lab-on-a-molecule
n.— «The use of one test, rather than three separate tests, to detect the presence of three analytes could therefore potentially improve the efficiency of screening for various medical conditions. Chemists at Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland, have now shown that such a test is, in principle, possible, using a relatively simple prototype molecule that they dub “lab-on-a-molecule.”» —“Molecule Signals Presence Of Ion Trio” by Michael Freemantle Chemical & Engineering News Apr. 4, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...
Katie in Everett, Washington, is curious about the expression If ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers. What is a tinker? She heard this phrase on the television series The Gilded Age, in response to a character who...