smelling cancer: Research conducted in the US presents astonishing evidence that man's best friend, the dog, may help in early detection of cancer. Led by Michael McCulloch of the Pine Street Foundation in California, and Tadeusz Jezierski of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Animal Breeding, the study suggests dogs can distinguish people with both early and late stage lung and breast cancers from healthy controls.

gold chips: Gold "shines' in a different way at the nanoscale, and the insight may lead to new optical chips for computers or for switches in fibre networks, say researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory in the US. Led by Gary Wiederrecht, the scientists found that they could control the wavelength of the light emitted by gold nanorods, making it possible to use them as a light source inside an optical chip, allowing transmission of information through light. The gold nanorods are about 20 nanometres wide and 70-300 nanometres long.

solar crystals: Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US have discovered that the phenomenon of semiconductor nanocrystals producing electrons in the presence of light, is applicable to a broader array of materials than believed. The discovery increases the potential for the use of nanocrystals as solar cell materials to produce higher electrical outputs than from current solar cells.

electronic nose: Scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK have invented a device that remotely monitors bad odours and methane gases at waste landfill and water treatment sites. The device, which works like an electronic nose, could be the solution many communities and waste management companies, who regularly encounter problems with bad odours and air pollution, are searching for. The device has four sensors to analyse the composition of gases in the air.