Newswise — Obscure mathematical ideas developed back in the 1980s could solve current problems of mixing fluids at the microscale, and revolutionise the technology, reports an article in Science.

The need to mix fluids at the microscale affects a whole range of developing technologies – from inkjet printers to DNA analysis – and finding ways to do it is becoming big business. Millions of dollars have already been poured into ‘lab-on-a-chip’ projects, but making miniature labs is not just a question of scaling things down.

When you pour cream into your coffee via the back of a spoon, it forms a...read the wave

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the early 1960's, popular interest in nanotechnology has translated into both political action and increasing investment, with notable acceleration throughout 2003 and into early 2004. MRG, Inc., along with Fuji-Keizai USA, compiled a report titled U.S. Market & Industry Nanotechnology R&D and Marketing: A Guide to Application, Venders, Technology Strategies, Product Directions & Market Development & Focus.

In late 2003, the U.S. enacted the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. It wrote into law the "National Nanotechnology Initiative" (NNI), which was announced by President Clinton in 2000 and supported by presidential budgets ever since. The Act included budget authorizations totaling $3.7 billion for nanotechnology R& D through FY 2008.

Since 2000, interest in nanotechnology has...read the wave

Nanotechnology could revolutionize science, technology, medicine and space exploration.

Nanotechnology could ravage the environment, eliminate jobs and lead to frightening new weapons of war.

Those are two extreme takes on the hottest, and potentially most controversial, new technology since biotech and PCs.

For years, science fiction writers and techno-visionaries have imagined the construction of "nano"-size -- one nanometer equals a billionth of a meter -- molecules and machines that could clean cholesterol from your bloodstream, break down chemical spills and lead to superstrong new materials. The late physicist Richard Feynman once said, "There's plenty of room at the bottom" -- by which he meant humans could re-engineer atoms and molecules to do humanity's bidding...read the wave

HOUSTON, July 22, 2004 — The Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University today announced the award of a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the first introductory nanotechnology class to be offered at Rice University, a research-intensive institution known worldwide for its excellence in nanotechnology research.

The course, titled "Nanotechnology: Content and Context," will be offered jointly by the departments of chemistry and anthropology this fall. The grant, awarded under NSF's Nanotechnology in Undergraduate Education program, allows Rice to join a small but growing number of schools offering undergraduate nanotech classes aimed at preparing students for a future in which nanotech is an integral part of the technology landscape....read the wave

MONTEREY, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/26/2004 -- Marketsnap Research Group, a Silicon Valley-based technology research firm that produces independent reports for more than 20,000 subscribers in technology, media and finance worldwide, today announces the speaking line-up for Spark! 2004, a new technology conference for decision makers who work or invest in technology, media, manufacturing or research. Spark! will showcase some of the industry's great builders, people who can speak to practice rather than just theory, in new technologies gaining traction in the digital economy, including digital media, digital payment systems, social networking, nanotechnology, wireless communication and more.

Spark! 2004 will take place at the Monterey Conference Center on October 18 and 19. Speakers during the two days include Steve Jurvetson, a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist and co-chair of the NanoBusiness Alliance...read the wave

our daily look at nano blog's

• Yummy Technical Essays
• Prince Charles (again?)
• 'Gee Whiz'
• Butter, Butterfly effects & the Best advice I ever received

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc. (OTCPK:NNBP) ("Nanobac" or "the Company") has completed its first year as a public Company. The events and discoveries of the past year have reinforced our belief that we are at the forefront in the search for the causes and treatments of infectious diseases associated with pathological calcification. This sets forth the accomplishments of the last year, as well as our goals and expectations for the future.

The major accomplishments during the last 12 months include...read the wave

Intel says it will begin production of NOR-type flash memory on a 90nm process using 200mm wafers in the current quarter.

Using 200mm wafers in fabs converted from Pentium production will mean a low capital cost of entry, making it competitive with rival Samsung's 300mm production, said marketing manager Brenden Mielke.

Samsung began 90nm NAND-type flash production in September 2003 and is now running more than 10,000 300mm wafers a month of NAND flash memory…read the wave

A laser technique for fabricating gold microstructures could provide a new powerful way to create miniature resistors or conductive tracks for flexible electronics. The so-called 'fountain pen' method unveiled by a Swiss-US team deposits gold nanoink stripes as thin as 5 microns and simultaneously cures them with an Argon ion laser…read the wave

LEDs emitting sub-nanosecond pulses at 280 nm and 340 nm make their commercial debut.

