X-Message-Number: 27309
From: "Gina Miller" <>
References: <>
Subject: The Nanogirl News~
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 01:57:39 -0800

The Nanogirl News
October 31, 2005


Carbon nanoparticles stimulate blood clotting, researchers report. Both 
nanotubes and airborne particles cause platelets to clump together. Carbon 
nanoparticles - both those unleashed in the air by engine exhaust and the 
engineered structures thought to have great potential in medical applications - 
promote blood-clotting, scientists report in an upcoming edition of the British 
Journal of Pharmacology. Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston and Ohio University examined the impact of various forms of 
carbon nanoparticles in a laboratory experiment on human platelets - blood's 
principal clotting element - and in a model of carotid artery thrombosis, or 
blockage, using anesthetized rats. (Innovations Report 10.24.05)
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-50706.html


Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines Now Freely Available Online. The most 
comprehensive review of the field of Kinematic Self-Replicating Machines (KSRM),
the title of a book co-authored by Robert A. Freitas Jr. 
(http://www.rfreitas.com) and Ralph C. Merkle (http://www.merkle.com), was 
published in hardback in late 2004.  The book is still available in print 
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570596905), but KSRM is now freely 
accessible online at http://www.MolecularAssembler.com/KSRM.htm. With 200 + 
illustrations and 3200 + literature references, KSRM describes all proposed and 
experimentally realized self-replicating systems that were publicly known as of 
2004, ranging from nanoscale to macroscale systems.  The book extensively 
describes the historical development of the field.  It presents for the first 
time a detailed 137-dimensional map of the entire kinematic replicator design 
space to assist future engineering efforts.  KSRM has been

cited in two articles appearing in Nature this year (Zykov et al, Nature 435, 
163 (12 May 2005) and Griffith et al, Nature 437, 636 (29 September 2005) and 
appears well on its way to becoming the classic reference in this field.


Scientists build world's first single-molecule car. Rice University Scientists 
have done it. After BMW announced the possibility of producing a car that would 
utilize nanotechnology practically for all functions, Rice University scientists
developed the world's first single-molecule car- the car that was driven on a 
gold microscopic highway. It a small coupe that is devoid of any plush seating 
or conventional steering system. But it is a real solution for the grid locked 
cities. With a wheelbase of less than 5 nm, parking it is a cakewalk. (Physorg 
10.20.05) http://www.physorg.com/news7438.html


Richard Errett Smalley, a gifted chemist who shared a Nobel Prize for the 
discovery of buckyballs, helped pioneer the field of nanotechnology and became 
Houston's most notable scientist, died Friday afternoon after a six-year 
struggle with cancer. He was 62. Smalley possessed prodigious talent both within
the lab, where he cobbled individual atoms together like tinker toys, and 
outside academia after he won science's greatest prize. In the decade since he 
became a Nobel laureate, Smalley pushed Rice University and Houston to the 
forefront of nanotechnology research. (HoustonChronicle 10.29.05)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3424406


Engineers Build DNA 'Nanotowers' With Enzyme Tools. Duke engineers have added a 
new construction tool to their bio-nanofabrication toolbox. Using an enzyme 
called TdTase, engineers can vertically extend short DNA chains attached to 
nanometer-sized gold plates. This advance adds new capability to the field of 
bio-nanomanufacturing. "The process works like stacking Legos to make a tower 
and is an important step toward creating functional nanostructures out of 
biological materials," said Ashutosh Chilkoti, associate professor of biomedical
engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. (ScienceDaily 10.14.05) 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051013085140.htm


Foresight Awards Nanotech Prizes. The Foresight Nanotech Institute, a think tank
and public interest organization focused on nanotechnology, awarded prizes to 
leaders in research, communication, government and study in the field of 
nanotechnology at the 13th Foresight Conference. (SmallTimes 10.27.05)
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=39&document_id=10230


