n We are what we eat, so the saying goes. What we eat, however, may have a direct influence on our health, and not only from a nutritional point of view. For our own tastes can help dictate our resistance to cancer, research shows.

''Super-tasters are highly sensitive to bitter taste and tend to reject these foods. But many antioxidant molecules that are so important for cancer prevention are either bitter or occur in bitter tasting vegetables and fruit,'' says nutrition expert Adam Drewnowski.

His study shows 25% of women are ''super-tasters'' while another 25% were ''non-tasters'' with a ''taste blindness'' to bitter flavours, and the rest were regular tasters. Women who rejected the bitter taste of a laboratory compound limited exposure to substances already known to alter cancer risk.

n A new material can make planes and cars - and even buildings - bulletproof. It's a polymer reinforced with special ''intelligent'' fibres of nitrinol which is strong enough to shrug off gunshots, car smashes, and even plane crashes at less than 200ft per second. In planes it could prevent damage from foreign objects, such as birds or could even contain explosions in holds. In armoured cars it would strongly improve protection against land-mines.

The developers also believe it has great potential as a new lightweight composite in personal body armour.

Nitinol is a shape memory metal that can be stretched like a rubber band. Recently it's been used in spectacle frames to help them retain their shape, and in the wires on dental braces. When used as a fibre in composites, it allows the material to dissipate energy so it can withstand a great impact.

n Long-term exposure to metals like copper and manganese may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease, new evidence shows. A report in Neurology found that more than 20 years of work-related exposure to copper or manganese, or dual combinations of lead, copper, and iron, was significantly associated with acquiring Parkinson's. Combinations of lead, copper, and iron exposures were associated with an even greater risk than any single metal which was investigated.

These new findings may help shed light on the cause of this disabling disorder. Parkinson's disease is a common degenerative disorder of the brain that produces slow bodily movements, rigid muscles, frequent tremor of limbs, and loss of balance.

n A new ''addiction'' protein has been discovered. It's been named Homer and becomes active in brain cells during exposure to cocaine and during long-term memory creation. It is one of the first links between drug addiction and long-term memory that directly acts on nerve cells' message-receiving structures, say neuroscientists. As such, it could be an important step toward understanding the connections between addiction and memory, and developing treatments for addiction.

n A spoonful of grapefruit juice has the edge on Mary Poppins' sugar, if the medicine is to be eased on its way. And if you want medicine to work harder, it could be a good idea to look more closely at your breakfast menu. Grapefruit is definitely good, following research which shows the juice helps the body absorb medicines more efficiently. The key to how grapefruit juice enhances drug absorption lies in its interaction with an enzyme in the small intestine. A study found the juice actually decreases the amount of this enzyme, which normally acts as a sort of medicinal gatekeeper. The findings open the door to greater control over how much medication is delivered from a given dose. Researchers now believe that by adding the responsible substance contained in grapefruit directly into oral medications, the reliability and safety of drugs can be greatly improved.

n A rose by any other name might not smell sweet at all, thanks to a development which falls into the Whatever Will They Think Of Next category. It's a technique which gives flowers a dose of radiation to fade out the bouquet.

It's aimed at the real heavy smellers like jasmine which has an odour heavy enough to give some people headaches and make them sick. Dr Lars Christensen, in the ornamentals department of the Danish Institute of Plant and Soil Science, zapped newly rooted Jasminum polyanthum cuttings with gamma rays to induce random mutations in their cells. Cuttings taken from these plants were grown for three months, and the most promising were cloned. After the plants bloomed, the researchers used analytical equipment to measure the volatile chemicals that composed the flowers' aroma. Flowers on these descendants do give off the same range of scents, but the active amounts were cut hugely.

Christensen is convinced the work can be applied to other flowers with a strong or undesirable odour. One possible target is the flowering rapeseed which has changed our fairly green and pleasant landscape into a summertime virulent yellow, which smells strongly enough to cause discomfort to many folk.