X-Message-Number: 24773
From: "Gina Miller" <>
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Subject: The Nanogirl News~
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 14:43:08 -0700

The Nanogirl News
October 7, 2004


NSF funds nano-related coursework for grades 7-12.  The National Science 
Foundation (NSF) has awarded a first-of-its-kind grant to a Northwestern 
University-led team to train teachers in nanotechnology and help them develop 
programs for middle and high schools. "This is different from previous 
(NSF-funded) centers, which focus on research but have also done part-time 
outreach activity," said Mike Roco, senior nanotech adviser at NSF and an 
architect of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. NSF this week is expected 
to officially announce the five-year, $15-million award to Robert Chang, a 
professor in Northwestern's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. 
(/27/04) http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=8326


Autonomous Atom Assembly. The ability to use an STM to move and position atoms 
with lattice site precision provides us with a quantum workbench to study the 
effects of quantum confinement and the electronic structure of perfect 
nanostructures. So far, atomic manipulation has been performed manually, or with
rudimentary computer assistance. We are working to extend this capability 
significantly by developing an Autonomous Atom Assembler (AAA). An autonomous 
atom assembler is an instrument capable of assembling a desired nanostructure 
from an unknown random collection of atoms without human intervention. (NIST 
8/04)
http://physics.nist.gov/Divisions/Div841/Gp3/Projects/STM/aaa_proj.html


(Event) Foresight Institute Conference Tackles Nanotechnology Applications and 
Public Policy. Foresight Institute, the leading nanotechnology education and 
public policy think tank, is sponsoring the 1st Conference on Advanced 
Nanotechnology: Research, Applications, and Policy, October 22-24, 2004 at the 
Crystal City Marriott Hotel, Washington DC area. This conference focuses on 
molecular nanotechnology and what it will mean for the environment, water 
purification, clean energy, medicine, national security, space exploration, 
international competitiveness, zero-waste manufacturing and overall societal 
impacts and other areas. (TMCnet 10/7/04)
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Oct/1080749.htm


High-tech tweezers enable nano-assembly lines. "This technique makes possible 
nano-assembly lines," said Chicago entrepreneur Lewis Gruber. "You can use it to
put things together, twist them, rotate them, fix things in locations at the 
microscopic or atomic level. It makes possible, for the first time, a factory 
floor under the microscope capable of manufacturing components and assembling 
them into products at high throughput, just as is done in the industrial world."
(Chicago Sun Times 10/5/04) 
http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-cia05arryx.html


Buckyballs at Bat: Toxic nanomaterials get a tune-up. Over the past decade, the 
development of nanomaterials has progressed rapidly toward their eventual use in
products ranging from solar cells to medicines. However, tests of possible 
toxic effects of these substances on human health and the environment have been 
slow to get under way. Recently, an experiment raised concern about the 
soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules commonly known as buckyballs. Now, other 
chemists confirm that finding and report an innovation that might disarm 
potentially toxic buckyballs.
(Sciencenews 10/2/04) http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041002/fob1.asp


Nano AIDS shield given a boost. What could be the world's first 
nanotechnology-based protection against HIV has just been given a huge boost. 
The Australian biotechnology company Starpharma announced today it had been 
granted US$5.4 million (A$7.5 million) from the US National Institutes of Health
(NIH) for its research on an anti-microbial gel which prevents HIV infection of
cells.
(ABCnet 9/30/04) http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1210693.htm


In Search of a Biosensing Biocide. Simple compound is eyed as a lead to a 
chemical/biological counteragent. Imagine this: a simple lipid molecule forms a 
bilayer, the bilayers curl up to form nanotubes, and bunches of nanotubes 
assemble into a "nanocarpet." Furthermore, the nanotubes respond to different 
substances by changing color, and they kill bacteria to boot! No need to imagine
all this--such a molecule has been synthesized, and its remarkable capabilities
have been explored by a team at the University of Pittsburgh led by Alan J. 
Russell, a professor of surgery and of chemical and bioengineering [J. Am. Chem.
Soc., published online Sept. 24. (C&E News 10/4/04) 
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8240/8240notw2.html


Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Arizona and 
Cornell University, all in the US, have made a superhard phase of carbon by 
applying pressure to carbon nanotubes. The material was at least as hard as 
cubic diamond and retained its properties at room temperature even when the 
pressure was removed. (nanotechweb 8/23/04) 
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/3/9/14/1


Nanotubes work like radio antennas to convert light into electricity. Radio 
aerials have been around for over a century, and routinely receive information 
carried by radio waves into our homes. Now, finally, scientists have built an 
aerial that can do the same for light waves. The tiny antennas could be used in 
solar cells, or 'optical computers' that would move data round as light beams. 
(Nature news 8/20/04)
http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040920/full/040920-1.html


