This bite-sized device can tackle the enormous problem of UV radiation

LONDON: A tiny, wireless, battery-free sensor can recognise solar radiation—and could even stop people dying from skin cancer, according to the scientists who created it. The small monitoring device is just the size of a fingernail but allows the people using it to track doses of ultraviolet radiation when they are outside. Over-exposure to UV can increase the risk of a variety of skin cancers, which cost more than $8bn (£ 6.3bn) a year in the US alone. Experts fear that the occurrence could reach epidemic proportions and that monitoring them could be a useful way of avoiding further harm. But being exposed to UV light can also be helpful, meaning that it is important to be sure just how much people are around. At the moment, UV monitoring devices tend to have issues such as limited battery life, leading them to see little use in the technology industry and among people.