One of the biggest mysteries that humanity has yet to solve is that of life on other planets. And now we don't even have to send William Shatner to explore the question for us!
This chip, developed by Harvard Professor Gary Ruvkun, is designed to detect alien life on planets such as Mars. How does it work?
It will use a combination of buffer solution, detergent and high-frequency sound waves to disrupt the cells, causing any minuscule Martians to release their genetic material. Chemicals in the chip would then amplify the DNA found and label it with fluorescent dyes.Unfortunately, they're only about 3% of the way to getting it small enough to actually make it to Mars. But hey, someday, this is how we'll find alien life. Not with a handshake, but with a tiny chip on an unmanned spacecraft.
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