X-Message-Number: 25073 From: "Gina Miller" <> References: <> Subject: The Nanogirl News~ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 16:37:45 -0800 The Nanogirl News November 17, 2004 N is for nanotechnology. A new 30 minute documentary discusses the field of nanotech. You can download the trailer at this website: http://www.knhproductions.ca . You can also click through drawings at the site. I have not figured out where, when, or even if the documentary is going to air or if it will be available for purchase? (Knhproductions 11/14/04) http://www.knhproductions.ca/nisnano/ ANSI-NSP Releases Priority Recommendations Related to Nanotechnology Standardization Needs. In September 2004, nearly 100 representatives of academia, the legal profession, industry, government, standards developing organizations and other subject matter experts gathered for the first meeting of the ANSI-NSP to discuss the coordination and development of voluntary consensus standards relating to nanotechnology...The ANSI-NSP identified manufacturing and processing as well as modeling and simulation as items of lower urgency and noted standardization time frames of 3-5 years in these areas. The panel is actively soliciting the participation of ANSI accredited standards developing organizations and other interested parties in its efforts toward developing nanotechnology standards. The full text of the recommendations is available via ANSI Online. (Nanotechnology Now 11/17/04) http://nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=06739 Nanoscale Patterning. UV light is used to make a loosely bound molecular pattern more robust...University of Toronto chemists have shown that weakly bound self-assembled layers of molecules can be secured to solid surfaces via strong chemical bonds by irradiating the molecules with ultraviolet light. The study advances the understanding of surface reaction mechanisms and may lead to simple, yet precise, procedures for patterning surfaces with nanometer-sized features. (C&E 11/15/04) http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8246/8246notw4.html Nanotech could put a new spin on sports. Sometime in 2005, start-up company NanoDynamics plans to sell a nanotech golf ball that promises to dramatically reduce hooks and slices for even the most frustrated of weekend golfers. That will be a hint of the future of sports. NanoDynamics says it's figured out how to alter the materials in a golf ball at the molecular level so the weight inside shifts less as the ball spins. The less it shifts, the straighter even a badly hit ball will go. "It's all about controlling the physics of how the ball spins," says CEO Keith Blakely. (USA Today 11/17/04) http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-11-17-nanotechnology-sports_x.htm Tips for Better Fluorescence. Two improved fluorescence microscopes, reported in the 29 October and 12 November issues of PRL, could allow researchers to see individual protein molecules on the surface of a living cell. Both teams of researchers obtained fluorescence images by dipping a needle-like "tip" into the focus of the laser used to create the fluorescence. One team improved the positioning of their tip, while the other channeled the laser light through a narrow aperture before letting it hit the tip. (PRF 11/8/04) http://focus.aps.org/story/v14/st19 Indium phosphide nanowires grow on silicon. Researchers in the Netherlands have for the first time, grown indium phosphide nanowires epitaxially onto silicon and germanium substrates. The team, from Philips Research Laboratories and Delft University of Technology, says this could aid the integration of III-V semiconductors, which have good optoelectronic and high-frequency properties, with standard silicon technology. (nanotechweb 11/10/04) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/3/11/2/1 HIV, diagnostic health care tools top of list for UH researchers. Designing devices to combat HIV and biosensors to aid in diagnostic health care will be among the presentations of two University of Houston professors at a gathering of the top nanotechnologists in the nation Nov. 19-21...Presenting some of his latest breakthroughs in the fight against HIV, Krause will present research on the design of proteins that can split DNA made by pathogenic organisms, which will produce nanomachines that could be used to combat latent infections caused by viruses like HIV. (Eurekalert 11/15/04) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/uoh-hdh111504.php UO's molecular 'claws' trap arsenic atoms. Chemists at the University of Oregon [profile] have hit upon a way to build a molecular "claw" that grabs onto arsenic and sequesters it. The discovery is published in the Nov. 5 issue of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a premier journal in the field of chemistry. Since the article was written, the UO team has developed additional ways of capturing arsenic so that it cannot bond with other substances in a laboratory setting, according to Darren Johnson, an assistant professor of chemistry specializing in supramolecular and materials chemistry. (NanoApex 11/16/04) http://news.nanoapex.