The first commercial ultraviolet LEDs to emit sub-nanosecond pulses at 280 and 340 nm are now available from Jobin Yvon IBH, UK.

Forming part of the firm's NanoLED range, the LEDs are said to emit 800 picosecond pulses making them ideal for a range of biological applications based on time-resolved fluorescence…read the wave

AUSTIN, TX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor memory technology, today broke ground on the second stage of the expansion of its Austin memory chip fabrication plant.

The 34,000 square foot expansion of its manufacturing area is part of a succession of investments that will equip its Austin plant for next-generation advanced semiconductor fabrication technology.

Samsung's three-year investment plan of $500 million announced May 2003, will upgrade, expand, and increase capacity to produce nano-scale semiconductor memory technology at the Austin plant. The nano-tech upgrade investments will...read the wave

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nanobac Life Sciences, Inc. (OTCPK:NNBP) ("Nanobac" or "the Company") has completed its first year as a public Company. The events and discoveries of the past year have reinforced our belief that we are at the forefront in the search for the causes and treatments of infectious diseases associated with pathological calcification. This sets forth the accomplishments of the last year, as well as our goals and expectations for the future.

The major accomplishments during the last 12 months include...read the wave

Intel says it will begin production of NOR-type flash memory on a 90nm process using 200mm wafers in the current quarter.

Using 200mm wafers in fabs converted from Pentium production will mean a low capital cost of entry, making it competitive with rival Samsung's 300mm production, said marketing manager Brenden Mielke.

Samsung began 90nm NAND-type flash production in September 2003 and is now running more than 10,000 300mm wafers a month of NAND flash memory…read the wave

A laser technique for fabricating gold microstructures could provide a new powerful way to create miniature resistors or conductive tracks for flexible electronics. The so-called 'fountain pen' method unveiled by a Swiss-US team deposits gold nanoink stripes as thin as 5 microns and simultaneously cures them with an Argon ion laser…read the wave

LEDs emitting sub-nanosecond pulses at 280 nm and 340 nm make their commercial debut.

The first commercial ultraviolet LEDs to emit sub-nanosecond pulses at 280 and 340 nm are now available from Jobin Yvon IBH, UK.

Forming part of the firm's NanoLED range, the LEDs are said to emit 800 picosecond pulses making them ideal for a range of biological applications based on time-resolved fluorescence…read the wave

AUSTIN, TX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor memory technology, today broke ground on the second stage of the expansion of its Austin memory chip fabrication plant.

The 34,000 square foot expansion of its manufacturing area is part of a succession of investments that will equip its Austin plant for next-generation advanced semiconductor fabrication technology.

Samsung's three-year investment plan of $500 million announced May 2003, will upgrade, expand, and increase capacity to produce nano-scale semiconductor memory technology at the Austin plant. The nano-tech upgrade investments will...read the wave

Nanotube and nanohorn
Future real key player of nanotechnology

by Sumio IIJIMA

Professor, Meijo University and Director, Research
Center for Advanced Carbon Materials, National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

"I really don't want people to exaggerate carbon nanotubes too much. I want them to leave the tubes alone a little more," says Prof. Iijima, the discoverer of carbon nanotubes. He now thinks that commercial applications of carbon nanohorns will be realized much earlier than those of carbon nanotubes.

Unlike carbon nanotubes, carbon nanohorns can be made simply without the use of a catalyst. Carbon nanohorn aggregates can be produced with a yield of more than 90% through laser vaporization of carbon at room temperature. These aggregates have a dahlia-like shape with a large number of horn-shaped short single-layered nanotubes that stick out in all directions...read the wave

our daily look at nano blog's

• Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• nanoZeitgeist
• Fools don't rush in

Science and Technology: Nucleic Acid Engineering

by Chris Phoenix

CRN Director of Research

The genes in your cells are made up of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA: a long, stringy chemical made by fastening together a bunch of small chemical bits like railroad cars in a freight train. The DNA in your cells is actually two of these strings, running side by side. Some of the small chemical bits (called nucleotides) like to stick to certain other bits on the opposite string. DNA has a rather boring structure, but the stickiness of the nucleotides can be used to make far more interesting shapes. In fact, there's a whole field of nanotechnology investigating this, and it may even lead to an early version of molecular manufacturing....read the wave

Quantum computing, which holds the promise of nearly unlimited processing power, secure communications and the ability to decode encrypted conversations by terrorists and others, is a significant step closer to becoming a reality today with new research published by a team of UCLA scientists in the journal Nature.

