PNNL researchers have developed a cost-effective nanomaterial to remove mercury from industrial wastes without producing harmful byproducts or secondary waste. The inexpensive, easy-to-use technology is called Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports for mercury, or Thiol-SAMMS.

Thiol-SAMMS adsorbs mercury 500 to 1,000 times faster than other materials, pulling more than 99.9 percent of the mercury out of solution in the first five minutes. Preliminary lifetime estimates indicate that...read the wave

| Harbinger of a high-temperature superconductor boom | Koichi KITAZAWA |

Patients suffering from conditions as diverse as asthma and diabetes could benefit from research at Cardiff University to improve the effectiveness of drugs taken through spray inhalers.

Scientists in the Welsh School of Pharmacy are working on new nano-particle drug formulations for inhalers, and enhancers to improve the effectiveness of proteins, such as insulin, delivered to the lung.

"Drugs delivered through inhalers are usually either in a suspension (as particles dispersed in liquid), or in a solution (when the drug is dissolved in the liquid)," explained Dr James Birchall. "However, there are problems with both methods - a suspension can lead to sediment in the inhaler and less of the drug reaching the target area of the lung, while solutions present problems in dissolving the drug in the inhaler propellant liquid and can make the drug itself less stable."

The Cardiff team's approach is to prepare the drug in nano-particle form – ensuring the correct dosage reaches the lung and the drug retains its stability, and providing the possibility of slowing the release of the drug in the lung for longer therapeutic effect...read the wave

Washington University in St. Louis has been chosen as a Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology (PEN) by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Karen Wooley, Ph.D., Washington University professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences, is principal investigator of the Program, which NHLBI is funding at $12.5 million for five years.

Three other PENs will also be established. Washington University will serve as the administrative center for this new nanotechnology initiative.

Collaborators with Wooley include 13 faculty members from the Washington University School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Medicine, plus one from each of the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Nanotechnology involves the making of materials, devices and systems of extremely small sizes, generally between one and 100 nanometers. One nanometer is one one-thousandth of a micron; a single strand of human hair is between 50 and 100 microns, so a nanometer is 50,000 times smaller than a human hair. Nanotechnology enables researchers to take advantage of properties and surface areas to create faster, more efficient chips, sensors, pumps, gears, lasers, novel materials and drug delivery systems...read the wave

The University of Madras has submitted a project proposal to the State government for setting up a Centre for Nano Technology and NanoSciences at a cost of Rs 17 crore.

S P Thyagarajan, the university Vice-Chancellor, told reporters here yesterday that the centre would focus on research programmes as nano science was an emerging area. The university was already conducting research programmes in these areas at its Guindy and Taramani campuses.

As the three long-serving universities ? University of Madras, Calcutta and Mumbai had joined hands to mark their 150 years of existence, joint degree programmes would be introduced in various subjects for which students could enroll in one university and later shift to another to avail of the facilities there, he said.

The joint degree courses are MSc Physics, MSc Biophysics, MSc Bio-Informatics, MSc Microbiology, MSc Genetics Biotechnology, MA Anthropology, MA Public Administration, MA History, MA Comparative Literature and Languages and MA Economics.

The universities would undertake joint research programmes in different areas like Nanotechnology, Environmental Sciences, Pollution Control, Herbal Medicine, Cancer Research, Comparative Linguistics and Literature, Translation, Liquid Crystal, Nuclear Physics and Polymer Science, the Vice-Chancellor said.

Thyagarajan said the university had sought a Rs 57 crore-aid from the Planning Commission to carry out various projects from Union Planning Commission. Of this Rs 30 crore has been sanctioned through State government. This would cover tele-education and setting up of high speed data link facility, he said.

As the three universities were entering their 150 years if existence, the Ministry of Human Resources Development had come forward to sanctioned Rs 25 crore to each university in three instalments, he added.

Also the UGC had granted funds under the 'Remembering Mother Universities' programmes. Under this Rs five crore would be given to 23 universities in Tamilnadu which were the off shoot of University of Madras, he said Source : NT Bureau Chennai

HOUSTON, April 28, 2005 – From detecting tumors to encrypting data better, one young engineering professor's nanotechnology work at the University of Houston holds enormous potential for medicine and electronics.

Pradeep Sharma, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UH, received the Office of Naval Research's Young Investigator Program (YIP) Award for his proposal on the "Novel Size-Effects in the Coupled Mechanical Deformation and Opto-Electronic Behavior of Quantum Dots and Wires." The total award of $262,471 for three years is intended to further propel Sharma's research.

"It's a proposal that will investigate new scaling laws for quantum dots due to mechanical strain," Sharma said. "Quantum dots are very small clusters of semiconductor material, and they exhibit some unusual and exciting opto-electronic properties. They have tremendous potential in future nanoelectronics."...read the wave

WASHINGTON, /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SMALL FUEL CELLS CONFERENCE -- MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro), the developer of the award-winning Mobion(TM) micro fuel cell battery replacement technology, made public a study that examines the increasing challenges faced by the U.S. Military to keep up with personal power demands of modern soldiers. Jane's Information Group, a leading independent provider of intelligence and analysis on national and international defense, conducted the study. MTI commissioned the study as part of the Company's plans to deliver fuel cell-based military solutions to the government in 2006.

The study cites unmet power demands created by the rapid advances in technology that are making modern combat soldiers exponentially better equipped and better informed than their predecessors. From night vision goggles and satellite communications to smart weapons and networked sensors, the battlefield has become...read the wave

Researchers at Northwestern University have demonstrated writing at the sub-100 nanometer molecular scale in fountain-pen fashion. They developed a novel atomic force microscope (AFM) probe chip with an integrated microfluidic system for capillary feeding of molecular ink. Their results are published online by Small, a new journal dedicated to breakthroughs in nanoscience and engineering
( http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smll.200500027 ).

Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) has been well-known for its capability of high-resolution direct writing as a bottom-up nanofabrication technique...read the wave

Het Innovatieplatform heeft het extra geld dat in het Paasakkoord is uitgetrokken voor innovatie verdeeld. De 150 miljoen euro gaat naar de sleutelgebieden, het beroepsonderwijs en de onderzoeksinfrastructuur.

Dat maakte minister-president Balkenende op 20 april bekend na afloop van een vergadering van het Innovatieplatform. Minister Brinkhorst (EZ) en minister Van der Hoeven (OCW) werken de afspraken verder uit, in overleg met het platform.

De fractievoorzitters van CDA, VVD en D66 en het kabinet hebben op 26 maart 2005 in het Paasakkoord afspraken gemaakt over de verdere uitvoering van het beleidsprogramma van het kabinet. Aanleiding voor de nieuwe afspraken was het aftreden van minister De Graaf.

De partijen spraken onder meer af om 150 miljoen euro extra uit te trekken voor Innovatie. Dit bedrag is nu door het Innovatieplatform verdeeld...read the wave

Trends in Nanotechnology International Conference (TNT2005 )

Topics:

• Carbon Nanotubes Based Nanoelectronics and Field Emission
• Nanostructured and Nanoparticle Based Materials
• Low-Dimensional Materials (Nanowires, Clusters, Quantum Dots, etc.)
• Nanofabrication Tools and Nanoscale Integration
• Nanochemistry
• Nanobiotechnologies
• Theory and Modelling at the Nanoscale
• Nanomagnetism and Spintronics
• Scanning Probes Methods
• Ultimate Limits of Measurement: Metrology and Nanostandards

Oviedo (Spain) / August 29 - September 02, 2005 http://www.tnt2005.org

SAN DIEGO, PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGEN ), developer of advanced diagnostic products, have announced that it has been issued European Patent No. 0943158B1, "Affinity Based Self-Assembly Systems and Devices for Photonic and Electronic Applications," by the European Patent Office. This patent is similar to U.S. Patent 6,652,808, the parent of a series of patent applications that significantly broaden Nanogen's proprietary position in the nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing areas. The U.S. patent was issued in December 2003.

The new nanotechnology patent relates to a nanofabrication technology that combines an electric field assisted manufacturing platform and programmable self-assembling nanostructures (for example, DNA building blocks) for the fabrication of a wide range of unique higher-order nano and microscale devices, structures and materials. The nanofabrication platform and process would be used for...read the wave

USC researchers have found that sapphire surfaces spontaneously arrange carbon nanotubes into useful patterns — but only the right surfaces.

Nanotubes are one-atom thick sheets of carbon rolled into seamless cylinders. They can be used to work as chemical sensors and transistors, like devices made from carbon's close chemical cousin, silicon.

As a substrate for the creation of single wall nanotube transistor (SWNT)  devices, sapphire has a critical advantage, says Chongwu Zhou of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's department of electrical engineering.

Single walled carbon nanotubes will grow along certain crystalline orientations on sapphire. No template has to be provided to guide this structuring: it takes place automatically.
..read the wave

Oxonica Ltd, a leading European technology company, has patented a revolutionary new UV filter called Optisol.  As of this month, Optisol™ is available on shelves as an active component of Boots' new Soltan Facial Sun Defence Cream.

Optisol offers several major benefits over existing filters.  In addition to protecting against UVB, the traditional focus of sun protection, Optisol offers enhanced protection against UVA light.  It is now believed that UVA light is also responsible for skin damage and sunscreens sold in the UK have a star rating, developed by Boots PLC, to indicate the amount of UVA protection offered.  Test data has shown that sunscreens formulated with Optisol can provide enhanced protection against both UVB and UVA.

Optisol is a milder, longer lasting and innovative new form of titanium dioxide, a commonly used ingredient in sunscreens which acts to absorb UV light.  A tiny amount of manganese is incorporated within the titanium dioxide, adding major benefits; the manganese absorbs extra UVA giving a higher level of protection and also acts to stop the formation of free radicals in the titanium dioxide. These effects give enhanced performance which is extremely photostable, ensuring that the product's ability to protect isn't broken down by the sun...read the wave

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists at Ohio State University have taken a step toward the development of powerful new computers -- by making tiny holes that contain nothing at all.

The holes -- dark spots in an egg carton-shaped surface of laser light -- could one day cradle atoms for quantum computing .