Modifications render carbon nanotubes nontoxic. Rice team mitigates toxicity of 
tiny cylinders with chemical changes. In follow-on work to last year's 
groundbreaking toxicological study on water-soluble buckyballs, researchers at 
Rice University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) 
find that water-soluble carbon nanotubes are significantly less toxic to begin 
with. Moreover, the research finds that nanotubes, like buckyballs, can be 
rendered nontoxic with minor chemical modifications. The findings come from the 
first toxicological studies of water-soluble carbon nanotubes. The study, which 
is available online, will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal 
Toxicology Letters. The research is a continuation of CBEN's pioneering efforts 
to both identify and mitigate potential nanotechnology risks. (EurekAlert 
10.26.05)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/ru-mrc102605.php


Nanotechnology seeks to detect food contaminants. Using microchips to detect and
remove contaminants such as E. coli, anthrax or botulism from food may sound 
like Star Wars technology to some, but Larry Branen believes it's possible. The 
challenge is that researching and developing the necessary technology requires 
working with materials smaller than a hair. Such research even has its own name:
nanotechnology. "At such small levels, there are changes in the properties of 
materials and how they interact. Scientifically, we must approach them in new 
ways," said Branen, associate director of the University of Idaho's Research 
Institute here. (Capital Press 10.21.05) 
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=617&ArticleID=20611&TM=30977.9


Future nanotech tools made from clay. NaturalNano says that by filling 
Halloysite tubes with copper and then mixing the tubes into a polymer, a 
manufacturer could make an electrically conductive plastic. If filled with 
fungicides, the Halloysite particles--which consist of aluminum, oxygen, silicon
and hydrogen--could be swirled into paint to make it more resistant to mildew 
and mold. Time-released coatings could also be added to make all-day deodorant. 
The tubes could even have agricultural uses. (Cnet 10.26.05) 
http://news.com.com/Future+nanotech+tools+made+from+clay/2100-11390_3-5914034.html


Solar cell solution: nanotechnology. One-hundred times smaller than bacteria, 
more efficient than plastic film, nanotubes prove promising at harvesting sun's 
power. If the nation decided to blanket its rooftops in solar cells - generating
as much as 75 percent of all electricity produced today - it would be costly 
beyond belief and probably impossible: There isn't enough silicon. Scientists 
for 20 years have searched for an answer in very thin, plastic films, something 
that could be rolled out nationwide for a few cents per square foot. But they 
haven't proved very efficient at harvesting the power of the sun and tend to 
break down in air and sunlight. 

(Inside Bay Area 10.21.05) 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3138128


$35 Million in Awards to 12 Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships. The 
National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH), today announced funding for a major component of its $144.3 million, 
five-year initiative for nanotechnology in cancer research. Awards totaling $35 
million over five years, with $7 million total in the first year, will establish
12 Cancer Nanotechnology Platform Partnerships. (Azonano 10.18.05) 
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=1548


Physicists have observed the Jahn-Teller effect in a molecule for the first 
time. The effect was seen in carbon-60 molecules doped with potassium. The 
results could shed more light on the fundamental properties of molecular 
nanostructures (Science 310 468)."The Jahn-Teller effect has long been known to 
play an important role in the relationship between the structure of molecules 
and their energy levels, but this is the first time anyone has directly imaged 
it at the single-molecule level," says Mike Crommie of the University of 
California at Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, leader of the team 
that saw the effect. (nanotechweb 10.24.05) 
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/4/10/15?alert=1


Nanotechnology targets new food packaging products. Exciting new nanotechnology 
products for food packaging are in the development pipeline or, as in the case 
of anti-microbial films, have already entered the market, according to a report 
published this month by an EU-funded research team. "While far reaching visions 
such as nanotech food synthesizers or pathogen killing nanobots are not expected
to become reality within the next decades, nanotechnology related R&D for food 
processing, food engineering and food packaging is in the innovation pipeline of
the food industry today," the team said. (Foodnavigator 10.12.05) 


http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=63147-nanotechnology-food-packaging-research-and-development


Center on Nanotechnology and Society Created at IIT. A nearly $500,000 
Congressional earmark is helping fund the creation of the Center on 
Nanotechnology and Society at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Housed in 
IIT's Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Center will examine legal, social and 
ethical implications of nanotechnology. (nanotechwire 10.13.05)
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=2440