National Cancer Institute Symposium to be Part of NANO Week. The National Cancer
Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will present 
a symposium on the role of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of 
cancer Oct. 27 as part of NANO Week. The program, "Overcoming Barriers to 
Collaboration," will be held at the InterContinental Hotel and MBNA Conference 
Center on The Cleveland Clinic Foundation campus. It is free to attend, but 
space is limited to 200 registrants. (Yahoo 9/21/04) 
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040921/cltu089_1.html


Physicists Create Artificial Molecule On A Chip. Using integrated circuit 
fabrication techniques, a team of researchers from Yale University has bound a 
single photon to a superconducting device engineered to behave like a single 
atom, forming an artificial molecule. It's the first experimental result in a 
field Yale professors Robert Schoelkopf and Steven Girvin have dubbed circuit 
quantum electrodynamics. (photonics 8/24/04)
http://www.photonics.com/XQ/ASP/url.readarticle/artid.251/QX/readart.htm


Researchers demonstrate nanoscale self-assembly. A new processing technique 
developed by Cornell University researchers promises to usher in 
lithographic-like self-assembly into single and multidimensional nanoscale 
structures. The technique enabled 10-nm precision lithography. 

One-, two- and three-dimensional nanoscale structures self-assembled by 
combining a block copolymer with a "cascade molecule" called a dendrimer in 
which atoms are arrayed along a carbon backbone, the researchers said. (EETimes 
9/9/04) http://www.eetimes.com/at/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=47101871


Magic clusters double up. Theoretical physicists in Italy and France have 
discovered a new family of "magic" clusters using computer simulations. The 
clusters, which consist of a nickel or copper core surrounded by silver atoms, 
display high levels of structural, thermodynamic and electronic stability. The 
silver-nickel structures are also magnetic (G Rossi et al. 2004 Phys. Rev. Lett.
93 105503). (Physicsweb 8/7/04) http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/8/9/4/1


Good Vibrations in the Nanoworld. Local defects tune the vibrational modes of 
carbon nanotubes. Accessing vibrational modes of molecular chains at the site of
a specific atom in molecules is no longer a dream. Using a scanning tunneling 
microscopy technique, the vibrational modes of carbon nanotubes have been mapped
with sub-nanometer spatial resolution. This allows the study of the role of 
local defects and demonstrates the crucial importance of nanotubes for the 
electronic and mechanical properties of nanotubes. (Max Planck Society 8/27/04)


http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/2004/pressRelease20040924/index.html


Nanotechnology research funding list now live at Sandia/LANL CINT website. 
Shortcut to funding sources now available. Nanotech researchers can shorten 
their search for funding by visiting the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies 
(CINT) Internet site (www.sandia.gov/cint or www.lanl.gov/cint). There, a 
searchable database of federal government nanotechnology funding sources is 
supplied as a service to the nanoscience community by CINT, a joint project of 
Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories supported by the U.S. Department of 
Energy's Office of Science. (Sandia 9/30/04) 
http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2004/micro-nano/database.html


Get set for nanotech. Nanotechnology is being called many things: A massive 
investment opportunity; an incredibly promising next generation electronics 
technology, and even a threat to humanity. For the electronics sector, 
fabrication of chips with nanoscale (nm) features is becoming routine. Yet while
semiconductor manufacturing is dealing in nanometres, it too is still to be 
affected by true nanotechnology - or more accurately "molecular nanotechnology".
Molecular nanotechnology (referred to as nanotechnology for the rest of this 
article) means constructing materials and devices virtually one atom at a time. 
(Ferret 9/27/04) http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/ba/0c0278ba.asp


(ETC again) Nanotech 'threatens markets for poor nations' goods'. The 
introduction of nanotechnologies could threaten markets for goods from 
developing countries, according to a presentation made yesterday at the 4th 
World Conference of Science Journalists in Montreal, Canada. 

The claim was made by Pat Mooney, executive director of the ETC Group, a 
Canadian organization that researches the socio-economic impacts of new 
technologies. Highlighting the lack of regulation for emerging technologies, 
Mooney called for a United Nations convention to evaluate their impacts, not 
only on health and the environment but also on society at large. (SciDev 
10/7/04)
http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=1647&language=1


Kurzweil's Quest For Eternal Youth Sets Group Abuzz. Inventor Ray Kurzweil takes
250 nutritional supplements a day in his quest to live long enough to reap the 
benefits he expects from biotechnology. He says he's trying to reprogram his 
body, as he would his computer...And health is a theme Kurzweil returned to 
repeatedly; it is the subject of his latest book, "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long 
Enough to Live Forever," co-authored with medical doctor Terry Grossman. But it 
was his broader vision of how biology, nanotechnology and information science 
are merging that set the backdrop for the conference, which brought together 
nearly 1,000 scientists and executives from various disciplines to peer into the
future. (Washington Post 10/7/04) 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11564-2004Oct6.html