Worldwide, scientists are racing to develop computers that exploit the quantum mechanical properties of atoms, explained Greg Lafyatis , associate professor of physics at Ohio State . These so-called quantum computers could enable much faster computing than is possible today. One strategy for making quantum computers involves packaging individual atoms on a chip so that laser beams can read quantum data.

Lafyatis and doctoral student Katharina Christandl recently designed a chip with a top surface of laser light that functions as an array of tiny traps, each of which could potentially hold a single atom. The design could enable quantum data to be read the same way CDs are read today...read the wave

Traditional silicon chips in computers and other electronic devices control the flow of electrical current by modifying the positive or negative charge of different parts of each tiny circuit. However it is also possible to use of the mysterious magnetic properties of electrons - know as “spin” - to control the movement of currents. Many large companies have spent millions of dollars trying to solve some of the problems faced by this technology, but progress has remained slow. Discoveries made in Oxford solve several of the most difficult problems and open up this exciting new world of possibilities.

Central to the success of modern electronics is the transistor. A transistor is a switch that controls the flow of electrical current. A modern computer chip contains many millions of tiny transistors; each acting as a tiny switch where a small current is used to control the flow of a larger current.

A spin transistor uses the spin properties of the electrons within it, to control the flow of a current. The big advantage of this approach is that the spin (or magnetic state) of a transistor can be set and then will not change, so unlike a normal electrical circuit that requires a...read the wave

COSTA MESA, CA, U.S.A. - QuantumSphere, Inc., the leading manufacturer of metallic nanopowders, working toward catalyzing the future for fuel cells, batteries, and hydrogen generation, is moving forward with the collaboration of Robert Dopp, of Doppstein Enterprises, Inc. (DSE).

Together they are testing QuantumSphere’s new line of nano-catalysts in functioning air electrodes to better identify significant parameters in the development cycle. Mr. Dopp has developed a cathode manufacturing process expressly designed to manufacture small “coupons” of highly uniform, very active and reproducible gas diffusion electrodes. These are typically used in metal air batteries, alkaline fuel cells, other air breathing systems as well as hydrogen generation cells. By producing the finished product from the new generation of catalyst, QuantumSphere can engineer their particle size distribution, composition and distribution to optimum performance. This is something that quantitative and physical measurements cannot achieve; the collaborative efforts of QuantumSphere and DSE can...read the wave

(April 26 - 28). COL.9® is a high-tech product combining inorganic and organic chemistry. BASF researchers already won the 2004 Coatings Award (Farbe-und-Lack-Preis) for developing this innovation, and COL.9® DS 1000 has now become the first commercially available product in this specialty segment for outdoor applications.

In the new COL.9® binders, inorganic nanoparticles are homogeneously incorporated into organic polymer particles of water-based dispersions. The resulting nanocomposite dispersions combine the benefits of inorganic binders – such as hardness and permeability – with those of organic binders – such as elasticity and water resistance.

COL.9® DS 1000 was developed specially for façade coatings. After application and drying, the inorganic nanoparticles form a homogeneous three-dimensional network structure covering the entire coating film. Because of this extremely fine nanostructure, facade coatings based on this innovative technology are extremely resistant to dirt and chalking (separation of white pigments), do not crack, and display high color tone stability. The lattice structure composed of inorganic and organic components is furthermore responsible for its excellent fire behavior properties. The color film does not melt in the presence of fire and does not drip...read the wave.

(PRWEB) -- Green Millennium Inc., based in Los Angeles, California, has appointed Novapure Systems Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Master Distributor for the Green Millennium line of new photocatalytic coatings for the Canadian market. Photocatalytic coating solutions are a direct result of nanotechnology research and are very effective for self-cleaning and hygienic applications. States George Tseng, of Green Millennium, “Our coatings can be applied on most surfaces and will impart self-cleaning properties to any surface. Additionally, the surface coating will purify the air by oxidizing airborne fumes and odors. This product is truly an early benefit of nanotechnology and one of the first commercial products derived from nanotechnology research”

“The coatings, known as “photocatalytic coatings” are usually applied like a spray...read the wave

"This represents a significant milestone for Protiveris as it is the first VeriScan System collaboration with specific clinical cancer research applications," commented Robert Menzi, Chief Operating Officer at Protiveris. "Dr. Quong and his team at Lombardi are uniquely qualified to develop new approaches using our nano-technology products. Dr Quong understands the full range of scientific and technological requirements -- from engineering and physics to chemistry and biology -- necessary to develop successful and innovative approaches to cancer research"...read the wave

State College, PA | April 26, 2005 NanoHorizonsTM, Inc. and ARC Outdoors/ArcticShield® today announce the launch of a joint technology development program aimed at bringing nanotechnology innovations to textile markets.

ARC Outdoors/ArcticShield® is widely known for its innovative, technologically advanced outdoor apparel, sold under the ArcticShield® and X ScentTM brands. NanoHorizons, one of North America's premier nanotechnology innovators, creates nanotechnology solutions for scientific and consumer applications ranging from pharmaceutical research to retail clothing. Together the companies will jointly develop a range of nanotechnology products and applications for textiles.

The pairing of ARC's outdoor apparel market experience and NanoHorizons' nanotechnology expertise will yield significant changes in textile markets. The companies anticipate these changes to have significant impact in a broad spectrum of textile applications...read the wave

"We are pleased to announce the signing of this agreement with the National Chemical Laboratory of India," said DuPont Chief Science & Technology Officer Thomas M. Connelly , Jr. "This move is consistent with DuPont's efforts to go where the growth is and to globalize our R&D operations. It furthers DuPont's efforts to open our innovation processes by incorporating the research capabilities and intellectual talent of India's top materials scientists. In addition, it will allow us to more clearly address the market needs of the region by providing geographic access."...read the wave

Nano-viruses that can find and combat cancer.  Molecular-sized sensors to detect chemicals and toxins in the air. Tiny cooling chips that can replace compressors in cars, refrigerators and air conditioners.

Nanotechnology experts claim we'll have the scientific know-how to construct devices such as these in as little as 10 years. But in order for them to have the widespread adoption needed to truly revolutionize our lives, we don't need to just make them - we have to make them affordably.

Enter Anand Gadre. An assistant professor at CNSE since October, Gadre is a known expert in polymeric Bio-MEMS, or more simply put, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems made of plastic materials for biological applications.

Gadre's current research focuses on the fabrication of polymeric biofluidic-transdermal microsystems, or tiny systems that can give out immediate biological readings simply by placing a small patch on the top of the skin. Gadre and his co-workers have already developed and modified this technology under the supervision of Professor John F. Currie (at the Physics Department, Georgetown University, Washington DC) to read -- with absolute accuracy -- a person's glucose and lactate levels using enzymetic detection techniques within seconds and without breaking skin. Future applications may include cancer detection.
..read the wave

Scientists from BASF are successfully participating in strategic research projects funded by the European Union. As of April 2005, for example, BASF experts are cooperating with 23 partners from seven EU countries in an important large-scale project aimed at developing methods for the safe use of nanoparticles: Nanosafe2. This European research project brings together scientists from leading companies in industry, startups, and selected research institutes and universities. Of the total budget of approximately €12.4 million, around €7 million is being provided by the EU's research funding program and the remainder by the companies involved.

The nanosciences are considered to be a key technology of the 21st century, and this is supported by a rapidly growing range of possible applications. Nanotechnology is acting as a motor for new materials and innovative solutions in the areas of energy, medicine and environmental protection. Appropriate research into safety is therefore crucial to the dynamic and sustainable development of these new fields...read the wave

Microlithography generically refers to processes that are used to create micron or sub-micron structures for fabricating various kinds of devices including integrated circuits, bio-chips, MEMS and optical components. The ability to create smaller and smaller structures has historically led to faster transistors, increased functionality and lower costs.

For example, in 1987 a Cray I computer cost several million dollars and required 60Kwatts of power. Today a high-end chip draws only a few watts and performs 5X as many additions per sec, while only costing a few hundred dollars! This remarkable progress has been made possible by ongoing developments in photolithography. Photolithography can be thought of as a high-end projection camera that can project the details of a circuit layer from a photomask to a photosensitive material on the wafer. While it can take a few hours to write the photomask using a slow, serial process, photolithography allows for rapid parallel transfer of millions of pixels of data from the photomask to the wafer in less than a second...read the wave

Seattle, WA -- LiftPort Group, the space elevator companies, have announced plans for a carbon nanotube manufacturing plant, the company's first formal facility for production of the material on a commercial scale. Called LiftPort Nanotech, the new facility will also serve as the regional headquarters for the company, and represents the fruition of the company's three years of research and development efforts into carbon nanotubes, including partnering work with a variety of leading research institutions in the business and academic communities.

Set to open in June of this year, LiftPort Nanotech will be located in Millville, New Jersey, a community with a history in glass and plastics production. Both the City of Millville and the Cumberland County Empowerment Zone are partnering to provide $100,000 in initial seed money for the new facility.

LiftPort Nanotech will make and sell carbon nanotubes to glass, plastic and metal companies, which will in turn synthesize them into other stronger, lighter materials (also known as composites) for use in their applications. Already being used by industries such as automotive and aerospace manufacturing, carbon nanotube composites are lighter than fiberglass and have the potential to be up to 100 times stronger than steel...read the wave

Partnerships Prove Beneficial

An early priority for the recently formed ASTM International Committee E56 on Nanotechnology is the development of a globally relevant, industry-driven terminology standard. In an effort to facilitate this objective, ASTM International has signed partnership agreements with the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME), NSF International, and AIST. These agreements focus solely on the issue of...read the wave

25-04-2005 --- A £10 million project that aims to put the UK at the forefront of future micro-manufacturing technology is being launched at The University of Nottingham tomorrow.

The 3-D Mintegration project will look at the challenges facing the manufacturing sector over the next five to 10 years in the production of tiny three-dimensional components that could be used in everything from microscopic drug delivery implants to devices for the aerospace industry.

It will bring together scientists and engineers with industry partners to develop innovative new technologies for every step of the manufacturing process — design, processing, assembly, packaging and product testing.

