Harm's Way

This article reviews how engineering software and microtechnology prepare defense against bioterrorism. Researchers at government-associated labs across the nation are quietly working on the best ways to swiftly ready emergency responders in the event of a bioterrorism attack and to deal with the repercussions hours and days after the dreaded event. Over at Sandia National Laboratories, researchers have created a small, wall-mounted unit powered by a microchip that continuously monitors the surrounding air to check for harmful biological agents. Lab-on-a-chip technology performs analyses in a fraction of a minute that would take hours with traditional laboratory methods. Sandia researchers, with funding from the Department of Defense, seek to perfect a similar wall-mounted unit so it could one day be hung in a subway station or in another public area. The unit would while away the day collecting air samples and analyzing them.