X-Message-Number: 20921 From: "Gina Miller" <> Subject: The Nanogirl News~ Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2003 12:53:27 -0800 The Nanogirl News January 19, 2003 Nanotech oversight bill reintroduced. Legislation establishing a government advisory board to oversee a U.S. nanotechnology initiative was reintroduced this week in the House of Representatives. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., calls for industry and university experts to serve on an advisory panel that would advise the Bush administration and Congress on research investments and goals for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative. Similar legislation was introduced in October by Honda, a member of the House Science Committee. The bill calls for the formation of an advisory panel that would develop short-, medium- and long-range objectives for nanotechnology development over the next decade and beyond. (EE Times 1/10/03) http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20030110S0047 CEPD touts nanotech boost to industry. Vice Premier Lin Shin-yi urged yesterday Taiwanese companies and government research laboratories to work together to build a global leadership niche in the coming wave of applications of nanotechnology. Accompanied by staff of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, Lin, who is concurrently CEPD chairman, said "many breakthroughs in research and development" made at the Nanotechnology Research Center of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) would make a major contribution to upgrading the island's "traditional" industries. (eTaiwanNews 1/14/03) http://www.etaiwannews.com/Business/2003/01/14/1042505798.htm UMass team develops novel self-assembly processes for nanotech applications. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a series of novel techniques in nanotechnology that hold promise for applications ranging from highly targeted pharmaceutical therapies, to development of nutrition-enhanced foods known as "nutraceuticals," to nanoscopic sensors that might one day advance medical imaging and diagnostics. The research, published in the Jan. 10 issue of Science, was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation. (EurekAlert 1/9/03) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/uoma-utd010703.php Nanoparticles encapsulate water droplets. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, US, have come up with a technique for assembling nanoparticles into robust 3D structures by encapsulating and stabilizing water droplets. The researchers attached ligands to the nanoparticles to achieve the results. (nanotechweb.org 1/10/03) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/1/4/1 also see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/uoma-utd010703.php Competitive Technologies Announces Exclusive License for Bone Cement and Bone Substitute Technology. Competitive Technologies, Inc. (Amex: CTT) announced today that it has signed an exclusive agreement with the University of South Carolina Research Foundation (USCRF) to license and commercialize a new nano-technology invention of injectible calcium phosphate-based biomaterial for use in skeletal repair. The technology is from the research of Dr. Brian Genge, a research professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina. (StockHouse USA 1/17/03) http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=CTT&newsid=1473523 (Space) Researchers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reported today they are seeing the conclusion of the cosmic epoch called the "Dark Ages," a time about a billion years after the big bang when newly-formed stars and galaxies were just starting to become visible. "With the Hubble Telescope, we can now see back to the epoch when stars in young galaxies began to shine in significant numbers, concluding the cosmic 'dark ages' about 13 billion years ago," said Haojing Yan, a Ph.D. graduate student at Arizona State University (ASU)...The ASU team reports that Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is revealing numerous faint objects that may be young star-forming galaxies seen when the universe was seven times smaller than it is today and less than a billion years old.-image on the website- (HubbleSite 1/9/03) http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/2003/05/text UT consortium formed for nanotechnology research. The provosts of five University of Texas campuses signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday intended to position their schools in the forefront of nanotechnology research. Nanotechnology involves working at atomic, molecular and supramolecular levels to create materials with entirely new physical or chemical properties by virtue of their sizes, which are smaller than the wavelength of light. The most fascinating aspect of nanotechnology is that the properties of familiar substances change at very small sizes, said Paul Barbara, the director of the Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology at UT-Austin. (Brownsville Herald 1/17/03) http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/archive/topstoryjmp/1-17-03/News4. htm Scientists develop enhanced biomedical nanoapplications. Taiwan's dedicated scientific research is helping to propel the country to a spot in the international forefront of nanotechnology. As part of a joint National Science Council project, a top research team has been demonstrating the enormous potential and commercial benefits of "nanoparticle" applications in biomedical sciences, some of which were on display yesterday. (eTaiwanNews 1/17/03) http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2003/01/17/1042773304.htm Nanoshells offer sensor for single molecules. Rice University researchers have come up with a way of tailoring the local electromagnetic field around metal nanoshells. The scientists claim this could enable chemical screening for single molecules using the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. "This is the first time that anyone has designed and engineered a nanosensor specifically for obtaining chemical information," said Naomi Halas of Rice University. (nanotechweb.org 1/14/03) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/1/6/1 Lasers slim enough for chips. Optical fibres thousand times narrower than human hair produce laser light. US scientists have made tiny lasers that can be incorporated into silicon microchips. The devices could help make information technology faster and more compact. Built by Charles Lieber and coworkers at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the lasers are single wires of the semiconductor cadmium sulphide. Called nanowires, they measure just a hundred millionths of a millimetre across. (Nature Science Update 1/16/03) http://www.nature.com/nsu/030113/030113-5.html Nanotechnology developments poised to redefine electronics markets. Nanotechnology promises devices that are small, fast, and inexpensive. These devices are poised to enable a range of innovative products, transforming industries from medicine to transportation. It is in electronic markets, however, that nanotechnology is likely to have the most significant and most immediate impact. (Technical Insights via EurekAlert 1/14/03) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-01/ti-ndp011403.php University, Argonne Lab to launch a flagship nanoscience program. The University and Argonne National Laboratory have launched a joint $1 million Consortium for Nanoscience Research to serve as a flagship science program focused on emerging science and technology and as an incubator for the next generation of nanoscience research. "We can achieve something together in a