By the end of the project, the group hopes to have cracked the issues involved in reel-to-reel production, where products can be manufactured using a similar method to the way in which newspapers are printed. They will also be considering ‘origami' manufacturing, where objects are created by a process of mechanical folding...read the wave

Austin, TX -Using a selected set of tools and processes, SEMATECH engineers have achieved twin breakthroughs in channel mobility and reliability of high-k/metal gate transistors, putting high-k technology for CMOS within reach at the 45 nm technology node.

The SEMATECH advance involves a titanium nitride (TiN) metal gate on a hafnium silicate (HfSiO) dielectric with an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of roughly 10 angstroms (Å), with mobility at 90 percent of the universal mobility curve for silicon dioxide (SiO2), the historic gate dielectric material. These EOT and mobility metrics meet the 45 nm technology node specifications listed by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS).

The achievement caps a lengthy effort within SEMATECH's Front End Processes Division, and is part of a program to fully enable the eventual introduction of high-k/metal gate technology in volume manufacturing. The process is not expected to add significant cost to current CMOS product flows.

"SEMATECH's high-k process represents a significant step in the search for a complete solution to planar CMOS at the 45 nm node and...read the wave

LONDON, PRNewswire/ -- Nanotechnology has transformed and modernised the materials industry by empowering scientists to manipulate materials at the atomic level. This remarkable ability enables materials manufacturers to offer materials with customisable properties such as unsurpassed electrical as well as optical conductivity and mechanical strength.

After having established itself in the materials industry, nanotechnology has become the new wave in the medicine and life sciences, display devices and electronics industries.

While it can reduce a company's disposal costs and enhance its commitment to environment, it can also provide value-added features at only marginally higher costs.

Nanotechnology is finding extensive use in an increasing number of applications - from space and science to everyday materials such as glass. One such popular application is the drug delivery system for cancer therapies. Nanoparticles are particularly suited to curing specific conditions such as cancer, as their sizes are comparable with tissue cells...read the wave

"Although wireless sensors eliminate a significant portion of the labour and wiring costs associated with wired networks, there is still room for improving power efficiency and the range of the wireless digital signal transmission," says Technical Insights Research Analyst Amit Jain (http://technicalinsights.frost.com).

Ease of deployment, retrofitting applications, and scalability of the network are going to be key driving factors for wireless sensors in building automation.

"Whether used in new construction or retrofit, flexibility is the ultimate benefit in deploying a wireless system as opposed to a wired network," says Mr. Jain. "These sensors can be located - or relocated - to optimise system performance, increase customer comfort and adapt to changing floor plans."...read the wave

Berkeley -- A group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, is giving new relevance to the term "sharper image" by creating a superlens that can overcome a limitation in physics that has historically constrained the resolution of optical images.

Using a thin film of silver as the lens and ultraviolet (UV) light, the researchers recorded the images of an array of nanowires and the word "NANO" onto an organic polymer at a resolution of about 60 nanometers. In comparison, current optical microscopes can only make out details down to one-tenth the diameter of a red blood cell, or about 400 nanometers...read the wave

Their approach involved rethinking a phenomenon that drives many of today’s high-speed semiconductors. Negative differential resistance (NDR), as the phenomenon is called, works contrary to the normal laws of electricity, in which an increase in voltage translates into a direct increase in current. In NDR, as the voltage steadily increases, the current peaks and then drops off, essentially allowing one to create a switch with no moving parts. But until now, those attempting to recreate NDR at the molecular scale had only managed it at extremely low temperatures...read the wave

Chip-scale refrigerators capable of reaching temperatures as low as 100 milliKelvin have been used to cool bulk objects for the first time, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report. The solid-state refrigerators have applications such as cooling cryogenic sensors in highly sensitive instruments for semiconductor defect analysis and astronomical research.

The work is featured in the April 25, 2005, issue of Applied Physics Letters.* The NIST-designed refrigerators, each 25 by 15 micrometers, are sandwiches of a normal metal, an insulator and a superconducting metal. When a voltage is applied across the sandwich, the hottest electrons "tunnel" from the normal metal through the insulator to the superconductor. The temperature in the normal metal drops dramatically and drains electronic and vibrational energy from the objects being cooled...read the wave

NanoLogix's "Identikit" has shown great promise in detecting the presence of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection. The methodology provides for early detection of these pathogens in sputum and stool samples; thus allowing for treatment before the infection spreads throughout the body. Early detection of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection is rapidly becoming important, especially for those with AIDS who are living longer due to new methods of treatment. The study, conducted by...read the wave

AP&C has developed its expertise through a significant research & development
effort in the field of thermal spraying. This program was accomplished with
prestigious clients in the aerospace sector and required the purchase of a
Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS) coating chamber at a cost of $2.5 million. This unit
is the only commercial VPS chamber in Canada. Furthermore, this program
included the development of nanocoatings onto critical components for the US
Navy.

"These contracts confirm the performance of our coatings on valves used in
...read the wave

The technology described in the '626 patent utilizes different sized nanocrystals specifically designed to emit light of different colors, such as red, green and blue. The nanocrystals are grouped into pixels and optically pumped to produce a...read the wave

"Nanotech researchers worldwide are steadily filing patents in the hopes of creating 'tollbooths' for future products incorporating nanomaterials," said Lux Research Vice President of Research Matthew Nordan. "Nanomaterials -- the 'building blocks' of nanotechnology, like carbon nanotubes and quantum dots -- have seen particular focus. Our comprehensive patent review shows that the patent landscape for these materials is complex and fragmented. Because so many patents have been filed relating to nanomaterials, and so many of them seem to overlap, companies that want to use these building blocks in products will be forced to license patents from many different sources in order to do so."...read the wave

Is quantum mechanics relevant to everyday life? Latest scientific evidence suggests that it is. A paper published in Science based on research from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland and others, reports how quantum computers behave as if they are isolated devices. The extent to which they do this can be regulated by the environment they are in. So future quantum computers will have to be in a carefully controlled environment. It's a little like concerns about turbulent air conditions when designing aircraft.

One of the most important questions in the natural sciences is whether quantum mechanics is relevant to everyday experience. Once only a problem in the realm of theoretical physics, the recent demand for secure communications and ultra-high speed computation has made the answer highly relevant to future technology where interacting quantum bits (qubits) replace the classical binary bits '0' and '1' on which current digital electronics and communications rely...read the wave

Roberts noted that the political, economic and geological conditions that allowed for decades of $20-per-barrel oil are fast disappearing. "Only three years ago, $50-per-barrel oil seemed like a bad dream. But we can say that oil prices will be higher, and that we will need a cost-effective and environmentally sound replacement."...read the wave

If the newly elected pope wants his own website, he'll have to talk to Rogers Cadenhead first.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based writer purchased the rights to BenedictXVI.com on April 1 -- more than two-and-a-half weeks before Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger announced that he would assume the papacy under the name of Benedict XVI.

In an interview shortly after Ratzinger's announcement Tuesday, Cadenhead said the purchase of the domain name was more of an educated guess than divine guidance...read the wave

In their study, professors Richard Vachet, Vincent Rotello and Sankaran “Thai” Thayumanavan will use a combination of nanotechnology and mass spectrometry to isolate and identify minute amounts of two types of hazardous substances: endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and microcystins, water-borne toxins that are considered potential bio-warfare agents.

“The Navy is always interested in new ways to detect compounds that have adverse effects on its personnel or operations,” says Vachet, the principle investigator on the project. “They're interested in methods that can detect more rapidly and with more sensitivity in ways that are less prone to error.”...read the wave

Every year, Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to the company that has pioneered the development and introduction of an innovative technology, which has either affected or has the potential to influence several market sectors. This Award recognizes a company's successful technology development that is expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture. It also recognizes the overall technical excellence of a company and its commitment to technology innovation...read the wave

All animals with Ewing's Sarcoma and all animals with non small-cell lung cancer, which represents approximately 80% of lung cancers, experienced total tumor remission and remained...read the wave

The researchers already have shown in a series of experiments that bone and cartilage cells in petri dishes attach better to materials that possess smaller surface bumps than are found on conventional materials used to make artificial joints. The smaller features also stimulate the growth of more new bone tissue, which is critical for the proper attachment of artificial joints once they are implanted.

Now the biomedical engineers have seen the same kind of increased attachment for endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells lining the insides of arteries, said Thomas Webster, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue
...read the wave

The main objective of the European NAPA integrated project is to provide low-cost processes and tools that meet the needs of nanoprinting processes and required for the development of devices to be employed in various applications in nanoelectronics, nanobiotechnology, nanophotonics, etc. In order to achieve this, the project was split into three main lines of research: nanoimprint lithography, MEMS-based nanopatterning and soft lithography). In each of these, the research was organised with three different focuses: materials, tools and simulation. The project was sub-divided into 6 subprojects, each involving a number of working groups whose remit had been clearly laid down. CIDETEC is leading one of these working groups, the main function of which is the development of new thermoplastic polymers with properties for applications in nanopatterning lithography...read the wave

SEMATECH uses the Top Challenges to focus its resources on the most critical of approximately 75 projects that it maintains in key areas of semiconductor and related R&D. The SEMATECH research portfolio is developed by the consortium's Executive Steering Council (ESC), in consultation with corporate managers.

"SEMATECH continues to remain at the forefront of semiconductor R&D, and this set of challenges reflects our commitment to that goal," said Michael R. Polcari, SEMATECH President and CEO. "This list also reflects the guidance of our member companies on how to best use our skills and resources to benefit SEMATECH's members and the industry. We'll address many of these issues in collaboration with our R&D partners, including the university researchers investigating promising semiconductor technologies in our Texas-based Advanced Materials Research Center (AMRC)."

The SEMATECH challenges reflect the consensus of the consortium's member companies, and are grouped below by technical area...read the wave

The team suggests that the apparent anomaly described as an “upturn” in magnetization may be due to the quantum mechanical process known as Bose-Einstein condensation. They maintain that, in nanostructured magnets, energy waves called magnons coalesce into a common ground state and, in effect, become one. This collective identity, the researchers say, results in magnetic behavior seemingly at odds with a long-standing theory...read the wave

In a paper scheduled to appear in the May 18 print issue of the American Chemical Society's Energy & Fuels, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Hu describes a novel method to achieve spontaneous ignition and sustained combustion at room temperature. He achieves this "nano-catalytic reaction" with nothing but nanometer-sized particles of platinum stuck to fibers of glass wool in a small jar with methanol and air – with no source of external ignition.

