Anyone who’s seen the stories linking diamonds to terrorist funds may be heartened to hear of a role diamonds may someday play in defeating terrorism.

Diamonds could play a key role in detectors for biological weapons like anthrax or smallpox, ABCnews.com reported recently.

The detectors available now are too large, the site said. But if the detectors are studded with diamonds their sensor chips could be shrunk. Researchers also like diamond because it is a stable and reusable resource.