Ford, Boeing and Northwestern Form Nanotechnology Alliance. Ford Motor Co., The 
Boeing Co. and Northwestern University have big plans to work together to make 
the future very small. The two companies and the university are in final 
negotiations to form a new alliance to research commercial applications of 
nanotechnology, the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 
100 nm and at the molecular level. Ford and Boeing will each provide financial 
support for three years, and Northwestern's Robert R. McCormick School of 
Engineering and Applied Science will provide administration of the alliance and 
office space for a full-time Ford employee who will serve as the industrial 
alliance coordinator. (Photonics 10.1205) 
http://www.photonics.com/todaysheadlines/XQ/ASP/navclick.true/QX/article.asp?id=5862


Engineers at Purdue University have shown how researchers might better use tiny 
hollow fibers called "multi-walled carbon nanotubes" to more precisely measure 
structures and devices for electronics and other applications. Findings will 
appear in the November issue of the journal Nanotechnology. Researchers attach 
the tubes to the ends of imaging instruments called atomic force microscopes. 
Because the tubes are long and slender, their shape is ideal for the emerging 
field of "nanometrology," which is precisely measuring structures on the scale 
of nanometers, or billionths of a meter. (Physorg 10.12.05) 
http://www.physorg.com/news7175.html


Nanotechnology Emergence Generates High Expectations, Expert Says. Independent 
oversight of research needed to address any health hazards. The following 
article appears in the October 2005 issue of the State Department's electronic 
journal Economic Perspectives. It is based on an op-ed article published on the 
Pennsylvania State University Internet site but has been revised and updated by 
the author for this publication. The complete issue, titled The Promise of 
Biotechnology, can be viewed on the USINFO Web site. (begin byliner) Wither 
Nanotechnology? By Akhlesh Lakhtakia Distinguished Professor of Engineering 
Science and Mechanics at Pennsylvania State University. Think small, dream big" 
is a typical slogan about the promise of nanotechnology within the scientific 
research community. Once relegated to pure fiction, nanotechnology is becoming 
increasingly linked with advances in biotechnology and information technology. 
With annual expenditure for nanotechnology research in the United States 
estimated to be in excess of $2.6 billion in 2004, the word "nano" is even 
finding its way into popular culture, from daily horoscopes to newspaper 
cartoons. (USINFO.STATE.GOV 10.27.05)


http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=October&x=20051027140334SAikceinawz0.3895227&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html


Proofreading and error-correction in nanomaterials inspired by nature. Mimicking
nature, a procedure developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at 
Urbana-Champaign can find and correct defects in self-assembled nanomaterials. 
The new proofreading and error-removal process is based on catalytic DNA and 
represents a paradigm shift in nanoscale science and engineering. 
(nanotechwire 10.18.05) http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=2461


Nanomanufacturing: First Systematic Study Of Cadmium Selenide Nanostructure 
Growth Yields Production 'Road Map'. Researchers have taken an important step 
toward high-volume production of new nanometer-scale structures with the first 
systematic study of growth conditions that affect production of one-dimensional 
nanostructures from the optoelectronic material cadmium selenide (CdSe). Using 
the results from more than 150 different experiments in which temperature and 
pressure conditions were systematically varied, nanotechnology researchers at 
the Georgia Institute of Technology created a "road map" to guide future 
nanomanufacturing using the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) technique. (ScienceDaily 
10.30.05) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051028140332.htm


Nano skyscrapers may precede space elevator. Liftport, a space-infrastucture 
company, has been among those who support construction of a space elevator, a 
long thin cable made of carbon nanotubes anchored to a platform or ship at sea 
and extending out into space. Held in place by the earth's rotation, the space 
elevator, with the help of robots, would ferry materials to outer space. 
(ZDnet 10.26.05) http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9596_22-5914208.html

Happy Hallows Eve.

Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Nano animations for hire:
http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html
Foresight Participating Member http://www.foresight.org
Nanotechnology Advisor Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org
http://www.nanogirl.com/crafts/microjewelry.htm
Email: 
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."


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