Although this began as little more than a curiosity, Hu quickly realized that..
.read the wave

In this classic “Trojan horse” approach, a protein called transferrin that normally delivers iron into cells is modified to also smuggle into tumor cells siRNA (short interfering RNA) encased in nano-sized sugar polymers. The siRNA was designed to target a specific growth-promoting gene called EWS-FLI1 that’s active only in Ewing’s sarcoma tumors.

Once inside these cells, the genetic machinery of the tumor cells are effectively silenced or shut down, preventing further growth.

“This is the first study to show that systemic administration of siRNA can inhibit disseminated tumor growth,” said Siwen Hu, a postdoctoral fellow at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, and one of the study’s lead investigators...read the wave

For more details, log onto http://nano2005.mepcoeng.ac.in.

Using a "2-in-1" formula featuring Lyphazome microspheres -- developed through more than a decade of cutting-edge nanosphere research -- moisturizers and tanning agents penetrate deep into the skin and away from daily exfoliation, while time- released active ingredients renew radiant color over time. Inside Tan lasts days longer than other products that only color the outermost layer of skin and whose results can be lost in two to three days due to exfoliation. ...read the wave

Altair and Advanced Battery have formed a partnership and agreed to test Altair's electrode materials for use in new, higher performance Polymer-Lithium-Ion (PLI) batteries to be manufactured by Advanced Battery for sale in China. These new batteries are being tested by the partnership to meet an emerging need for higher power, lighter weight and more rapidly recharging batteries to power a new generation of higher performance, electrically powered vehicles, including automobiles and buses.

A multi-phased material and battery performance testing program is being designed and conducted to refine the...read the wave

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cientifica - the world's leading nanotechnology information company - have released the most comprehensive global study ever undertaken of the market and technology impact of carbon nanotubes on the energy sector.

The report, Nanotubes for the Energy Market, has uncovered a number of notable findings, including:

-- Carbon nanofibers already compete with traditional technologies for electrodes in batteries; currently 50% of all lithium batteries incorporate carbon nanofibers which double their energy capacity. Quantitative analysis backs up Cientifica's view that this figure will rise to 85% by 2010.

-- Multiwalled nanotubes can enable a tenfold improvement in the performance of fuel cells, together with a 50% reduction of the cost of catalyst material. As prices drop over the next 5 years, Cientifica estimates they will be used in 70% of all fuel cells.

-- CNT prices will decrease by a factor 10-100 in the next 5 years. Nanofibers and MWNTs will meet price barriers by 2008-2009 for most applications in the Energy market.

-- CNT production is shifting from the US and Japan to Asia Pacific (Korea and China). By 2010 the major supplier of all types of nanotubes will be Korea...read the wave

 

Send Howard your own good wishes and job tips to ...read the wave

David W.G.Voyle : Editor

HILLSBORO, Ore., PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- FEI have announced its new scanning/transmission electron microscope (S/TEM), the Titan(TM) 80-300, dedicated to corrected microscopy. The new (S)TEM system is the world's most advanced commercially-available microscope, yielding atomic-scale imaging with resolution below 0.7 Angstrom. The Titan announcement comes just one year after FEI became the first developer and manufacturer of commercial electron microscopes to achieve sub-Angstrom resolution on FEI's market-leading Tecnai(TM) microscope using a monochromator and an aberration corrector.

Until now, aberration correction technologies in electron microscopes have been treated as accessory components for (S)TEM systems that were not truly optimized for this type of advanced technology. Thus, the integration of these types of correctors for breaking the next resolution barrier and for high usability has been met with limited success...read the wave

| Protein Springs and Tattoo Needles |

RICHARDSON, Texas (April 18, 2005) – An international trio of scientists, including a chemist from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), has won a three-year, $1.1-million grant from a French science foundation to conduct collaborative research of nanoparticles, with an emphasis on possible bio-medical applications of such particles and their potential effects on the human body.

Dr. Gregg R. Dieckmann, assistant professor of chemistry at UTD, is one of the recipients of a Young Investigators Award from the Human Frontier Science Program, an organization located in Strasbourg, France. Dieckmann will share the award money with Dr. Alan B. Dalton, a lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of Surrey in England, and Dr. Johnny Coleman, a lecturer in the Physics Department of the University of Dublin in Ireland.

Grants provided by the program support basic research in the life sciences, with an emphasis on...read the wave

“Generating high magnetic fields over a large region of space is exceedingly difficult,” said NHMFL Director Gregory Boebinger. “This new magnet generates 31.3 teslas in a 50-millimeter diameter volume. It is another NHMFL world record — and another newly opened door for the future of high magnetic field research.”

The first user of the magnet will be Professor James Valles of Brown University, who will continue studies of the effects of magnetic fields on single-cell...read the wave

With the recent release of the "Smart Shirt," owners can skip their visit to the doctors and have their T-Shirt monitor their heart rate, EKG, temperature, and other important vital signs. The "Smart Shirt" can then transmit this data to a doctor or tell the wearer of any abnormalities in their vital signs.

As the latest invention on the garment market, "Smart Shirts" come in the form of nanotechnology...read the wave

Nano TiO2 acts as an absorber of Ultraviolet (UV) energy, but is virtually transparent to visible light. Only small quantities of these nano2 TiO2 particles are required to achieve effective UV protection because, in part, these small particles have a much greater surface area to stop UV radiation than a comparable weight of larger-sized particles with the same chemical composition...the read wave

NanoNed was officially launched with the approval of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs earlier this month. This national research programme is designed to unite Dutch strengths in the nanosciences and nanotechnology in a single national network.

Professor David Reinhoudt from Twente University /MESA+ is the secretary of NanoNed, and Technology Foundation STW provides the secretariat for this extensive research programme.

The food industry is under a great deal of pressure at the moment...read the wave

SAN DIEGO,PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nanogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGEN), developer of advanced diagnostic products, have announced that it has entered into a supply and license agreement with deCode Genetics to provide a new genomics assay for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery, validation and screening. The assay incorporates a full range of Nanogen's products, including the Eclipse(R) Dark Quencher, new DNA linker technology, modified bases and novel fluorescent dyes, and allows rapid SNP analysis on a large number of patient samples...read the wave

Nanotechnology-University-Seminar
Fifth Seminar on Nanotechnology was held in Khajeh Nasir University late on Sunday.

Secretary of the seminar, Hossein Jalali, told reporters on the sidelines of the seminar that nanotechnology had attracted the attention of many countries in recent years, adding the basis of the science was architected for the first time by famous American physicist Richard Fineman in 1959.

"We now live in a world dominated by nanotechnology and we witness the development of the cutting edge technologies all around it," he added.

Jalali added several committees and research centers were established in the country in 2001 in an effort to promote nanotechnology throughout the society.

He stated that the application of nanotechnology in industry had been the future plan.

"Universities as the countries' scientific zones have urged the government to pay special attention to nanotechnology," he said, adding the government has provided universities with a special budget for this purpose.

According to Jalali, Iran is expected to place among top 15 countries of the world in nanotechnology in 2020.

He further referred to the budgets of developed countries such as Japan and the US for nanotechnology and called it "incomparable with Iranian's".

Source : The Islamic Republic News Agency

CORDIS---Being a relatively new scientific discipline, many academic institutions and public authorities are still in the process of assessing teaching and training needs in the nanosciences. So what is already in place, and what does the user community actually want from university graduates in terms of new knowledge? Participants at a workshop in Brussels on 14 April sought answers to these questions.

Addressing the training needs of nanoscience and nanotechnology is complicated by the fact that it is not a scientific discipline in its own right, but cuts across many other disciplines. A completely new approach is therefore required at universities. The traditional structure of universities, where, for example, a physics student is based in the physics faculty and rarely if ever has any contact with the biology students, has to change.

This is also the approach that industry would like to see, according to Tim Harper...read the wave

Rice researchers have developed a new approach to fighting cancer that aims to both detect and destroy cancerous cells using the same, targeted nanoparticles. The research is described in the April 13 issue of the American Chemical Society¹s journal Nano Letters. The optically-based imaging and treatment method uses metal nanoshells, which can be targeted to cancer cells with antibodies. In the research, light-scattering nanoshells were used to pinpoint cancerous cells in the lab. In prior studies, the particles have been used to convert light to heat and destroy tumors in animals...read the wave

| Protein Springs and Tattoo Needles |

Tokyo (JCNN) - Mitsui Chemicals (TSE: 4183) announced on April 11 that it has decided to launch a new line of alpha-olefin-based elastomers with a nano-order controlled crystalline structure using metallocene catalysts. To be marketed under the NOTIO trade name, the new elastomers achieve better performance balance in respect to transparency, heat resistance, flexibility and rubber elasticity, which has been difficult to fulfill with the conventional elastomers.

NOTIO will become commercially available in November. The company is aiming for annual sales of at least 1 billion yen ($9.3 mil) in fiscal 2008. Souce : JCN Network

Capsulution’s patented LBL-Technology® is a high-tech tool for the production of multi-functional nano- and microcapsules. Because of their minute dimensions, their diverse functionalities as well as their highly reproducible production the capsules are suitable for a wide range of life sciences applications. Prime objective of the agreed co-operation with Ebara will be the industrial-scale manufacture of encapsulations for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics as well as ingredients for the food industry.

The license agreement guarantees industrial clients in the near future the easy handling of...read the wave

The SUSS NPS300 NanoPatterning Stepper was developed within the Sixth Framework Program in cooperation with the VTT Microelectronics Center during a one-year project. In March 2004, a four-year European Commission NaPa project was initiated to develop nano-patterning methods aimed at integrating top-down miniaturization and bottom-up self-assembly fabrication approaches. The key outcome from NaPa will be the standardization of processes for nano-patterning to address future demands made by integrated circuits, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical applications. In the framework of this research program, SUSS teamed up with several core partners (VTT, NMRC-NIL, NMRC-CMG, mrt, EPFL, IBM, LAAS) for the development of cutting edge complementary technologies in order to overcome all imprinting challenges including materials, stamps, tools, simulation...read the wave

Schaffhausen, Switzerland --- April 15, 2005 NanoWorld Holding AG announced that it has acquired 100% of Bulgarian based Innovative Solutions Bulgaria Ltd. (ISB) with its AFM Probes division BudgetSensors™ on April 1, 2005.

