Drone sniffs the skies

• Autores: Joshua Sokol
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3052-3053, 2015, pág. 19
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The Coccidioides fungus lives in the desert soil of the Southwest US and Mexico, but on dry, windy days it can get kicked up into the air. Inhaling a single spore can cause pneumonia--or worse. A drone designed at the University of California, Merced, aims to be a nose in the sky, searching for the airborne fungus to warn people when levels are high. The team wants to test for spores in flight, mapping their flow and potentially warning communities to stay indoors or wear masks on the most dangerous days. In early March, the team flew their sampling system for the first time above pools and grasslands in a reserve on the university campus.