Dr. Kandyla, from the National Hellenic Research Foundation, describes how she and her team use laser radiation as a nanotechnology tool for developing nanostructured materials and devices with advanced functionalities, which may be used in many ways - two of them (perhaps, the most commercially viable) are the development of thin film solar cells and chemical sensors which are useful for monitoring toxic and dangerous gases employed in industrial and domestic applications as well as trace gases contained in the human breath, for early and (most important) non-invasive early detection of diseases. Interviewed by Yannis Rizopoulos for Tech Talks Central.