Breathalysing for cannabis and detecting bombs are just two uses Australian scientists see for a range of electronic noses — or E-nose — they are developing.

She predicted that the electronic nose would come in handy in diagnosing disease. Doctors often use their sense of smell (discreetly) to do just that. 'It seems rude to have doctors sniffing around you,' Ms. Ackerman said. But she predicted that the electronic nose might provide some neutral scientific basis for comparing smells.

NOSE news is good news at hi-tech tiddler Neotronics. It rose 9p to 52p after unveiling a second generation 'electronic nose'. The 'e-NOSE 4000' sniffs more reliably than existing models, it says.