The UCLA team succeeded in flipping a single electron spin upside down in an ordinary commercial transistor chip, and detected that the current changes when the electron flips. Their report of controlling and detecting a single electron's spin is published in the July 22 issue of Nature.

Scientists had manipulated millions of electron spins in a transistor before. "We have gone from millions to just one," said Hong Wen Jiang, a UCLA professor of physics and member of the California NanoSystems Institute, in whose laboratory the experiments were conducted.

"Our research demonstrates that...read the wave

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEMZ Corp., (OTC: GMZP - News) have announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, International Nanotechnology Corporation (INC) has made forwards progress towards develop a solar-powered solution for powering cellphones and laptop computers. INC previously announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Terra Solar Development Corp., a leading developer of photovoltaic and nanocell technology to acquire substantially all of its nanotechnology assets and certain photovoltaic assets as well. The solar-powered laptop and cellphone chargers will be the first products resulting from the planned combination.

Laptop and cellphone users everywhere need a cost-effective way to continually power or recharge their units without plugging them in. Previous products on the...read the wave

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---James Bond-style technologies such as cell phones the size of earpieces and invisible sensors sprinkled about to detect toxins are closer to reality.

University of Michigan researchers have figured out how to build wireless systems even smaller while still retaining range and power efficiency.

One obstacle to further shrink small wireless devices has been trying to fit all the components onto one chip but U-M researchers have built a tiny silicon-compatible antenna and frequency resonator that will do just that.

The antenna and resonator are two of the most problematic off-chip components in wireless systems. The two components require large amounts of space off the chip---think of a cell phone antenna extending outward---thus limiting how small a device can be built.
...read the wave

RICHARDSON, Texas, /PRNewswire/ -- Zyvex have announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter 2004. The Texas company continues to exceed sales projections with seven consecutive quarters of sales growth. Executives expect Zyvex to realize over $8 million in sales this year, coupled with a sizeable order backlog. Founded in 1997, Zyvex reported its first revenues in 2001, grossing only $150,000. Company revenues grew to $1.2 million in 2002 and $4.5 million in 2003.

"I have been very pleased to watch Zyvex's rapid transformation from a small research center to one of the largest and most promising commercial nanotechnology companies in the world," said Zyvex CFO, Timothy M. Gilmore. "Our continued sales growth demonstrates our leadership in providing real- world, practical nanotechnology solutions."...read the wave

TUSTIN, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2004--Pacific Fuel Cell Corp. (OTCBB:PFCE) is pleased to announce that it has been selected by the United States Department of Energy for a Phase I STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) grant. The intended start date is September 1, 2004.

George Suzuki, PFCE President, stated: "We are particularly pleased that our research project in the area of fuel cell technology has been selected by the United States Department of Energy as worthy of funding."

The University of California-Riverside (UCR) will be the non-profit participating research institution. The UCR research team will be directed by...read the wave

Tegal Corporation (Nasdaq:TGAL) today announced that a leading maker of consumer electronics has placed an order for an Endeavor AT(TM) PVD cluster tool. The Endeavor system will be used for high-volume fabrication of FBAR (Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator) devices destined for mainstream consumer and industrial wireless communication applications. The order was placed after rigorous qualification tests, where the Endeavor out-performed all competitors in this advanced and highly technical application.

"This is a significant win for Tegal," said Carole Anne Demachkie, vice president of Tegal Corporation and general manager of the Sputtered Films Product Group. "This order strengthens our presence in a high growth market for FBAR devices, where we expect to take a commanding lead in the months ahead. Key to our success is...read the wave

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The burgeoning interest in micro technologies, partly triggered by the rapid growth of nanotechnology, is opening up a floodgate of opportunities for developing new, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based applications and products.

"The hunt for the `next big thing' is on," says Technical Insights analyst Jagan Ramaswami. "MEMS -- particularly bio MEMS, RF MEMS and optical MEMS -- are potential candidates in the search for a `killer application' by the research community."

MEMS-based applications have the potential to rejuvenate the market just as the Internet did over the last two decades of the previous millennium. Additionally, the emergence of nanotechnology could encourage the innovation of a gamut of new applications.
...read the wave

The low-battery bleep that ends your cellphone conversation in midsentence or sends you scrambling with your laptop for an outlet could soon be history, thanks to breakthroughs in fuel cells and solar energy.
Mobile devices are growing ever more power-hungry, even as conventional battery capacity hits its limits, said Sara Bradford, a San Antonio-based industry analyst with the research company Frost & Sullivan.

