X-Message-Number: 22662 From: "Gina Miller" <> Subject: The Nanogirl News~ Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 22:38:53 -0700 The Nanogirl News October 7, 2003 My apologies for the short edition however I am leaving early in the morning for the Foresight conference and do not have time for the usual content size. This will also be the reason why any posts to the list may be delayed. Don't worry the posts will stay in queue and I will get to them for approval as soon as I can manage. Thank you, and I'll see some of you there! Nanotube helium sensors could bring atom beam microscope. Scientists from the University of Cambridge, UK, have come up with a high-efficiency technique for detecting neutral atoms such as helium. The researchers used multiwalled carbon nanotubes under a positive bias to field-ionize passing gas atoms. (nanotechweb 9/30/03) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/9/16/1 MIT's Hexflex Manipulates The Nanoscopic. Assembling a machine sounds straightforward, but what if the components of that machine are nanoscopic? Similarly, bringing together the ends of two cables is simple unless those cables have a core diameter many times smaller than a human hair, as is the case with fiber optics. Although there are devices on the market with similar credentials, they are expensive and have inherent limitations. Using a fundamentally new design, an MIT team has invented the HexFlex Nanomanipulator that's not only inexpensive but performs better in many ways than its competitors.(SpaceDaily 10/5/03) http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-03zz.html Zyvex Corporation announced four new product releases: Zyvex Dried FilmT (ZDF) Carbon Nanotube Solutions, Zyvex Microgrippers, Zyvex NanoSharpT Probes, and Zyvex MEMulatorT Software. (Zyvex press release 10/2/03) http://www.zyvex.com/News/NewProducts.html The NanoBusiness Alliance and The National Science & Technology Education Partnership (NSTEP) have formed a strategic relationship to advance nanotechnology youth education and expand of the science and technology workforce pipeline. "The National Nanotechnology Initiative has identified grades K-12 as key to developing tomorrow's nanotech workforce," said Kathy Warye, president of NSTEP. "In creating this partnership with the NanoBusiness Alliance, we will be able to help support NNI's goals in primary and secondary education, and to expand nanotech's exposure in America's science classrooms." (Nationalstep 9/30/03) http://www.nationalstep.org/news_and_events/press_releases/pressrelease.cfm? ID=41 Forest fires being used as natural laboratories. Satellite tracks carbon monoxide levels on Earth. This article discusses tracking devices that use nanotechnology as well as the expected quotes from Pat Mooney, of Winnipeg's ETC Group. (TheStar 10/5/03) http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1065264690568&call_pageid=968332188774&col=9683501164 67 Also see Howard Lovy's Nanobot-The nano-brain barrier (10/7/03): http://nanobot.blogspot.com/2003_10_05_nanobot_archive.html#1065420753591082 3 Preventing mitochondria from turning ugly may postpone Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's diseases. Sandia nanolaser may help extend life-spans by rapidly analyzing possible neuroprotectant drugs. Anyone visiting a nursing home has seen the horror of humans surviving beyond their brains' ability to make sense of their surroundings. That loss of discrimination is caused by neurons killed by malfunctions in mitochondria - the submicron-sized power packs found in every animal cell. These malfunctions are the most immediate cause of afflictions like Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases. Malfunctioning mitochondria have also been linked to battlefield aftereffects caused by radiation or by nerve agents like sarin. (Sandia 9/22/03) http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/optics-lasers/mito.html (TV) Nanotechnology: The next big thing. To a culture raised on glitzy superheroes and infatuated with Harry Potter, science has always seemed more like the grandmother who gives socks for a birthday. Generous, certainly, but practical to a fault. That may be about to change with the emergence of nanotechnology, a science that promises miracles heretofore not dreamt of. With the recent launch of UPN's sci-fi adventure "Jake 2.0," it has gained a human face. In the series, computer nerd Jake Foley (Christopher Gorham) is transformed into a super-spy after he's accidentally infused with millions of microscopic computers. Many researchers claim that within a few decades these and other possibilities could become a reality through the use of tiny machines that will work from inside the human body. (DesMoinesRegister.com 10/5/03) http://www.dmregister.com/business/stories/c4780940/22414801.html Applied Nanotech, Inc. has formed a team with a leading Japanese display component manufacturers to produce a 25 inch diagonal full color CNT TV prototype. The purpose of this effort is to demonstrate that carbon nanotube (CNT) TVs in field emission mode have progressed enough to enable high volume manufacturing. (SpaceDaily 10/1/03) http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-03zy.html China's nanotechnology patent applications rank third in world. Patent application cases concerning nanotechnology have grown rapidly in China over recent years, with the number following the United States and Japan to take the world 's third place. (Chinadaily 10/3/03) http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-10/03/content_269182.htm An "AAAAAAAAA" Battery? Florida Researchers Make Progress On Tiny Cell. It would send and receive faxes and video and have the processing power of a personal computer. The cell phone of the future would be on the market today but for one hitch: the battery. The technology is available to build cell phones that would make the latest versions -- those that allow users to send pictures and play video games -- seem almost primitive. But the batteries now used in cell phones are not nearly powerful enough to drive all the fancy add-ons, said Charles Martin, a University of Florida chemistry professor. Laptop computers, video cameras and digital cameras also are hobbled by today's power storage technology. Meanwhile, tiny machines being developed for a variety of purposes -- such as "lab-on-a-chip" devices that sense airborne chemical or biological pathogens -- will require batteries many times smaller and more powerful than today's smallest batteries. So Martin and his team are making progress on a new approach: Batteries inspired by the emerging field of nanotechnology. (UFNews 10/9/03) http://www.napa.ufl.edu/2002news/nanobattery.htm Contruction to Begin on Canada's Quietest Space. Building to House Research into the Very, Very, Very Small. A ceremonial groundbreaking tomorrow, Saturday, October 4, 2003, will mark the beginning of the building phase for the permanent home of the National Research Council's (NRC) new National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT). The new building will be one of the world's most technologically advanced research facilities and will house laboratory space that will be the quietest in Canada. In order to provide the optimal conditions for tiny nano-scale research, "quiet" lab space is absolutely critical. In the scientific realm, "quiet space" refers to lab space with ultra-low vibration and minimal acoustical noise or electro-magnetic interference. (CNRC 10/3/03) http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/newsroom/news/nint-ground03_e.html MEMS/Nanotechnology Journal Club Meeting at Bell Labs/NJNC (New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium) "Nanotechnology and Nanofluidics in Biology" Dr. Robert H. Austin, Princeton Physics Professor Thursday, October 16, 2003 Lucent Technologies Bell Labs/NJNC 600 Mountain Ave, Murray Hill, NJ 07974 Agenda and Registration: www.njnano.org/about/invite_101603.shtml (Thank you Dave Forrest!) DNA tiling assembles nanostructures. Scientists at Duke University, US, have used DNA nanostructures as templates to build silver nanowires and arrays of proteins. The nanostructures could have applications in preparing logical molecular devices. (nanotechweb 10/7/03) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/10/4/1 Nanotechnology and Nanoscience. In June 2003 the UK Government commissioned the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to carry out an independent study of likely developments and whether nanotechnology raises or is likely to raise new ethical, health and safety or social issues which are not covered by current regulation. For more information please visit: www.nanotec.org.uk, a second progress report, was produced on 30 September 2003. (The Royal Society) http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/nanotechnology/ Gina "Nanogirl" Miller Nanotechnology Industries http://www.nanoindustries.com Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org Nanotechnology Advisor Extropy Institute http://www.extropy.org "Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22662