Tufts University is currently developing dyed threads that can change color when exposed to dangerous gases. It will be really interesting to see how rescue workers, or even architects and interior designers incorporate this technology to help keep people safe.

via Smithsonian

Until more recently than you might think—the mid-1980s—miners used caged canaries as an early-warning system for carbon monoxide. The birds are ultra-sensitive to the effects of toxic gases, so when one would keel over the miners knew it was time to get fresh air. Canaries were ultimately replaced by more humane technology—digital sensors similar to the carbon monoxide detectors many of us now have in our homes.

But imagine if, instead, miners—or soldiers, or rescue workers—could simply put on a shirt that would change color in the presence of dangerous gas.

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