"NanoWorld Holding AG with its brands NanoWorld™ and NANOSENSORS™ was already prominently represented in the high quality segment of the market for probes for Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM). Now with ISB and its budget-friendly brand BudgetSensors™ we get access to the lower price segment of the AFM probes market which is by far the fastest growing segment in this field", said Manfred Detterbeck, CEO of NanoWorld Holding AG. "The acquisition is also expected to result in greater efficiency and in a significantly increased overall market share." added Detterbeck.

"Our 'Quality meets price' concept in combination with the high growth potential in...read the wave

The program is a collaborative project between Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, professor of investigative dermatology and toxicology at NC State, and Andrew R. Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr-Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science at Rice.

Monteiro-Riviere and Barron's research will explore the transport nature of specific fullerenes with different substituted amino acids and their interactions with skin cells. The proposed studies are a direct extension of work conducted by the researchers defining the interaction of multi walled carbon nanotubes with human epidermal keratinocytes, and the synthesis on new nano-biohybrid materials by Barron. The researchers are interested in a range of different fullerene-amino acid sequences that could allow uptake into keratinocytes without adverse effect...read the wave

We are pleased to inform you that the program of the EPF European Polymer Conferenceis now finally complete.

A Dutch led international team of researchers has unravelled how nature releases the torque built up in DNA at the molecular level. The researchers from Delft University of Technology, the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and the Sloan-Kettering institute in New York published their findings in the 31 March 2005 issue of Nature. An artistic impression of the enzyme at work is featured on the cover of this issue.

The enzyme topoisomerase IB releases the torsion built up in DNA strands. During their investigations, the researchers could follow a single topoisomerase-enzyme molecule over time as it acted on a single DNA molecule. The topoisomerase clamps onto the DNA, cuts through one of the two DNA strands, and then lets the DNA unwind before sticking the broken ends back together again. With the help of sensitive measuring devices, the researchers could measure various parameters such as the friction of the rotating DNA in a cavity of the enzyme. The research has provided new insights into the interactions between DNA and the enzyme, which are of fundamental importance for understanding cell division...read the wave

The collaborative team from the London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London (UCL), the Paul Scherrer Institute/ETH in Switzerland and the Universities of Chicago and Copenhagen, have shown how its environment can radically alter the behaviour of a quantum computer, an effect which is not present for conventional computers of the type that exist now on our desktops.

Professor Gabriel Aeppli of UCL’s Dept of Physics and the Director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology says: “One of the most important questions in natural sciences is whether quantum mechanics is relevant to everyday experience. The famous puzzle of whether Schroedinger’s cat is dead or alive is the most graphic representation of this question, traditionally considered an academic point of no real practical import...read the wave

| Dynamic transformation of cells l| by Hirokazu HOTANI |

Microtubules, which are a type of cytoskeleton, have many functions besides determining cell shapes by supporting the membrane from the inside. Microtubules also act as..."

The new ruling affects 17 million vehicles each year and represents a lucrative marketing opportunity for the manufacturers of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), which possess the technical skills and expertise to design a miniature tire-pressure system that is functional and, at the same time, able to withstand extreme temperature and vibrations.

The sensor is made to attach inside the rim of the wheel, where the MEMS device measures tire pressure and transmits the data to a central receiver in the vehicle. The receiver then analyzes the data and displays it the driver in the form of numerical readouts as well as warning lights signaling a potential hazard...read the wave

Military Initiatives

In September 2004, the company announced that it had been awarded a Prototype Development/Testing/Evaluation Grant by the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology to develop a testing protocol for filter media on behalf of the U.S. military. EFP commenced testing its licensed nano-enhanced filter media last year in conjunction with Edgewood Chemical Biological Center.

The original study funded by the grant comprised four protocols -- tests to evaluate the company's filter media efficacy against four different contaminants -- testing for which has now been completed. As a result of the successful completion of this testing, the company was requested by the U.S. military to test its filter media against a number of additional contaminants. This final phase of testing is expected to be completed in May 2005...read the wave

We are once again pleased to publish news from Iranian NanoTechnology Policy Studies Committee via their latest Iranian Nano Technology Newsletter.

This link is published as a service to many of our global visitors. Please note that the link is to a non-English language web site so we have not been about to check this link to ascertain if it contains any “non appropriate “ language or statements.

But judging from the earlier high standard of news published items from the Iranian NanoTechnology Policy Studies Committee, Nano Tsunami is happy to add this link to our site. However, Nano Tsunami cannot be held reasonable for any remarks made by the Iranian NanoTechnology Policy Studies Committee web site or their newsletters.

The Editor …read the wave

BERNIN, France and AUSTIN, Texas -- Marking an important advancement in strained silicon technology for next-generation devices, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. and the Soitec Group (Euronext, Paris) have announced the results of their joint development effort to optimize CMOS device performance at the sub-65-nm nodes using strained silicon-on-insulator (sSOI) engineered substrates. With device results revealing an approximate 70-percent increase in electron mobility, as well as high compatibility with existing SOI CMOS processes, the collaborative effort demonstrated that 45-nm CMOS devices built using strained SOI substrates can effectively take device performance to the next level—ultimately enabling Freescale to bring faster, more power-efficient next-generation chips to market.

Company officials report that they launched the collaborative effort two years ago to evaluate strained SOI as the potential base material for sub-65-nm devices and beyond. By combining Soitec’s Smart Cut™ technology and engineered substrate expertise with Freescale’s advanced CMOS process capabilities, the development team was able to produce the industry’s first functional 45-nm CMOS devices on bonded strained SOI substrates...read the wave

The brochure "Nanotechnology: Innovation for tomorow's world" can be downloaded as pdf file in French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese language...read the wave

The procurement was made in partnership with The Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) at the University of Cambridge in the UK. CAPE is an integrated Research Facility for Electrical Engineering with a staff of 22 academics, 70 post-doctoral researchers and 170 research students. The CAPE program is funded by Advance Nanotech, Alps Electric Company Limited, Dow Corning Corporation and Marconi Corporation plc, and is designed to encourage research activities to proceed to development and exploitation in close collaboration with industry. The program enables...read the wave

In this 12 patient, multicenter trial, six patients will receive a sixty-minute treatment of SonoLysis (nanobubbles and ultrasound), while the remaining six will receive SonoLysis in conjunction with a small bolus of t-PA, a lytic agent that is typically administered to dissolve the blood clots that cause PAOD...read the wave

In collaboration with the Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hosokawa Powder has confirmed a marked effect in mice experiments. The company will strive to commercialize the newly-developed technology with a view to forging alliances with cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Source : JCN Network.

The NanoCeram(R) Superfilter, developed by Argonide Corporation of Sanford, Florida, uses nanofibers originally developed at the Design Technology Center (DTC) in Tomsk, Russia.

DTC, previously known as the Republican Engineering Center, developed prototype materials for the Soviet nuclear weapons arsenal. During the 1970's DTC perfected a process for manufacturing nanotechnology materials. Argonide founder Fred Tepper recognized the commercial potential of these unique nano fibers and powders. In 1994, Tepper helped to launch the U.S. Industry Coalition (USIC), a non-profit association of U.S. companies interested in technology commercialization with former Soviet weapons scientists and engineers...read the wave

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladimir Putin have signed an agreement on a strategic partnership in the field of research and innovation.

CLEVELAND – A Case Western Reserve University engineer has created the "seeds" that can grow into today's and tomorrow's computer and phone chips.

In a development that could lead to smaller but more powerful computers and electronic communication devices, Massood Tabib-Azar, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Case, and engineering graduate student Yan Xie are growing carbon nanotube bridges in their lab that automatically attach themselves to other components without the help of an applied electrical current.

Carbon nanotubes, discovered just 14 years ago, are stronger than steel and as flexible as plastic, conduct energy better than almost any material ever discovered and can be made from ordinary raw materials such as methane gas. In a relatively short time, carbon nanotubes – thin tubes of carbon atoms that have unusual characteristics because of their unique structure – have emerged as a "miracle material" that could revolutionize a number of industries, especially the small electronics industry.
..read the wave

San Diego, CA, Researchers at UCSD have made carbon nanotubes bent in sharp predetermined angles, a technical advance that could lead to use of the long, thin cylinders of carbon as tiny springs, tips for atomic force microscopes, smaller electrical connectors in integrated circuits, and in many other nanotechnology applications. In a paper published in the April 7, 2005, issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Sungho Jin, a professor of materials science at UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering, reported a technique to create bent nanotubes by manipulating the electric field during their growth and adjusting other conditions.

"Controlling nanotube geometry is necessary to realize the many promised applications of these materials," said Jin, a professor in the Jacobs School’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “Our new results show that we have taken a step toward understanding how to shape nanotubes to our specifications, an achievement that could greatly enhance their value to society."...read the wave

Current molecular imaging approaches only detect the cancer but don't offer a method of treatment, according to the study's lead authors, Rebekah Drezek, Ph.D., and Jennifer West, Ph.D., both professors in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice.

"You can look for a molecular marker that may indicate a significant clinical problem, but you can't do anything about it [just through imaging]," says Drezek. "We don't want to simply find the cancerous cells. We would like to locate the cells, be able to make a rational choice about whether they need to be destroyed and, if so, proceed immediately to treatment."...read the wave

An improved method for depositing nanoporous, conducting polymer films on miniaturized device features has been demonstrated by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Described in the April 6 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society,* the method may be useful as a general technique for reproducibly fabricating microdevices such as sensors for detecting toxic chemicals.

Unlike most polymers, conducting polymers have the electrical and optical properties of metals or semiconductors. These materials are of increasing interest in microelectronics because they are inexpensive, flexible and easy to synthesize.
..read the wave

That remarkable piece of plastic is called a lab-on-a-chip and it is one of the revolutionary products and processes currently emerging from nanotechnology research with the potential to transform the lives of billions of the world's most vulnerable inhabitants.

