In December, an analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial trial found that neither of the supplements provided a benefit in prostate cancer prevention.

CNN: Study: Multivitamins don't lower older women's cancer risk

The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial involving 35, 000 U.S. and Canadian men was halted in October when researchers determined that selenium was not protecting the men from prostate cancer and may have been causing diabetes in some of them.

CNN: Group threatens suit over vitamins' anti-cancer claims

Some experts have suggested that it may be more effective to supplement the minerals such as zinc and selenium that the body uses to produce catalase, MSR A and B, and tyrosinase, rather than take them directly.

FORBES: A Pill To Prevent Gray Hair - Is It Finally On The Way?

Among the technologies are new ways of making already-commercialized formulations, like amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride, and newer formulations like CIGS, named for the elements it is made out of, copper, indium, gallium and selenium, and CIS, which leaves out the gallium.

FORBES: Chevron Stages Solar Talent Show

Another study of 35, 000 men, conducted just a few months before that one, showed that taking vitamin E and selenium had no impact on cancer rates, and the researchers actually stopped the study early because there appeared to be a slight increase in cancer and diabetes among study participants.

FORBES: Vitamins: Good for You, Bad for You, or What?

To get the material to assemble properly, all of the molecules had to be a specific size--11 nanometers for the iron oxide particles, each of which is 60, 000 atoms across, and five nanometers across for the lead selenium quantum dots, each of which contains 3, 000 atoms.

FORBES: IBM Nanotechnology Goes 3-D

There is already evidence that adequate selenium in the diet may be protective against cancer, and perhaps have an impact on male fertility.

BBC: Poor diet 'boosts virus power'

Solar CIS, which stands for copper, indium and selenium, are solar photovoltaic (PV) modules that leverage the latest developments in thin-film technology.

FORBES: Solar Heats Up in Saudi Arabia

At nearly 14%, the efficiency of the thin-film panels which are made from copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), is close to that of silicon, albeit being much cheaper to produce.

FORBES: 14% Efficiency for Thin-Film Solar Cells, but Where Will the Indium Come From?

The list includes several vitamins and inorganic minerals as common as salt and as rare as selenium or iodine.

ECONOMIST: In praise of omega-3s