Los Alamos National Laboratory has been working on technology to better secure liquids brought onto airplanes. The Magnetic Vision Bottled Liquid Scanner (MagViz BLS) uses magnetic resonance technology to determine if the  molecular structure of a given liquid/gel has explosive properties. The equipment is about the size of a dorm-room refrigerator. The container is placed inside the box, behind closed door, and within 15 seconds either a red or green light on top of the box lights up indicating whether or not the liquid inside poses a threat.

It will still be sometime before a device like this is rolled out nation-wide but I think this technology shows the great strides forward we are making in airline security.

For more information please check out LANL's website or read Susan Montoya Bryan's article in The Washington Post.