A team of researchers in the Ultrafast and Nanoscale Optics Group at the University of California, San Diego, have created a universal detection system that tests for contamination on any surface. To achieve this, a thin layer of metal drilled with nanoscale holes is laid onto the surface being tested and zapped with laser light, and a sensitive light detector gauges the frequency of light given off. The device can sense substances as wide-ranging as explosives and bacteria.