Ripped From the Journals: The Biggest Discoveries of the Week

Nature Nanotechnology, advance publication August 30 While we're still waiting for a cure to cancer, we're grateful that researchers are also working to find ways to diagnose it faster, more easily, and more accurately, to improve patients' odds of successful treatment. Along those lines, Israeli researchers announced their invention of a breathalyzer that can detect lung cancer. The device they describe in Nature Nanotech isn't the first to detect the volatile organic compounds produced by cancer cells in patients' breath, but previous devices required that a breath sample be manipulated and analyzed in the lab; the new gadget can give a read-out within minutes.80beats › Edit — WordPress