It may be a sad state of affairs but, the fact is, it’s tough for an electronic nose to stand out from the pack these days. This latest effort from some researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology looks to have quite a bit going for it, however, including a collection of eight different types of sensors and 16 “microheaters,” which can be tweaked ever so slightly to effectively create 5,600 virtual sensors or, as the researchers helpfully describe, the “analytical equivalent of a snoot full of sensory neurons.” That, the researchers say, could let the “nose” sniff out everything from nerve agents and environmental contaminants to trace indicators of disease — assuming it ever gets out of the lab, that is, which is something the researchers aren’t making any promises about just yet.

[Via MedGadget]