Noise measurements in electron transport provide exclusive information about microscopic mechanisms that can hardly be obtained by other means. The recently developed concept of full counting statistics (FCS) allows one to predict the non-Gaussian distribution function of the current measured during a time interval $tau$, $P_{tau}(I)$. This distribution is characterized by an infinite set of cumulants $ll I^{n}gg $. I will illustrate implications of the theory of full counting statistics with three examples:
(1) Direct measurement of the distribution function of current fluctuations with a Josephson junction.
(2) Influence of the electromagnetic environment on transport through a mesoscopic conductor. Such systems are well known for giving rise to such effects as dynamical Coulomb blockade and zero bias anomaly. Here I will focus on the inelastic correction to transport and present analytical/numerical results as well as some universal relations for FCS.
(3) The inelastic current through a quantum dot in proximity to a quantum point contact, embedded in an environment. This system is of special interest in quantum computation as a possible charge detector.

Delft