Sensors that sniff out chemicals in the air to warn us about everything from fires to carbon monoxide to drunk drivers to explosive devices hidden in luggage have improved so much that they can even detect diseases on a person’s breath. Researchers from Drexel University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have made a discovery that could make our best “chemical noses” even more sensitive.

In research, recently published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano, the team describes how a two-dimensional, metallic material called MXene can be used as a highly sensitive detector of gaseous chemicals. The paper suggests that MXene can pick up chemicals, such as ammonia and acetone, which are indicators of ulcers and diabetes, in much lower traces than sensors currently being used in medical diagnostics.

Read the full press release here.