You know how much I like tech with a purpose that’s something other than more and more megawidgets or terabloops. Hence, a line or two on this laser than can detect diseases.

Developed by a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a laser device that detects molecules in one’s breath that may hint at diseases. It can also detect diseases that aren’t specifically respiratory in nature, like cancer.

For example, the device detected carbon monoxide at five times the normal level in a smoker. Use that info with other data and you could have a powerful tool that makes early detection the norm.

Laser light may detect asthma [Times of India via Drudge Report]