One solution to this problem is a new breed of solar cells with "the potential to keep a battery charged up so that the consumer may not ever have to plug it in," Bradford said.

Konarka Technologies of Lowell, Mass., has developed a dye-based solar cell that can be printed on rolls of plastic for a fraction of the cost of traditional solar cells...read the wave

First it was "gray goo," the threat of self-replicating machines populating the planet. Now an environmental think tank is raising the specter of "green goo," where biology is used to create new materials and new artificial life forms.

In its report, published on July 8, the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, or ETC, said that the risks from green goo demand the most urgent foresight and caution. "With nanobiotech, researchers have the power to create completely new organisms that have never existed on Earth," said the ETC release accompanying its report. ...read the wave

TWise, Va. -- Flexible, bright minds will be needed to cope with the greatest scientific challenges of our time --- nanoscience --- as it moves from science-fiction to the university laboratories to modern industry, it is estimated that 2 million workers trained in nanotechnology and nanoscience will be needed in the next 10 to 15 years!

The making of objects and structures about a millionth of a millimeter in size is going to be much, much more in demand in the next decade says Mihail "Mike" Roco, senior adviser for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The potential shortage of human resources skilled in the new science may slow some of the greatest innovations of our time. ...read the wave

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By depositing thin films of silicon nanoparticles on silicon substrates, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated a photodetector sensitive to ultraviolet light. Silicon-based ultraviolet sensors could prove very handy in military, security and commercial applications.

"Silicon is the most common semiconductor, but it has not been useful for detecting ultraviolet light until now," said Munir Nayfeh, a professor of physics at Illinois and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "Ultraviolet light is usually absorbed by silicon and converted into heat, but we found a way to make silicon devices that absorb ultraviolet light and produce electrical current instead."...read the wave

USANEWSWIRE: To help create new commercial processes that benefit the environment, EPA has awarded $900,000 to four companies for development and commercialization of nanomaterials and environmentally clean technologies through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Nanotechnology, referring to material and device fabrication on an atomic or molecular scale, has great potential for both environmental contaminant removal and creating clean manufacturing processes that use less hazardous chemicals. ...read the wave

ARGONNE, Ill. – Porous structures, such as brick and concrete, are notoriously hard to clean when contaminated with certain types of radioactive materials. Now, thanks to researchers in Argonne 's Chemical Engineering Division, a new technique is being developed that can effectively decontaminate these structures in the event of exposure to radioactive elements.

Researchers are using engineered nanoparticles and a super-absorbent gel to design a clean-up system for buildings and monuments exposed to radioactive materials. Having this system available will allow the nation to be more prepared in case of a terrorist attack with a “dirty bomb” or other radioactive dispersal device....read the wave

With basic research under way for 20-plus years, nanotechnologies are gaining in commercial introductions. In the short term, nanoparticles will be introduced into many existing materials, making them stronger or changing their conductive properties. Significantly stronger polymers will make plastics more widely used to reinforce materials and replace metals, even in the semi-conductor area.

One of the most innovative new products is one that enhances biological imaging for medical diagnostics and drug discovery. Quantum dots are semi-conducting nanocrystals that, when illuminated with ultraviolet light, emit a vast spectrum of bright colors that can be used to identify and locate cells and other biological activities. These crystals offer optical detection up to a thousand times brighter than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as MRIs, and render significantly more information.

The latest display technology for laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other uses are made of ...read the wave

In experiments with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how a key light-detecting molecule in the eye moves in response to changes in light intensity.

Their finding adds to growing evidence that some creatures -- and probably people -- adapt to light not only by mechanically shrinking the pupil to physically limit how much light enters the eye, but also by a chemical response.

Building on their previous work showing that specific proteins in eye cells are redistributed in response to bright light, the Johns Hopkins team now reports how a key protein called arrestin is shuttled from a "holding area" where it binds and calms a light-detecting protein. Writing in the July 7 issue of Neuron, the team says arrestin is moved around by a tiny molecular motor, called myosin, which travels along the "train tracks" of the cell's internal skeleton.
...read the wave

Tiny surface defects that form during processing can reduce the quality and yield of semiconductor devices, magnetic storage media and other products. Inspection tools that locate, identify and characterize surface defects based upon how they reflect or scatter light need to be calibrated with accurate particle size standards in order to work properly. Making metallic standards for such calibrations is typically a hazardous process, but researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have invented a safer method and apparatus for producing these standards. ...read the wave

Tempe, AZ, – Molecular Imaging is an R&D 100 Awards winner for its new PicoTREC. The awards are sponsored by R&D Magazine and recognize the top 100 products introduced into the marketplace during the year. PicoTREC is the only commercially available instrument to add real-time, simultaneous Topography and RECognition imaging capability to the atomic force microscope (AFM). A breakthrough tool for AFM, PicoTREC allows researchers to pursue new avenues of discovery in all areas of nanotechnology and nanoscience.