According to a new study by the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health (CPGGH) at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB), a leading international medical ethics think-tank, several nanotechnology applications will help people in developing countries tackle their most urgent problems - extreme poverty and hunger, child mortality, environmental degradation and diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. The study is the first ranking of nanotechnology applications relative to their impact on development...read the wave

We all know that a viral infection can be developed extremely quickly, but in fact it's even more dramatic than that - the process is literally explosive.

The pressure inside a virus is 40 atmospheres, and it is just waiting for an opportunity to blow up. The virus is like a living DNA cannon. How this cannon functions has been mapped by Dr. Alex Evilevitch at the Department of Biochemistry at Lund University in Sweden. This is knowledge that will have applications in gene therapy, drug development, nanotechnology and the treatment of infections. This involves a new type of virus research that is based more on physics than biochemistry. Perhaps it could be called virus biophysics. Alex Evilevitch took his doctorate at Lund in physical chemistry and worked for a few years at UCLA...read the wave

Now a Northwestern University team of materials chemists report a breakthrough in the race to find the right materials for producing cost-effective, high-performance plastic electronics. The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The team, led by Tobin J. Marks, Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and engineering, has designed organic molecules that self assemble into an ultra-thin layer (less than six nanometers thick) for use in the dielectric, or nonconducting, component of a transistor. Their tailored molecular components reduce both operating voltage and power consumption in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) structures, making low-power consumption OTFTs a reality.
..read the wave

Experts from China and Germany will exchange views on nanotechnology development on the three-day Sino-German international conference on nano and biological technology starting Tuesday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

Yes the cable modem got zapped !

Frantic phone calls to out cable company finally ensured a replacement modem, but sadly to late for us to update the site as planed.

So apologises to our regular visitors for not being 100% up to date with our Nano news we have a few new items, but I promise you a “ bumper edition “ later today, so please surf back again and …read the wave.

With kind regards David W.G. Voyle Editor

Cleveland, Ohio - Keithley Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:KEI), a leader in solutions for emerging measurement needs, announces the S510 Semiconductor Reliability Test System, a high channel count, turnkey solution for use in reliability testing and lifetime modeling of the world’s most advanced ULSI CMOS processes at the 65nm node and beyond. It provides a high degree of wafer-level reliability (WLR) test throughput and flexibility, reducing the time to assess reliability and to perform lifetime modeling, thereby ultimately decreasing time-to-market for projects in technology development and process qualification. The S510 System can also be used for production WLR monitoring or as a lab parametric test system.A fully automated, multi-channel parallel reliability test system, Keithley’s S510 System features scalable channel counts from 20 to 72 channels, an independent stress/measure channel for each structure, and simultaneous measurement across all channels. The S510 System can test multiple devices simultaneously on a wafer in conjunction with a semi-automatic or fully automatic probe station...read the wave

Chinese researchers are second in the world in nanotechnology, according to an unpublished report by a Dutch-Chinese research team.

The study compared the research positions of several countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union, China and South Korea, in terms of the number of papers published in nanotechnology journals.

The unpublished version of the report, which has been submitted to the journal Research Policy, has been posted on the website of research leader Loet Leydesdorff of the Amsterdam School of Communications Research.

The findings loosely corroborate the conclusions of a report the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is preparing...read the wave

The event will bring together leading European researchers from academia and industry to discuss the latest developments in diagnostic and analytical tools and techniques for biological samples. This is an area that demonstrates convergence between the life and physical sciences, engineering and information and communications technologies (ICT).

Presentations will address subjects such as:
- miniaturised complex diagnostic tests;
- DNA detection platforms using nanoparticles as quantitation tags;
development of nanoscale bioassay technologies based on electrogenerated chemiluminescence;
- scanning ion conductance microscopy;
- using engineered membrane proteins to create the nanobiointerface.

For further information, please visit: http://www.nanoforum.org/events/nbda

VisionOnline is providing a free web-based partnering service enabling companies and research organisations/universities worldwide to share their knowledge in the fields of precision engineering, microsystems and nanotechnology.

Generating awareness of industrial needs whilst helping businesses to solve the technical problems they do not have the time or resources for; this project will also give students experience of undertaking research in industrial environments.

Companies are invited to submit details of technical problems they are having, or areas of research they would be interested in sponsoring. Students and researchers can then offer their time and resources to solve these problems.

Several projects have already been submitted by European companies and are available to be browsed. Please click on the link for more information - choose a project. www.euspen.com/choose-a-project

Likewise, if you wish to submit a project (www.euspen.com/submit-a-project) to a wide range of research organisations please send us your project proposal.
More information is available from Silvia Marson, silvia-marson@euspen.com

We wish you a successful partnership!

“Vision on-line” is an EU-funded project which provides a range of on-line services to promote industrial growth in the ultra precision technologies, including ultra precision engineering, micro engineering, micro electronics, MEMs and nanotechnology. In order to minimize development time and remain competitive, European companies can collaborate with specialized partners from different nations. VISION provides the tools and infrastructure to support this. The Industrial Wish-list is one of these tools” Supported by the EU

On June 9 – 10, 2005 the “2nd Saar-Lor-Lux Forum on Nanotechnology, New Materials and Coatings - Processing, Characterization and Modeling of New Materials“ will take place in Metz, France. It is organized by CC-NanoChem, the German federal network of excellence for chemical nanotechnology, and ENSAM Metz.

You are cordially invited to join this event.

The Forum addresses itself to everybody in France, Germany, Luxembourg and beyond who wants to get an overview of the outstanding concentrated expertise in materials research and development in this European region.

It will focus on
- presenting Lorraine as a center of materials science
- developing transnational cooperation
- demonstrating the expertise of the regional scientific community in solving the prob­lems of industries and small and medium sized enterprises
- visiting academic and industrial R&D sites in Metz

The internet site of the Forum with detailed information on the scope of the event, tentative program schedule and speaker list, call for posters, directions to the venue, program flyer for download, and online registration form is available now at www.cc-nanochem.de/metz2005

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new type of transistor structure, invented by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has broken the 600 gigahertz speed barrier. The goal of a terahertz transistor for high-speed computing and communications applications could now be within reach.

The new device - built from indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide - is designed with a compositionally graded collector, base and emitter to reduce transit time and improve current density. With their pseudomorphic heterojunction bipolar transistor, the researchers have demonstrated a speed of 604 gigahertz - the fastest transistor operation to date.

"Pseudomorphic grading of the material structure allows us to lower the bandgap in selected areas," said Milton Feng, the Holonyak Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at the Coordinated Science Laboratory at Illinois. "This permits faster electron flow in the collector. The compositional grading of the transistor components also improves current density and signal charging time."...read the wave

Specially designed nanoparticles can reveal tiny cancerous tumors that are invisible by ordinary means of detection, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The researchers demonstrated that very small human melanoma tumors growing in mice—indiscernible from the surrounding tissue by direct MRI scan—could be "lit up" and easily located as soon as 30 minutes after the mice were injected with the nanoparticles.

Because nanoparticles can be engineered to carry a variety of substances, they also may be able to deliver cancer-fighting drugs to malignant tumors as effectively as they carry the imaging materials that spotlight cancerous growth.

"One of the best advantages of the particles is that we designed them to detect tumors using the same MRI equipment that is in standard use for...read the wave

Akron, Ohio., April. 11, 2005 ­ Ecology Coatings Inc., a leader in nano-engineered ultra-violet curable coatings research, and DuPont Performance Coatings, announced today that DuPont has been granted a license to manufacture and sell Ecology Coating¹s proprietary products for use in North American automotive applications.

Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

Ecology¹s proprietary liquid, 100% solids, ultra-violet curable coatings deliver superior performance and enable dramatic process efficiencies for manufacturers.
..read the wave

Akron, Ohio ­ April 11, 2005 ­ Ecology Coatings the leading developer of liquid 100 percent solids, ultra-violet curable, nano-engineered coatings technology for automotive, industrial, electronic and medical applications, today announced its new licensing program. In this new coatings technology all liquid components are transformed into the final solid film, without the use of water or solvents as carriers. Nano-materials disperse evenly and maintain suspension through cure, which occurs in seconds under ultra-violet light rather than heat, with excellent adhesion to metals, polymers and composites.

This newly termed " liquid nanotechnology "will facilitate exciting new electronic technologies and enable dramatic process efficiencies in existing industrial applications. With extensive application expertise and broad intellectual property in the field, Ecology Coatings¹ product line is now being licensed to an expanded list of strategic partners...read the wave

Los Alamos National Laboratory, operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy, and Carbon Designs, Inc. (CDI), have signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to collaborate on the development of ultra-strong fibers made of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CDI will initially invest $2 million in this joint effort to develop fibers expected to be many times stronger than any current engineering materials. The carbon nanotube is a scientific development stemming from the discovery of soccer-ball shaped carbon molecules in 1985 by the chemistry department at Rice University. These microscopic molecules are usually a few nanometers in diameter, or billionths of a meter; comparatively, a virus is 100 nanometers in size. The current CRADA is one of the largest sponsored research agreements ever signed by the Laboratory.

CDI was founded by world-renowned physicist Dr. Brad C. Edwards and Dallas native Brent N. Waller. Dr. Edwards is known for his breakthrough work with...read the wave

MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti, Olga Semyonova) – Rosoboronexport will be prominent at the Hanover international industrial fair, April 11-15. The Russian arms dealers’ exposition will focus on protection and monitoring devices, a company spokesman said on the Hannover Messe 2005 opening eve.

Experts and the interested guests will be offered full information about one of the most spectacular exhibits—a SPI 20 isolated individual fire rescue device. It protects eyes and the respiratory system in unaided escape from fires and other emergencies in hotels, high rises, railroad cars, the metro, etc., explained our informant.

Foreign experts are also sure to take an interest in a cutting-edge intellectual system to protect essential projects and especially expensive objects within integrated electronic protection networks.

Our interviewee highlighted another several sensational exhibits—in particular, the Gnom remote-controlled underwater apparatus, and firemen’s overalls designed for many climates.