$10 million to establish a multidisciplinary research program in cancer 
nanotechnology. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists 
from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology two new 
collaborative research grants, totaling nearly $10 million, to establish a 
multidisciplinary research program in cancer nanotechnology and to develop a new
class of nanoparticles for molecular and cellular imaging. (News-Medical.net 
10/6/04) http://www.news-medical.net/?id=5380


Rice Finds 'On-Off Switch' For Buckyball Toxicity. Researchers at Rice 
University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) have 
demonstrated a simple way to reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs by 
a factor of more than ten million. The research will appear in an upcoming issue
of the journal Nano Letters, published by the American Chemical Society, the 
world's largest scientific society. One of the first toxicological studies of 
buckyballs, the research was published online by the journal on Sept. 11. 
(Sciencedaily 10/6/04)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041006083717.htm


Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. -- CNI -- Announces the Issue of a U.S. Patent for 
Composites Containing Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes. Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc
(CNI) announced today the issue of U.S. Patent 6,790,425 B1 for both pure and 
composite materials containing derivitized single-wall carbon nanotubes in 
substantial alignment with one another. This patent paves the way for commercial
products with superior performance characteristics, such as plastics with 
electrical conductivity, improved fibers for bullet-proof vests, plastic parts 
that are stronger and longer lasting, and flat panel TVs and displays which are 
brighter, longer lasting, and consume less energy. This technology is part of 
the intellectual property developed by Nobel-Prize winning scientist Dr. Richard
Smalley and licensed exclusively to CNI by Rice University in 2001. 

(BusinessWire 9/5/04) 
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041005006176&newsLang=en


Nanomaterials break out of laboratory into marketplace. Miniature medical 
machines that can bring sight to the blind and computers that work at the speed 
of light are no longer the stuff of futuristic novels. Argonne National 
Laboratory researchers are creating nanomaterials and nanotechnology to make 
these and other innovations possible, and collaborating with industry to bring 
new technologies to the marketplace. (nanotechwire 10/4/04) 
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1166


Gates Backs Education for Tech Growth. Microsoft mogul Bill Gates told hundreds 
of engineering students Friday that the future of technology could open the door
for much more innovative applications than those of the past decade, but the 
key to further advancements lies in the strength of higher education. In 
Zellerbach Hall, Gates said that while the last 20 years have seen vast advances
in personal computing and communications technology, we can expect to see more 
developments intertwined with other fields in the future, such as biotechnology 
and nanotechnology. (The Daily Californian 10/4/04) 
http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16337


Presidential Candidates Speak Out on Science Policies. With the exception of the
debate over stem-cell research, science remains a background topic in the 
current campaign. Democratic candidate John Kerry has occasionally highlighted 
US science policy and used it against President Bush, charging that the 
administration has put politics and ideology ahead of science. "Let scientists 
do science again," a headline on the Kerry election website says. Bush has 
responded, primarily through his science adviser, John Marburger, by pointing to
the 44% increase in federal R&D since fiscal year 2001 and the record $132 
billion in the administration's FY 2005 R&D budget. "Kerry ignores President 
Bush's record science investments," reads a headline on the Bush reelection 
website. Kerry answers by noting that most of the R&D money is going for weapons
systems and defense spending related to the war in Iraq, not basic science 
programs. Marburger and other administration officials point to several R&D 
initiatives, including new nanotechnology centers, the Moon/Mars space 
initiative, and the program to develop hydrogen fuel technology. 
(Physics Today 10/3/04) http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-10/p28.html


Tiny battlefield in the war on disease Devices as small as genes detect, fight 
illnesses. To the incredibly tiny gold particles doctors send to search a blood 
sample for signs of illness, human cells would seem as big as mountains. But the
particles' mission is to hunt down something more their size: prostate specific
antigen, or PSA, a signal that prostate cancer may be on its way to returning -
long before it actually does. Welcome to the new frontier of nanotechnology, 
where scientists are learning how to make super-small devices - as small as 
genes and proteins - to diagnose diseases that remain unseen with present 
equipment and to provide treatments tailored to affect individual cells. "The 
particles go into a blood sample, and if there are as few as 10 molecules of PSA
present they will find them," said Chad Mirkin, director of Northwestern 
University's Institute for Nanotechnology. "The current test would need 10 
million molecules of PSA to record a positive reading." (Monterey Herald 
10/1/04)
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/9809270.htm



Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html
Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org
Nanotechnology Advisor Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org
Tech-Aid Advisor http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html
Email: 
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."

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