"We are honored to be the recipient of the R&D 100 Awards and to be ranked among the world's top technology innovators," said Vance Nau, President and CEO. “This award is an acknowledgement of Molecular Imaging’s commitment to creating innovative new products and techniques for our customers that will enable new application areas for AFM in academic and industrial research....read the wave

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), along with their colleagues at several companies, are completing experiments that validate new standards aimed at improving emerging new microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, devices.

Microaccelerometers, the devices used to activate automotive airbags, are MEMS devices. In the future, microscopic MEMs devices made with gears and motors may, for example, be developed to clear blockages in arteries.

NIST scientists presented their findings at the semiconductor industry's annual SEMICON West trade show, held July 12-16, 2004, in San Francisco.

Working with ASTM International, NIST has developed three new standards aimed at helping researchers measure more accurately several...read the wave

The challenge of determining whether thin films---some no thicker than a single molecule---are strong enough for a growing number of important technology jobs just got easier and quicker thanks to an inexpensive testing method reported in the upcoming issue of Nature Materials by a team led by researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Useful for evaluating all types and combinations of materials, the new method measures and analyzes the strength and stiffness of a thin-film sample in about 2 seconds, as compared with several minutes for indentation and other conventional approaches. In addition, the NIST-developed technique accommodates high-throughput testing, so that hundreds or even a few thousand systematically varying samples can be tested in rapid succession. ...read the wave

Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered a better way to measure a confounding property of microscopic high-tech particles called quantum dots.

Quantum dots, also called nanocrystals, emit light in a rainbow of colors and are used in lasers, biological studies and other applications, but their tendency to blink hinders their technological value. Imagine the annoyance caused by a randomly flickering light bulb.

"A quantum dot might blink for just a millionth of a second or it might blink for 15 minutes," said Matthew Pelton, a Research Associate at the University of Chicago's James Franck Institute. "This is one of the problems we have to solve if we want to engineer the properties of materials, particularly semiconductor materials, on the nanoscale."

Pelton has found a way to measure the blinking that is simpler and faster than...read the wave

CORDIS News Service: Nanotechnology and its possible risks have become the focus of attention once more, following the publication of a newspaper article by the Prince of Wales calling for the technology to be used 'wisely and appropriately'.

Previous comments on nanotechnology by the heir to the UK throne led newspapers to report that he feared that the world could be overrun by so called 'grey goo'. In his latest intervention however, published on 11 July in the UK's Independent on Sunday, Prince Charles denied that he ever held such fears.

'For the record, I have never used that expression and I do not believe that self-replicating robots, smaller than viruses, will one day multiply uncontrollably and devour our planet. Such beliefs should be left where they belong, in the realms of science fiction,' states the Prince....read the wave

Despite lacking concrete knowledge about nanotechnology, most Americans hold a generally positive view of the emerging science and believe the technology’s potential benefits outweigh its perceived risks. At the same time, most Americans do not trust business leaders in the nanotechnology industry to minimize potential risks to humans.

Those are some of the key findings of a study conducted by North Carolina State University researchers in the first nationally representative survey designed to gauge the public’s perceptions about nanotechnology. The telephone survey polled a random sample of 1,536 adults in the continental United States in the spring of 2004 and is part of a larger research project studying public perceptions of nanotechnology that is funded by a $135,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

More than 80 percent of those polled indicated they...read the wave

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Like virtuosos tuning their violins, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have tuned their instruments and harmonized the production of entangled photons, pushing rates to more than 1 million pairs per second.

The brighter and purer entangled states could assist researchers in applications involving quantum information processing – such as quantum computation, teleportation and cryptography – and help scientists better understand the mysterious transition from quantum mechanics to classical physics.

“Entangled states are the quintessential feature of quantum mechanics,” said Paul Kwiat, a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at Illinois. “All the manifestations of quantum mechanics in the world around us arise from the basic but bizarre coupling that exists between entangled particles.”...read the wave

HENDERSON, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-

Emergency Filtration Products Inc. (EFP) (OTCBB: EMFP) announces that it will commence testing its licensed nanotechnology-enhanced 2H filter media in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force in mid-August 2004. This proprietary enhancement encompasses the integration of filter media with various types of nanotechnology solutions for the detection of, and protection from, biological, chemical, radiological and explosive agents.

