Your mobile phone may soon be able to tell you if that watermelon is ripe. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems and the Technical University in Dresden designed a tiny spectrometer–a near infrared (NIR) apparatus that could let consumers know if the food is over-ripe or rotting. The spectrometer analyses light and what substances are present in gases and liquids, so the gas exuded by fruit would determine how ripe it is. A report said that a phone with the spectrometer could be held next to a product and results would be interpreted with an app. Other uses for the device could be measuring blood sugar levels in diabetics. To read more, go here.