X-Message-Number: 30381
From: "Gina Miller" <>
References: <>
Subject: The Nanogirl News~
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:42:34 -0800

The Nanogirl News
January 26, 2008


Cancer fight could advance via thin film. Chemotherapy drugs are intended to 
kill the fast-growing cancer cells that populate tumors, but the poison kills a 
lot of innocent bystander cells as well. Nanotech researchers who seek ways to 
send chemokillers where they're needed while avoiding healthy tissue had some 
good news last week in the form of a film so thin as to be virtually invisible. 
(Chicago Tribune 1.28.08)


http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-mon_notebook_0128jan28,1,7259809.story?ctrack=1&cset=true


Scientists Make 'Perfect' Nanowires. Scientists have created silicon nanowires 
that are perfect-at least atomically. Down at the single-atom level, the 
identical wires have no bumps, bends, or other imperfections. They are perfectly
crystalline, even more so than bulk silicon. The full array of nanowires is 
also highly parallel, and each wire is an excellent metallic conductor. (Physorg
1.23.08) http://www.physorg.com/news120313863.html


Vision of the future: Researchers build bionic eye. Nanotech could let travelers
check Net, e-mail or play games on floating display screen...University 
researchers reported that they have used nanotechnology manufacturing techniques
to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted 
electronic circuit and lights. Perfecting virtual displays could mean that 
traveling executives could surf the Net or check their e-mail on a floating 
virtual display screen that only they could see. It also would mean that drivers
could see their speed projected onto the windshield, or gamers could become far
more immersed in their virtual worlds. (Computer World 
1.25.08)http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=mobile_and_wireless&articleId=9059144&taxonomyId=15
Related - you may all remember my speculative 2004 cornea computer animation:
http://www.nanogirl.com/museumfuture/corneacomputer.htm


Nanowires hold promise for more affordable solar cells...The Department of 
Engineering Physics at McMaster University, Cleanfield Energy and the Ontario 
Centres of Excellence (OCE) have formed a partnership to pursue the 
commercialization of nanowire technology in the production of solar cells. The 
particular type of nanowire technology developed at McMaster is able to trap 
more sunlight and convert it to electricity more efficiently than traditional 
solar cells. (Nanotechwire 1.25.08) http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=5512


DNA 'fabricator' constructs walking DNA. The goal of being able to program 
biochemical reactions as precisely and easily as computers crunch numbers and 
process words has moved a giant step closer. A group at the California Institute
of Technology, led by biomolecular engineer Niles Pierce, has created a 
DNA-based fabricator. This is a system that allows the team to specify a piece 
of DNA with a desired shape and function, and then execute a molecular program 
to assemble it in a test tube. As an example, they used their system to 
construct a piece of DNA that walks along another strip of DNA. (Newscientist 
1.16.08)


http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13192-dna-fabricator-constructs-walking-dna.html


Fine print: New technique allows fast printing of microscopic electronics. A new
technique for printing extraordinarily thin lines quickly over wide areas could
lead to larger, less expensive and more versatile electronic displays as well 
new medical devices, sensors and other technologies. Solving a fundamental and 
long-standing quandary, chemical engineers at Princeton developed a method for 
shooting stable jets of electrically charged liquids from a wide nozzle. The 
technique, which produced lines just 100 nanometers wide (about one 
ten-thousandth of a millimeter), offers at least 10 times better resolution than
ink-jet printing and far more speed and ease than conventional nanotechnology. 
(Eurekalert 1.24.08) 
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/pues-fpn012408.php


Controlling Cell Behavior with Magnets. Nanoparticles allow researchers to 
initiate biochemical events at will. For the first time, researchers have 
demonstrated a means of controlling cell functions with a physical, rather than 
chemical, signal. Using a magnetic field to pull together tiny beads targeted to
particular cell receptors, Harvard researchers made cells take up calcium, and 
then stop, then take it up again. Their work is the first to prove that such a 
level of control over cells is possible. If the approach can be used with many 
cell types and cell functions, it could lead to a totally new class of therapies
that rely on cells themselves to make and release drugs. (Technologyreview 
1.18.08) http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/08/


Nanotechnology Innovation May Revolutionize Gene Detection In A Single Cell. 
Scientists at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have developed the 
world's first gene detection platform made up entirely from self-assembled DNA 
nanostructures. The results, appearing in the January 11 issue of the journal 
Science, could have broad implications for gene chip technology and may also 
revolutionize the way in which gene expression is analyzed in a single cell. 
(ScienceDaily 1.16.08) 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080110144839.htm


