said.

According to Katzir, this new laser method could also be used in keyhole surgery to seal internal wounds. This would then avoid the need for making large invasive incisions on the body. Katzir and his team hope to see their invention in operating rooms around the world in just a few years’ time.

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