There are also telephone-microphone equipment for reliable communication in outer noises up to 90 decibel.

Many parts of the world have problems with purified drinking water. Pioneer Russian filters will certainly catch Hanover fair visitors’ attention. These filters use the latest nano-fiber materials to cope with pathogenic microorganisms. Source : RIA Novosti

The future of the U.S. lumber and paper industries, which employ some 1.1 million Americans and contribute more than $240 billion annually to the nation’s economy, could depend on how well those industries embrace the emerging science of nanotechnology, according to a report just released by a panel of leading researchers from industry, government labs, and academic institutions.

The hundred-page report, titled “Nanotechnology for the Forest Products Industry —Vision and Technology Roadmap,” can be read or downloaded for free from: www.nanotechforest.org. It will also be available on other websites including those of the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory (FPL)(www.fpl.fs.fed.us/) and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) (www.tappi.org). TAPPI also plans to publish a hard-copy version...read the wave

A research team at the University of Southampton has been awarded over £400,000 to develop future applications of nanomaterials in silicon-based devices.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has awarded a prestigious Platform Grant to Professor Peter Ashburn, Dr Darren Bagnall and Dr Kees de Groot of the Nanoscale Systems Integration Group in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) to enable them to explore new device applications of silicon-based nanomaterials.

Professor Ashburn commented: 'Devices are getting smaller all the time and are reaching sizes where new nanomaterials concepts can increasingly be applied. As silicon technology approaches the nanometer era, remarkable opportunities will
...read the wave

By devising a method to confine molecules within individual pores of silicon dioxide, A.C. Buchanan and Phil Britt have perhaps unlocked the key to advances in better control over chemical reactions used in the manufacture of thousands of industrial products. Buchanan and Britt, members of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Chemical Sciences Division, are especially excited by the prospects of controlling reaction rates and selectivity. "These are considered the holy grail for chemists and for the chemical industry," Buchanan said.

For years, scientists have successfully confined individual molecules in zeolites (microporous crystalline structures), but this new ORNL work creates a world of possibilities. The challenge now is to gain a better understanding of how these larger highly uniform pores can be used as "nano-reactors," Britt said.

The hope is that they will be able to do more selective chemical manipulations and perhaps speed reaction times, both of which would be boons to the chemical processing industry. This research is funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences.

Source : Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) today presented the European Commission with its first “List of Opportunities” – 23 concrete examples of some of the new, large scale infrastructures which Europe’s scientific and industrial community will need in the coming decade. European research infrastructures are fundamental to Europe’s scientific excellence and economic performance. Measures to maximise existing research infrastructures and foster the development of new capabilities are included in the Commission’s proposal for a new Framework Programme for Research, creating for the first time an EU-wide approach to this issue.

Congratulating the Forum and its Chairman Hans Chang for the quality of its work and timeliness of this document, Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research said “European Research Infrastructures are a key asset in implementing our vision of a Knowledge Europe. Our new proposal for a research programme looks to increase EU support to research infrastructures. In this competition for excellence, we must adopt a common European approach, and define clear priorities to fund the most important projects over the next 10 to 20 years. I welcome ESFRI’s input in this crucial area”...read the wave

Textile manufacturers in Taiwan are working hard to develop functional textile products, and have boosted their efforts to an even higher level following the cancellation of the Multi-Fiber Agreement on global textile quotas this year.

The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) hopes to encourage the island’s manufacturers in this effort by mapping out a system of tax incentives—five-year tax holidays or investment tax credit—if they produce multifunctional products with automatic temperature/humidity adjustment functions.

The IDB defines "multifunctional textile products" as those with at least three of the following nine functions: maintenance of warmth, resistance to bacteria and odors, resistance to ultraviolet rays, fireproofing and flame-resistance, perspiration absorption and quick-drying, resistance to radiation, resistance to insects, the employment of nanotechnology, and...read the wave

A man invents a suit that resists stains and wear. He brings his revolutionary fabric to the attention of textile executives who, fearing the demise of their industry, try to prevent the miracle suit from ever being produced.

That was the plot of the 1951 movie, ''The Man in the White Suit,'' when stain-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, liquid-repellant, moisture-wicking fabric was wishful thinking.

Today, scientists have turned fantasy into reality with a new breed of high-tech fabrics with remarkable properties. Red wine pours off cotton shirts like rain off a tin roof, lipstick marks fade before your eyes from collars, and mustard splotches sit, but don't seep into children's clothes.

Far from feeling threatened, some clothing manufacturers...read the wave

Building on the success of the EuroNanoForum2003 event, the conference will bring together international speakers and delegates to discuss the nanotechnologies developed for healthcare that are relevant to a broad range of industries.

The conference will also offer international perspectives on nanotechnology innovations, risk assessment, tackling diseases in the developing world and addressing the needs of the ageing population.

As nanomedicine is considered one of the most beneficial areas of the growing nanotechnology market, attending EuroNanoForum2005 will ensure that you stay at the forefront of the nanotechnology revolution...read the wave

Nanobridges Show Way to Nano Mass Production

They look like an elegant row of columns, tiny enough for atomic-scale hide-and-seek, but these colonnades represent a new way to bring nanotechnology into mass production.

Nanotechnology, the ability to create and work with structures and materials on an atomic scale, holds the promise of extreme miniaturization for electronics, chemical sensors and medical devices. But while researchers have created tiny silicon wires and connected them together one at a time, these methods cannot easily be scaled up.

"It takes weeks to make one or two, and you end up with different sizes and characteristics," said M. Saif Islam, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, who joined UC Davis from Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in 2004.

Like handmade shoes, every manually assembled nanostructure comes out slightly...read the wave

MOLECULAR MOTORS COOPERATE IN MOVING CELLULAR CARGO, STUDY SHOWS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers using an extremely fast and accurate imaging technique have shed light on the tiny movements of molecular motors that shuttle material within living cells. The motors cooperate in a delicate choreography of steps, rather than engaging in the brute-force tug of war many scientists had imagined.

"We discovered that two molecular motors - dynein and kinesin - do not compete for control, even though they want to move the same cargo in opposite directions," said Paul Selvin, a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of a paper to appear in the journal Science, as part of the Science Express Web site, on April 7. "We also found that multiple motors can work in concert, producing more than 10 times the speed of individual motors measured outside the cell"...read the wave

The Smallest Electric Motor

The smallest electric motor in the world, devised by physicists at UC Berkeley, is based on the shuttling of atoms between two metal droplets---one large and one small---residing on the back of a carbon nanotube. An electric current transmitted through the nanotube causes atoms to move from the big to the small droplet. In effect, potential energy is being stored in the smaller droplet in the form of surface tension.

Eventually the smaller drop grows so much that...read the wave

Science Buildings Canada 2005 Conference to Explore the Innovations of Canadian Science Buildings

ORINDA, Calif., /PRNewswire/ -- The National Research Council of Canada's National Institute for Nanotechnology, Canada's high-profile entry into the dedicated nanotechnology research building arena, will be unveiled at Tradeline's Science Buildings Canada 2005 conference on May 30-31, 2005, in Ottawa, Ontario.

At this conference, Phil Haswell, Director of Facilities with the University of Alberta, and Donna Clare, a partner with the architectural firm Cohos Evamy, will describe the journey of this facility from concept to development to commissioning. When completed this fall, the 22,600-square- metre NINT will be one of the world's most technologically advanced research facilities. Only five such buildings exist today.

The conference will also feature a host of newly constructed Canadian...read the wave

mPhase Technologies Discloses Nanotechnology Roadmap

LITTLE FALLS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--mPhase Technologies Inc. (OTC:XDSL) has disclosed that its nanotechnology development roadmap includes a plan to produce a long-life nano battery boasting a four-fold increase in energy density as compared with potential Lithium Ion-based power cells.

In a presentation to the Stephens Inc. 2005 Nanotechnology Investors Conference in Pasadena, Calif., Steve Simon, executive vice president of research and development, this week reported that the company has entered into an agreement with Rutgers University to explore the technical issues required to increase the chemistry choices of its nano battery, now under development, to include a Lithium and water-based composition. This combination would significantly increase the power output capability of resulting devices...read the wave

Virtual NanoLab 1.1

Atomistix has scheduled the release of Virtual NanoLab version 1.1 this April. With this version there will be a graphical user interface to build and simulate two-probe systems.

Some of the new features are:
Crystal builder: setup atomic coordinates in the fcc, bcc and hcp systems in different crystal directions. The systems can be used for electrodes.
Twoprobe builder: Graphical tool for aligning nanoscale systems between metallic electrodes.

Atomistix Conference on Progress in Atomic Scale Modelling of Nanotechnology Systems
In August Atomistix will host the first Atomistix conference in Copenhagen (August 18 – 19). Many world leading scientists will participate in the conference. Atomistix sponsors a 50 percent discount on the registration fee for our Customers with a valid annual or maintenance license. The conference program can be found at our website www.atomistix.com, where it is possible to register for the conference and submit an abstract. Participants in the Atomistix conference may consider taking part in the Niels Bohr symposium on electron transport in nanoscale systems August 22. – 26. see www.nano.ku.dk.

Training Seminar
Atomistix will also arrange a training course August 15. – 17. The course will provide a basic background in atomic-scale modelling techniques, and teach users in the efficient use of Atomistix’s software to solve specific modelling tasks. Atomistix’s customers with a valid annual or maintenance license will receive 25 percent discount on the registration fee...read the wave

Scientists discover better way to generate power from thermal sources

HOUSTON-Your car's engine loses 70 percent of its energy as waste heat-but Australian and Oregon scientists may have figured out an efficient way not only to recover that lost energy, but to at long last capture the power-producing potential of geothermal heat.

The trick is to convert it to electricity-and a promising way to accomplish this, the researchers have discovered, involves using extremely thin nanowires to potentially more than double the efficiency of thermoelectric materials.