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5256 (PDF Document) International Dialogue on Responsible Research and Development of Nanotechnology Report Now Online. In June 2004 a group of experts involved with nanotechnology from twenty-five countries and the European Union met for an informal dialogue on responsible nanotechnology research and development. The meeting was sponsored and convened by the National Science Foundation and facilitated by the Meridian Institute. Discussions focused on: benefits and risks to the environment; benefits and risks to human health and safety; the socio-economic and ethical implications of nanotechnology; and the special consideration of nanotechnology in developing countries. (NNI) http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/nano/1_final_report.pdf Green Plus Helps Taxi Drivers in London Lower Emissions and Save Fuel. London's famous diesel "black cabs" are now running cleaner and more economically thanks to the addition of Green Plus in their fuel. Biofriendly Corporation and its sister company in Europe, Green Plus Limited, announced that they have received a letter of endorsement from British Clean Fuels, a fuel company in London known for its service to taxis in London. Green Plus is a liquid fuel combustion catalyst that can be added to diesel, gasoline, marine and other fuels...Green Plus is a product that employs nanotechnology (working at the molecular level) to achieve a breakthrough combination of improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. (W-Wire 11/17/04) http://www.ewire.com/display.cfm/Wire_ID/2380 Doing More with Less. A new way to learn how large proteins move. In a development that will help scientists better determine how many large proteins work, Berkeley Lab's Paul Adams and collaborators used the latest advances in computational analysis to study how a complex biological machine refolds proteins, a process critical to cell survival. They took advantage of the fact that the protein, called a chaperonin, encapsulates unfolded proteins by moving large portions of its structure in unison, like a hand clenching a marble. This means that only a few frames of crystallographic images, each revealing the protein at a different stage of its motion, are needed to picture the entire process. (Berkeley Lab 11/5/04) http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/sb/Nov-2004/05-GroEL-proteins.html (PDF document) Silica-coated SWNTs form unique nanostructures; Novel liquid-crystal phases formed with introduction of chirality; High-strength reticulated porous ceramics; Cracks in rubber propagate faster than the speed of sound; F-containing molecules serve as structure-directing agentsin synthesis of molecular sieves; Flame-spraying technique yields aluminate bulk glasses and nanoceramics; Composite polymer-carbon nanotubes function as optoelectronic memory devices. (MRS Oct. 04) http://www.mrs.org/publications/bulletin/2004/oct/oct04_researchers.pdf Hewitt plans to tempt scientists to UK. Scientists around the world are being wooed by the government with a message that the UK is the place to do research in leading edge areas like stem cells and nanotechnology. More funding for research will be coupled with a crackdown on animal rights extremists, who are threatening to drive away pharmaceutical companies and have severely hampered the work of universities like Oxford and Cambridge. The trade and industry secretary, Patricia Hewitt, today set out a five-year plan to make Britain the most attractive place in the world for scientific research. (Guardian Unlimited 11/17/04) http://education.guardian.co.uk/businessofresearch/story/0,9860,1353379,00.html Technologies Of The Year -- IBM Corp.'s Nanotechnology For Semiconductor Processing. Polymer molecules that self-assemble will enable smaller, more powerful semiconductor devices for the future. (Industry week) http://www.industryweek.com/CurrentArticles/Asp/articles.asp?ArticleId=1705 The Nanotech Company Announces Nanotechnology.com's Newly Re-Designed Website. The Site's Nanotechnology Newsletter Offers the Latest Updates, News and Possibilities in the Industry, The Nanotech Company, LLC announced today that their nanotechnology site has recently undergone a dramatic redesign and upgrade. Clearly reflecting the company's business model, the site is available to visitors today, November 17, 2004 at 7 a.m. EST at www.nanotechnology.com. (Yahoo 11/17/04) http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041117/sfw050_1.html Switching One Light Beam With Another, Cornell Provides A Key Component For Photonic Chips. Cornell University researchers have demonstrated for the first time a device that allows one low-powered beam of light to switch another on and off on silicon, a key component for future "photonic" microchips in which light replaces electrons...The advancement of nanoscale fabrication techniques in just the past few years has made it possible to overcome some of the traditional limitations of silicon photonics, Lipson said. Photonic circuits will find their first application in routing devices for fiber-optic communications, she suggests. (ScienceDaily 11/16/04) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041030184421.htm Nanosys Awarded New Government