The U.S. Air Force tests, which are expected to validate some
...read the wave

WOBURN, Mass., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrove, Inc. announced today that the Company has acquired an exclusive license from Stanford University for patent applications that cover the use of a through-hole structured microarray to perform PCR. Separately, BioTrove has been issued a patent on a novel method using the Company's proprietary OpenArray(TM) platform for high-density cell assay and culture. BioTrove is commercializing its OpenArray(TM) platform, a nanofluidic system for massively parallel analysis using Thru- Hole(TM) technology, for use by life science researchers.

"The Stanford patent applications and the cell maintenance patent are important parts of our large and growing patent portfolio around BioTrove's Thru-Hole(TM) technology," remarked Robert Hess, Director of Licensing and Intellectual Property at BioTrove. "We identified these...read the wave

The computing community for many years has longed to be able to to carry out high speed calculations using a genuine Quantum Computer because it would facilitate the practical factorisation of very large numbers and the searching of unordered lists and databases. The rapid breaking of secure codes based on prime numbers would have a lot of practical applications particularly in the banking and military field and would necessitate the development of new cryptographic and security methods to protect valuable data.

Academics working in the Department of Material Science at the University of Oxford have successfully developed a design protocol for inserting filled molecules of Buckminsterfullerene (“Buckyballs”) into carbon, and other types of nanotube. ...read the wave

A University of Southern California engineer has discovered a way to manufacture composite "nanocables" from a potent new class of substances with extraordinary properties called Transition Metal Oxides (TMOs).

Chongwu Zhou, an assistant professor in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering, is creating dense arrays of ultrafine wires made of magnesium oxide (MgO), each coated with uniform, precisely controlled layers of TMO.

In the last decade, TMOs have come under intense investigation because they demonstrate a wide range of potentially highly useful properties including high-temperature superconductivity. Because of the great potential for applications and research, investigators have tried for years to create TMO nanowires, but have so far had limited success....read the wave

WOBURN, Mass.PRNewswire/ -- Nantero, Inc. and BAE Systems have announced a joint effort to evaluate the potential to develop carbon nanotube-based electronic devices for use in advanced defense and aerospace systems. The project will involve research and development of a variety of next-generation electronic devices that can be built leveraging the unique properties of carbon nanotubes and using Nantero's proprietary methods and processes for the design and manufacture of nanotube-based electronics.
Nantero's proprietary processes for the use of carbon nanotubes are
CMOS-compatible, allowing the development to be carried out in BAE Systems Manassas' newly modernized production semiconductor fabrication facilities....read the wave

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The burgeoning interest in micro technologies, partly triggered by the rapid growth of nanotechnology, is opening up a floodgate of opportunities for developing new, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based applications and products.

"The hunt for the `next big thing' is on," says Technical Insights analyst Jagan Ramaswami. "MEMS -- particularly bio MEMS, RF MEMS and optical MEMS -- are potential candidates in the search for a `killer application' by the research community."

MEMS-based applications have the potential to rejuvenate the market just as the Internet did over the last two decades of the previous millennium. Additionally, the emergence of nanotechnology could encourage the innovation of a gamut of new applications.
...read the wave

The low-battery bleep that ends your cellphone conversation in midsentence or sends you scrambling with your laptop for an outlet could soon be history, thanks to breakthroughs in fuel cells and solar energy.
Mobile devices are growing ever more power-hungry, even as conventional battery capacity hits its limits, said Sara Bradford, a San Antonio-based industry analyst with the research company Frost & Sullivan.

One solution to this problem is a new breed of solar cells with "the potential to keep a battery charged up so that the consumer may not ever have to plug it in," Bradford said.

Konarka Technologies of Lowell, Mass., has developed a dye-based solar cell that can be printed on rolls of plastic for a fraction of the cost of traditional solar cells...read the wave

First it was "gray goo," the threat of self-replicating machines populating the planet. Now an environmental think tank is raising the specter of "green goo," where biology is used to create new materials and new artificial life forms.

In its report, published on July 8, the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, or ETC, said that the risks from green goo demand the most urgent foresight and caution. "With nanobiotech, researchers have the power to create completely new organisms that have never existed on Earth," said the ETC release accompanying its report. ...read the wave

TWise, Va. -- Flexible, bright minds will be needed to cope with the greatest scientific challenges of our time --- nanoscience --- as it moves from science-fiction to the university laboratories to modern industry, it is estimated that 2 million workers trained in nanotechnology and nanoscience will be needed in the next 10 to 15 years!

The making of objects and structures about a millionth of a millimeter in size is going to be much, much more in demand in the next decade says Mihail "Mike" Roco, senior adviser for nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The potential shortage of human resources skilled in the new science may slow some of the greatest innovations of our time. ...read the wave

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By depositing thin films of silicon nanoparticles on silicon substrates, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated a photodetector sensitive to ultraviolet light. Silicon-based ultraviolet sensors could prove very handy in military, security and commercial applications.

"Silicon is the most common semiconductor, but it has not been useful for detecting ultraviolet light until now," said Munir Nayfeh, a professor of physics at Illinois and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "Ultraviolet light is usually absorbed by silicon and converted into heat, but we found a way to make silicon devices that absorb ultraviolet light and produce electrical current instead."...read the wave

USANEWSWIRE: To help create new commercial processes that benefit the environment, EPA has awarded $900,000 to four companies for development and commercialization of nanomaterials and environmentally clean technologies through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Nanotechnology, referring to material and device fabrication on an atomic or molecular scale, has great potential for both environmental contaminant removal and creating clean manufacturing processes that use less hazardous chemicals. ...read the wave

ARGONNE, Ill. – Porous structures, such as brick and concrete, are notoriously hard to clean when contaminated with certain types of radioactive materials. Now, thanks to researchers in Argonne 's Chemical Engineering Division, a new technique is being developed that can effectively decontaminate these structures in the event of exposure to radioactive elements.

Researchers are using engineered nanoparticles and a super-absorbent gel to design a clean-up system for buildings and monuments exposed to radioactive materials. Having this system available will allow the nation to be more prepared in case of a terrorist attack with a “dirty bomb” or other radioactive dispersal device....read the wave

With basic research under way for 20-plus years, nanotechnologies are gaining in commercial introductions. In the short term, nanoparticles will be introduced into many existing materials, making them stronger or changing their conductive properties. Significantly stronger polymers will make plastics more widely used to reinforce materials and replace metals, even in the semi-conductor area.

One of the most innovative new products is one that enhances biological imaging for medical diagnostics and drug discovery. Quantum dots are semi-conducting nanocrystals that, when illuminated with ultraviolet light, emit a vast spectrum of bright colors that can be used to identify and locate cells and other biological activities. These crystals offer optical detection up to a thousand times brighter than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as MRIs, and render significantly more information.

The latest display technology for laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other uses are made of ...read the wave

In experiments with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered how a key light-detecting molecule in the eye moves in response to changes in light intensity.

Their finding adds to growing evidence that some creatures -- and probably people -- adapt to light not only by mechanically shrinking the pupil to physically limit how much light enters the eye, but also by a chemical response.

Building on their previous work showing that specific proteins in eye cells are redistributed in response to bright light, the Johns Hopkins team now reports how a key protein called arrestin is shuttled from a "holding area" where it binds and calms a light-detecting protein. Writing in the July 7 issue of Neuron, the team says arrestin is moved around by a tiny molecular motor, called myosin, which travels along the "train tracks" of the cell's internal skeleton.
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Tiny surface defects that form during processing can reduce the quality and yield of semiconductor devices, magnetic storage media and other products. Inspection tools that locate, identify and characterize surface defects based upon how they reflect or scatter light need to be calibrated with accurate particle size standards in order to work properly. Making metallic standards for such calibrations is typically a hazardous process, but researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have invented a safer method and apparatus for producing these standards. ...read the wave

Tempe, AZ, – Molecular Imaging is an R&D 100 Awards winner for its new PicoTREC. The awards are sponsored by R&D Magazine and recognize the top 100 products introduced into the marketplace during the year. PicoTREC is the only commercially available instrument to add real-time, simultaneous Topography and RECognition imaging capability to the atomic force microscope (AFM). A breakthrough tool for AFM, PicoTREC allows researchers to pursue new avenues of discovery in all areas of nanotechnology and nanoscience.

"We are honored to be the recipient of the R&D 100 Awards and to be ranked among the world's top technology innovators," said Vance Nau, President and CEO. “This award is an acknowledgement of Molecular Imaging’s commitment to creating innovative new products and techniques for our customers that will enable new application areas for AFM in academic and industrial research....read the wave

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), along with their colleagues at several companies, are completing experiments that validate new standards aimed at improving emerging new microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, devices.

Microaccelerometers, the devices used to activate automotive airbags, are MEMS devices. In the future, microscopic MEMs devices made with gears and motors may, for example, be developed to clear blockages in arteries.

NIST scientists presented their findings at the semiconductor industry's annual SEMICON West trade show, held July 12-16, 2004, in San Francisco.

Working with ASTM International, NIST has developed three new standards aimed at helping researchers measure more accurately several...read the wave

The challenge of determining whether thin films---some no thicker than a single molecule---are strong enough for a growing number of important technology jobs just got easier and quicker thanks to an inexpensive testing method reported in the upcoming issue of Nature Materials by a team led by researchers at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Useful for evaluating all types and combinations of materials, the new method measures and analyzes the strength and stiffness of a thin-film sample in about 2 seconds, as compared with several minutes for indentation and other conventional approaches. In addition, the NIST-developed technique accommodates high-throughput testing, so that hundreds or even a few thousand systematically varying samples can be tested in rapid succession. ...read the wave

Scientists at the University of Chicago have discovered a better way to measure a confounding property of microscopic high-tech particles called quantum dots.

Quantum dots, also called nanocrystals, emit light in a rainbow of colors and are used in lasers, biological studies and other applications, but their tendency to blink hinders their technological value. Imagine the annoyance caused by a randomly flickering light bulb.

"A quantum dot might blink for just a millionth of a second or it might blink for 15 minutes," said Matthew Pelton, a Research Associate at the University of Chicago's James Franck Institute. "This is one of the problems we have to solve if we want to engineer the properties of materials, particularly semiconductor materials, on the nanoscale."

Pelton has found a way to measure the blinking that is simpler and faster than...read the wave

CORDIS News Service: Nanotechnology and its possible risks have become the focus of attention once more, following the publication of a newspaper article by the Prince of Wales calling for the technology to be used 'wisely and appropriately'.

Previous comments on nanotechnology by the heir to the UK throne led newspapers to report that he feared that the world could be overrun by so called 'grey goo'. In his latest intervention however, published on 11 July in the UK's Independent on Sunday, Prince Charles denied that he ever held such fears.

'For the record, I have never used that expression and I do not believe that self-replicating robots, smaller than viruses, will one day multiply uncontrollably and devour our planet. Such beliefs should be left where they belong, in the realms of science fiction,' states the Prince....read the wave

Despite lacking concrete knowledge about nanotechnology, most Americans hold a generally positive view of the emerging science and believe the technology’s potential benefits outweigh its perceived risks. At the same time, most Americans do not trust business leaders in the nanotechnology industry to minimize potential risks to humans.

Those are some of the key findings of a study conducted by North Carolina State University researchers in the first nationally representative survey designed to gauge the public’s perceptions about nanotechnology. The telephone survey polled a random sample of 1,536 adults in the continental United States in the spring of 2004 and is part of a larger research project studying public perceptions of nanotechnology that is funded by a $135,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

More than 80 percent of those polled indicated they...read the wave

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Like virtuosos tuning their violins, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have tuned their instruments and harmonized the production of entangled photons, pushing rates to more than 1 million pairs per second.

The brighter and purer entangled states could assist researchers in applications involving quantum information processing – such as quantum computation, teleportation and cryptography – and help scientists better understand the mysterious transition from quantum mechanics to classical physics.

“Entangled states are the quintessential feature of quantum mechanics,” said Paul Kwiat, a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at Illinois. “All the manifestations of quantum mechanics in the world around us arise from the basic but bizarre coupling that exists between entangled particles.”...read the wave

HENDERSON, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-

Emergency Filtration Products Inc. (EFP) (OTCBB: EMFP) announces that it will commence testing its licensed nanotechnology-enhanced 2H filter media in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force in mid-August 2004. This proprietary enhancement encompasses the integration of filter media with various types of nanotechnology solutions for the detection of, and protection from, biological, chemical, radiological and explosive agents.

The U.S. Air Force tests, which are expected to validate some
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Blacksburg, Va. -- Scientists and engineers worldwide are taking control of matter at its smallest scale, individual atoms, to create new materials and devices that are making electronics smaller and promise a future with highly efficient flexible solar cells and molecular machinery to augment human systems.

This new field of science, called nanotechnology, has unfolded so quickly that the recent university courses in nanotechnology have had to depend upon compendiums of journal articles as their textbooks or books geared to majors in a specific field.

Now, however, three scientists have pulled together some 60 active researchers across many disciplines to write a broad-based textbook specifically for students....read the wave

WOBURN, Mass., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrove, Inc. announced today that the Company has acquired an exclusive license from Stanford University for patent applications