way that we couldn't do individually, and that's why we have this consortium," said consortium Director Heinrich Jaeger, Professor in Physics and the College. "It is an effort that goes way beyond what would be possible on an individual-investigator basis." (The University of Chicago Chronicle 1/9/03) http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/030109/nano.shtml Claude Vorilhon, (aka Rael) leader of the Raelians who has just been in the news recently for proclaiming the development of an unconfirmed cloned birth(s), is also dropping technowords like nano-robots and artificial intelligence into the press. (Washington Post 1/17/03) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4047-2003Jan16.html Thomson Derwent Introduces Derwent Web of Nanotechnology. Thomson Derwent has announced the development of Derwent Web of Nanotechnology, a Web-based patent resource that delivers up-to-the-minute Nanotechnology-related patent records from Derwent, journal literature from Thomson ISI, and editorially evaluated Web sites. Derwent Web of Nanotechnology houses 35,000 patent records from the Derwent World Patents Index (10,000 added per year) and more than 185,000 journal records from ISI Web of Science (25,000 added per year). (1/17/03 EContent Xtra) http://www.econtentmag.com/ecxtra/2003/2003_0117/2003_0117_6.html The possibility for the production of new types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is emerging as the burgeoning field of nanotechnology (NT) - the science of designing microscopic structures in which materials are machined and manipulated atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule - matures. While specialists agree that its widespread use by the military is some ways off, it is likely that it will be increasingly employed, especially as this new science develops. Under such monikers as "micromechanical engineering" and "microelectromechanical systems" (MEMS), the field of NT was born 30 years ago in nuclear weapons laboratories. Its present application has been to refine existing nuclear weapon designs. But its greatest potential, however, remains on the drawing board. Nanotechnology has the potential to create entirely new weapons. Fourth-generation nuclear weapons are new types of nuclear explosives that would use inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities. (Janes 1/15/03) http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jcbw/jcbw030115_1_ n.shtml Purdue leads NASA project to create tiny, super smart computers. Purdue University scientists are teaming up with NASA on a nanotechnology institute devoted to creating tiny computers with enough brainpower to allow future space probes to think for themselves. The goal of the new NASA Institute for Nanoelectronics and Computing is to design miniature supercomputers that can make unmanned probes autonomous enough to react quickly when unexpected problems arise far from Earth. But the same technology would also lead to tiny, lightweight and energy-efficient sensors, and communication, navigation and propulsion systems for spacecraft, said Supriyo Datta, the new institute's director. (Indystar 1/15/03) http://www.indystar.com/data/wire/out/0115ap_n0eisjf109.html Add Ceramic Fracture Protection to the List of Nanotube Attributes. Ceramics are famous for being hard, but easy to break. Now, researchers have demonstrated that adding carbon nanotubes to a ceramic material can nearly triple its resistance to fracturing. Since carbon nanotubes were discovered a decade ago, ceramics researchers have tried to exploit the tiny tubes' extraordinary strength and flexibility to make much more fracture-resistant materials. Such durable materials could eventually replace conventional ceramics or even metals in countless products, says Joshua D. Kuntz of the University of California, Davis. (Small Times 1/13/03) http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=5308 Microelectronics goes nanomechanical. In modern electronics, components are being designed on increasingly tiny scales. As we approach dimensions of one billionth of a metre the nanometre scale it is now appropriate to talk about nanoelectronics rather than microelectronics...a new type of device in which electron transport is manipulated by both electrical and mechanical means has been built by Dominik Scheible, Artur Erbe and Robert Blick at the Center for NanoScience at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich (D Scheible et al. 2002 New Journal of Physics 4 86.1 86.7). (PhysicsWeb January 2003) http://physicsweb.org/article/world/16/1/7 Nanotechnology is good for the heart. A Swiss team of physicists, biochemists and doctors has constructed an array of sub-millimetre sized cantilevers to monitor blood proteins. The device, built by Youri Arntz of the University of Basel and colleagues at Basel and IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory, can measure proteins whose concentration reflects the state of a person's heart. It promises quicker and easier diagnoses of heart attacks than existing technologies, which rely on the radioactive labeling of proteins. (PhysicsWeb 1/10/03) http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/1/4 Researchers create novel life form. Researchers said Monday they have manipulated an organism successfully to make it produce an unnatural amino acid in addition to its natural counterparts. "It's a bona fide unnatural organism now," said lead researcher Ryan Mehl, previously at Scripps Research Institute where the study was conducted and currently an assistant professor of chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. Manufacturing this unnatural bacterium could lead to the manipulation of others to manufacture antibiotics, enzymes or other compounds for human use, Mehl said. By adding a novel amino acid, another protein building block, the bacterium could produce proteins not found in nature and with unknown potential, he said. (United Press International 1/13/03) http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030113-061458-1878r (More _Prey_ reaction) Devil in the details? The molecule-size machines long promised by nanotechnology now seem menacing to some. Nanotechnology, touted as promising supermaterials and molecule-size robots, is starting to know sin-or at least some bad PR. In his new techno-thriller, Prey, author Michael Crichton presents supersmall, supersmart nanobots as itsy-bitsy baddies. And in some corners of the real world, environmental groups and arms control advocates are raising questions about possible health effects of nanotech's tiny particles and the weapons potential of its tiny machines. (U.S. News 1/27/03) http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030127/misc/27nano.htm Economic slowdown stalls Biotech's 'next big thing'...Scientists and businesses also are excited about nanotechnology, the development of products and applications at the atomic and molecular level that could revolutionize a broad range of industries. Tiny medical devices and sensors with military and civilian uses are among some of the first applications under study, but development is still years away. At the moment, financing new technological advancement has become a problem in a slow economy saddled with too much capacity. Money is scarce for entrepreneurs, but some new ideas are getting financing. (Contra Costa Times via BayArea.com 1/19/03) http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4983226.htm Gina "Nanogirl" Miller Nanotechnology Industries http://www.nanoindustries.com Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org Extropy member http://www.extropy.org "Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=20921