NEW YORK — Fabrics that block toxic gasses to protect emergency responders, T-shirts that change color and kill bacteria and dresses that can recharge iPods are some of the latest projects scientists at Cornell University are working on.

Fiber science professor Juan Hinestroza said Wednesday that antibacterial clothing and anti-counterfeit devices are key pieces of research at Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory in Ithaca.

He says their work is helping the military and health departments beef up technologically. The Department of Homeland Security provides half of the lab's $1.3 million annual budget.

He says the fashion industry is interested in nanotechnology to design clothes that can change color due to chemical reactions, cotton that can block radiation to avoid a sunburn, and fabrics that can detect allergic reactions and cardiac movements in our bodies.

—Copyright 2011 Associated Press

SOURCE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL