caffeine test: Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, USA, are developing a dipstick that can be used to check for caffeine in a variety of drinks.

It would be the first consumer test for caffeine and would be beneficial for anyone wishing to avoid caffeine for health or personal reasons, according to the scientists. It uses antibodies taken from llamas and camels.

robot surgeon: For the first time, a robot surgeon was used in Italy to carry out a long-distance heart operation by itself. The surgery was initiated and monitored on a computer in Boston, USA, by Carlo Pappone, head of arrhythmia and cardiac electrophysiology at Milan's San Raffaele University.

Dozens of heart specialists attending an international conference in Boston also watched the 50-minute surgery conducted in a Milan hospital.