Contracts Totaling $1.2 Million. Nanosys, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded new government contracts from various government agencies that collectively total $1.2 million. These new contracts come from government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). http://www.nanosysinc.com/news/Press%20Release%20html/2004/111504_NewGovContracts.html DNA in nanotubes sorts molecules. Researchers from the University of Florida have made a synthetic membrane that recognizes certain biochemical molecules and allows them to pass through. The method could be used to make biological sensors like those needed for genetics research, and to sort biological molecules, according to the researchers. The synthetic membrane is made up of tiny gates and molecular gatekeepers. The gates are gold nanotubes, and DNA strands attached to the nanotubes determine which molecules pass through. (alwayson 11/16/04) http://www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=7053_0_6_0_C Nano Center Building Business Booming...SmithGroup Inc. is an architectural, engineering planning and interior design firm with 800 employees in nine U.S. offices. The company, which celebrated its 150th anniversary recently, is planning a solid-state electronic lab expansion at University of Michigan Engineering School, just finished a clean room for University of Maryland Bioresearch lab, and is developing two labs for a consortium of UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Livermore National Labs. The company started construction on the 96,000-square-foot Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Molecular Foundry project in January this year and expects to finish in 2006. (Smalltimes 11/16/04) http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=53&document_id=8435 Nanobattery points to the future. mPhase Technologies and Bell Labs (the R&D arm of Lucent Technologies) claim to have successfully developed the first ever nanotechnology battery. What's more, the prototype is expected to be turned into commercialized products within just 12 to 15 months. (ferret.com.au 11/16/04) http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/c7/0c0291c7.asp Small Times Magazine Best of Small Tech Awards Recognize Micro and Nano Technologies Affecting Today's World. One winner already has an Emmy. Another pulled off a $55 million nano IPO without mentioning the word nano. A third has captured the attention of life science and data storage researchers with breakthrough equipment that rapidly images atoms in 3-D. These are a few of the 31 people, products and companies recognized in the 2004 Small Times Magazine Best of Small Tech Awards announced today. The annual Small Times Magazine Best of Small Tech Awards spotlight the best work and the biggest successes in nanotechnology, MEMS and microsystems during the past year. Follow the link to see who's who. (PRN 11/15/04) http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/11-15-2004/0002456641&EDATE= Nanotechnology still mainly the domain of researchers. But commercial uses begin to emerge. Nanotechnology may yet be the next big thing, but for now it is still primarily the domain of researchers and scientists, such as those who attended a nanotech conference at the University of Texas-Dallas on Thursday and Friday. Venture funding for start-up firms remains hard to come by. Government money is mostly going to nanotech research labs in universities nationwide. But experts say the industry -- built around technology measured in billionths of a meter -- is slowly starting to crank out nanotech products and technologies with commercial applications, and that process should accelerate over the next few years. (Mercurynews 11/15/04) http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/10185360.htm?1c Groundbreaking Nanotechnology Research at The University of Scranton Published in Science. For the first time, an innovative research technique successfully completed a detailed measurement of how heat energy is created at the molecular level, an approach that could have far- reaching implications for developing nano-devices in health care, computer and other industries. (nanotechwire 11/12/04) http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1295 Gold Nano Anchors Put Nanowires in Their Place. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for growing well-formed, single-crystal nanowires in place-and in a predictable orientation-on a commercially important substrate. The method uses nanoparticles of gold arranged in rows on a sapphire surface as starting points for growing horizontal semiconductor "wires" only 3 nanometers (nm) in diameter. Other methods produce semiconductor nanowires more than 10 nm in diameter. NIST chemists' work was highlighted in the Oct. 11 issue of Applied Physics Letters. (nanotechwire 11/12/04) http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1286 Happy Turkey Day! 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 My New Project: Microscope Jewelry http://www.nanogirl.com/crafts/microjewelry.htm Email: "Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future." Content-Type: text/html; [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=25073