Nano Ear

Bacteria and viruses make faint sounds when they move—hard as that is to imagine.  To detect these acoustic vibrations, researchers at the University of Munich have developed a “nano-ear,” made of a nanoparticle of gold held in place by a laser beam.  It can detect vibrations in its vicinity that are as faint as minus 60 decibels—i.e. more than one millionth lower than the human ear can detect.  One application is “listening” for the malaria plasmodium in blood.   MORE

Image Credit: Ohlinger et al. and Smart Planet