Scientists discover new method of observing interactions in nanoscale systems. 
Scientists have used new optical technologies to observe interactions in 
nanoscale systems that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle usually would 
prohibit, according to a study published Jan. 17 in the journal Nature. (Physorg
1.16.08)
http://www.physorg.com/news119711240.html


Artificial Viral Shells Could Be Useful Nano-Containers. Researchers at the 
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and The Scripps Research Institute in 
California are designing an artificial viral shell as a valuable nano-container 
for pinpoint drug delivery, molecular computing components, and a host of other 
applications. (Sciencedaily 1.22.08)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080118135314.htm


Nanotechnology makes photo inscription on diamonds possible. A Silicon Valley 
firm has developed a new nanotechnology process that permanently inscribes 
high-resolution photos on any diamond or other gemstone. The unique process used
by Gemory LLC, does not harm the diamond in any way, preserving its original 
quality and customers' memories forever. Immortalize the treasured moments of 
your life - any event or occasion can be preserved forever with high-resolution 
photo inscription from GemoryT. Events and the emotions tied to them are only 
temporary, but now you can maintain memories of them forever by inscribing 
photos on your diamond...No damage...eliminates forgery. (PR-USA 1.19.08) 
http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58771&Itemid=9


Was Tipu's sword made using nanotechnology? Indians had the know-how for 
nanotechnology, one of the latest branches in science, from 18th century only, a
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry said on Monday. Robert F Curl, the Nobel Laureate, 
said right from the 18th Century, Indians were using nanotechnology, and the 
sword of Tipu Sultan is one example. However, he refused to comment as to 
whether they were using it knowingly or unknowingly. Similarly, there are 
examples of the use of nanotechnology in preparing glass in Rome, he said 
speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a lecture. (The Hindu 12.31.07) 
http://www.hinduonnet.com/holnus/001200801061523.htm


...Nanotechnology researchers have now been able to demonstrate that 
semiconductor nanowires can be designed to achieve extremely large enhancements 
in thermoelectric efficiency. Bulk silicon is a very inefficient thermoelectric 
material. It conducts heat so well that is is difficult to produce a temperature
difference big enough to generate any useful voltage at all. (Nanowerk 1.16.08)
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=4083.php


Surprise: silicon nanotechnology turns heat into electricity. Two teams of US 
scientists have demonstrated silicon-based 'thermoelectric' materials that could
convert waste heat back into electricity - potentially giving a boost to the 
efficiency of everything from power stations to refrigerators. (Nanodot 1.17.08)
http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2633


Dark, dark nanotechnology. An ideal black object absorbs all of the colors of 
light and reflects none of them. Researchers at Rice University have 
demonstrated a new concept based on a low-density nanotube array material that 
can be engineered to dramatically change an object's index of refraction and 
nanoscale roughness, hence, its optical reflection.  An article in the Houston 
Chronicle puts it like this: "A scientist at Rice University has created the 
darkest material known to man, a carpet of carbon nanotubes that reflects only 
0.045 percent of all light shined upon it. That's four times darker than the 
previously darkest known substance, and more than 100 times darker than the 
paint on a black Corvette."  (Nanowerk 1.15.08) 
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4074.php


Nanotechnology improves the prospect of better treatment for brain 
disorders...In a recent review in the Journal of Peptide Science, Dr. Ernest 
Giralt from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain, 
together with Dr. Meritxell Teixid  from his group, summarized literature 
reports on the use of peptides and nanotechnology for the treatment and 
diagnosis of brain disorders, and comparing these approaches to other 
methods..."Over the past few decades, pharmaceutical technology has lead to the 
emergence of different nanosystems or nanoplatforms tailored to deliver drugs to
the brain, including polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, and solid lipid 
nanoparticles" Giralt tells Nanowerk. (Nanomednet 1.7.08) 
http://www.nano.org.uk/nanomednet/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93&Itemid=105


Scientists invent nanotechnology device for disease biomarker discovery. 
Scientists at George Mason University's Center for Applied Proteomics and 
Molecular Medicine have invented an innovative nanotechnology tool that may lead
to a dramatic improvement in treatment results for patients diagnosed with 
cancer or other diseases. The novel diagnostic tool is uniquely suited for the 
discovery of new protein biomarkers in the blood that provide sensitive and 
specific disease detection at the earliest stage when treatment is most 
effective. (Nanovip 1.14.08) http://www.nanovip.com/node/4905

Adieu!
Fellow cryonicist
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com
Animation Blog: http://maxanimation.blogspot.com/
Craft blog: http://nanogirlblog.blogspot.com/
Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org
Nanotechnology Advisor Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org
Email: 
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."

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