"If all goes well, nanostructured thermoelectric devices may be practical for applications such as recycling of waste heat in car engines, on-chip cooling of computer microprocessors and silent, more compact domestic refrigerators," says Heiner Linke, a University of Oregon assistant professor of physics associated with ONAMI, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute...read the wave

NanoNed van start

Met de goedkeuring van het ministerie van Economische Zaken is NanoNed onlangs officieel van start gegaan. NanoNed is een nationaal onderzoeksprogramma dat de sterktes van Nederland op het gebied van nanowetenschappen en nanotechnologie bundelt in een nationaal netwerk. De Universiteit Twente/MESA+, prof. David Reinhoudt, is penvoerder van NanoNed. Technologiestichting STW voert het secretariaat van dit omvangrijke onderzoeksprogramma.

NanoNed is een initiatief van acht kennisinstituten en Philips en behelst investeringen in experimentele faciliteiten, wetenschappelijk onderzoek en kennisdisseminatie. Met deze combinatie willen de initiatiefnemers de sterktes binnen Nederland op het gebied van nanowetenschappen en nanotechnologie bundelen. Bovendien willen ze gezamenlijk het toekomstpotentieel van nanotechnologie als bron van economische groei in een hoogproductieve, duurzame kenniseconomie voor Nederland vergroten...read the wave

MOLECULAR MOTORS COOPERATE IN MOVING CELLULAR CARGO, STUDY SHOWS

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers using an extremely fast and accurate imaging technique have shed light on the tiny movements of molecular motors that shuttle material within living cells. The motors cooperate in a delicate choreography of steps, rather than engaging in the brute-force tug of war many scientists had imagined.

"We discovered that two molecular motors - dynein and kinesin - do not compete for control, even though they want to move the same cargo in opposite directions," said Paul Selvin, a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of a paper to appear in the journal Science, as part of the Science Express Web site, on April 7. "We also found that multiple motors can work in concert, producing more than 10 times the speed of individual motors measured outside the cell"...read the wave

Nanobacteria in clouds could spread disease, scientists claim

Micro-organisms in clouds could play a crucial role in the spread of disease and in the formation of rain drops, scientists have claimed.
The radical theories about nanobacteria – micro-organisms considerably smaller than ordinary bacteria - in clouds are published in two recent articles in the Journal of Proteome Research by Dr Andrei P. Sommer of the University of Ulm, Germany, and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University, UK.

They say nanobacteria are now accepted as being widely prevalent in the terrestrial environment and that their evidence is compelling for the existence of these nano-organisms, even in the stratosphere. In humans, nanobacteria have now been identified on four continents, they add.

Dr Sommer and Professor Wickramasinghe further suggest that nanobacteria's involvement in several serious diseases such as the formation kidney stones, heart disease, and HIV is also slowly being recognised by the scientific community.
..read the wave

Henkel ushers in a new era in pre-paint treatment

Free of phosphate and toxic heavy metals, it is ultra-thin, absolutely uniform, and makes production processes significantly more economical. The talk is of a novel, nanotechnology-based conversion coating for metals. This innovative surface pretreatment prior to painting is considerably more efficient, less complicated and more cost effective than conventional iron phosphating.

For about a century, iron phosphating with subsequent passivation has been the standard process for the treatment of surfaces before painting in the metal industry. This traditional method is now coming under scrutiny, because Henkel has launched a nanoceramic coating process - the world's first - that is far superior to iron phosphating in terms of quality, ecology and economics: Bonderite NT (NT for nanotechnology).

Outstanding corrosion protection and paint adhesion
Bonderite NT is suitable for surface pretreatment for all conventional powder and wet paint coatings. It can be applied by dipping or spraying and creates a cohesive, inorganic, high-density layer incorporating nanoparticles. Measurements have shown that the nanoceramic coating delivers markedly better corrosion protection and paint adhesion than iron phosphating...read the wave

Timing Nature’s Fastest Optical Shutter

It’s nature’s fastest quick-change artist: In less than the time it takes a beam of light to travel a tenth of a millimeter, vanadium dioxide can switch from a transparent to a reflective, mirror-like state.

How this material (VO2) can turn from a transparent insulator into a reflective metal so rapidly has physicists scratching their heads, but a collaboration among researchers at Vanderbilt, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has clocked the transfiguration at one-tenth of a trillionth of a second.

“The change from insulator to metal is called a phase transition,” explains Richard Haglund, the Vanderbilt physics professor who directed the study published in the March issue of Optics Letters. “Phase transitions in solids generally occur at the speed of sound in the material, but vanadium dioxide makes the switch 10 times faster. So far no one has succeeded in coming up with an excuse that allows it to occur with this kind of speed.”

Vanadium dioxide’s quick-change act isn’t merely a matter of academic interest, although there’s plenty of that...read the wave

Altair Nanotechnologies and Bateman Engineering Announce Joint Venture

RENO, NV -- (MARKET WIRE) -- Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTI), a developer and manufacturer of innovative advanced ceramic nanomaterial products, have announced that it has signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Bateman Engineering BV to form a strategic joint venture. The new venture, "Altairnano-Bateman Titania, Inc." will leverage Altair's proprietary and patented titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment manufacturing process and Bateman's engineering expertise to focus on the worldwide development and manufacture of pigment products and services. Altairnano-Bateman Titania will be a U.S.-based company, headquartered in Nevada.

"We are now in comprehensive discussions with prospective customers located in Africa, the Pacific Rim and North America," commented Altair Chief Executive Officer Dr. Alan J. Gotcher. "They are demanding a complete service from raw material qualification through plant design, construction and commissioning. Altair and Bateman have teamed together to meet these requirements."...read the wave

World’s First Commercial Nanotechnology-Based Solid Lubricant Declared Non-Toxic

New York, NY, ApNano Materials, Inc. (www.apnano.com), a provider of nanotechnology-based products, have announced that its NanoLub lubricant, the world’s first commercial nanotechnology-based solid lubricant, was found to be non-toxic in testing performed by Harlan Biotech Israel Ltd., an accredited testing laboratory for pharmacological toxicity studies, located in Rehovot, Israel. These tests are in addition to excellent results obtained from field and beta site tests performed by major global lubricants and automotive manufacturers.

"Harlan Biotech is certified to be in complete compliance with international standards of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development). The acute toxicity testing was done in full accordance with European Commission directives for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)," said Dr. Niles Fleischer, Vice President of Business Development and Product Development of ApNano Materials. “The lab results recognize the environmental friendly nature of NanoLub."...read the wave

Vorwerk & Infineon Technologies AG form JV to market world's first smart carpet

Germany based textiles/carpet manufacturer Vorwerk & Co and manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG have joined forces to create the world's first (at least publicly known) smart carpet or "thinking carpet". The Infineon Thinking Carpet is basically a carpet-embedded sensor network/sensor system that has the potential to literally revolutionize structure/building/installation security.

The sensor-riddled carpet looks just like any other carpet, so the intruder won't know he or she's being tracked. Pretty cool.

DoD and the U.S. Army have actually been working on smart textiles for awhile now as part of the Soldier Nanotech program. MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies is heavily involved with this effort. Smart textile tech is already operational. Sensatex, Inc. is a textile engineering company based out of Bethesda Maryland that specializes in smart textiles. They already have a smart textile shirt in production called the Smart Shirt...read the wave

Nanotechnology Is Topic at Wood-Plastics Composites Conference

Newswise — When an expected 400 researchers, educators and manufacturers from more than a dozen nations gather in Madison, Wis., in May to discuss the latest developments in composite materials made from plastics and wood fiber, they’ll devote a part of their program to nanotechnology, one of the most intriguing topics to sweep through scientific and engineering research in recent years.

The agenda for the 8th International Conference on Woodfiber-Plastic Composites, to be held at Madison’s Monona Terrace May 23-25, includes, for the first time, an entire half-day session devoted to nanocomposites. The session will include papers by researchers from Argentina, Great Britain, Kuwait and Norway, as well as the United States. Topics will include the use of very small particles from wood or other natural fiber as filler or reinforcement in composite materials, the addition of nanoclays to wood-plastic composite materials, and the addition of nanoclays to cellulose-based polymers...read the wave

Nanosys Issued Seminal Patent in the Field of Nanotechnology Enabled Electronics

PALO ALTO, CA -- Market Wire -- Nanosys have announced that it was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,872,645 (the '645 patent) by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The '645 patent is directed to nanowire based field effect transistors (FETs) and other electronic devices that may be used in a variety of applications including arbitrarily large area electronic circuits for flat-panel displays, low cost radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs), and electronically steerable antenna arrays for wireless communications.

The technology covered in the '645 patent employs the use of semiconductor nanowires or single or multi-walled carbon nanotubes to fabricate nanoscale FETs with electronic performance up to a thousand times higher than common technologies used today for large area rigid or flexible electronic circuits. The '645 patent also relates to technology that is further described in several other Nanosys patent applications including another recently allowed U.S. patent application that broadly claims Nanosys' proprietary thin film electronics technology. The technology is designed to be compatible with traditional thin film manufacturing equipment as well as advanced roll-to-roll coating and printable electronics technologies...read the wave

Study is First to Combine Nanobubbles with Ultrasound for Less Invasive Treatment of Stroke

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImaRx Therapeutics, Inc. have announced that the first patient has been treated in a new Phase II clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of SonoLysis(TM) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. SonoLysis, which combines external ultrasound and ImaRx's proprietary nanobubble, is designed to clear blood clots quickly and without the use of invasive surgery or potentially dangerous lytic drugs.

"Our SonoLysis nanobubbles are injected intravenously to accumulate at the site of a blood clot. With the application of ultrasound, the bubbles are designed to pulsate and break apart to physically impact and destroy the clot," said Evan Unger, M.D., President and CEO of ImaRx. "Due to its mechanism of action, SonoLysis is a unique technology that can potentially be used both in stroke centers and in emergency rooms, where most stroke patients first go for treatment. SonoLysis has the potential to clear clots more quickly than the current standard of care, which is important because faster treatment can help minimize the neurological damage and disability caused by strokes."...read the wave

NVE Notified of Biosensor Patent Grant

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NVE Corporation (NASDAQ:NVEC) have said that it has been notified by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office of the expected grant of a key biosensor patent. NVE has been notified that the patent, titled "Magnetizable Bead Detector," will be issued today. The patent relates to the detection of magnetizable beads in connection with biological and chemical assays. The patent is number 6,875,621 and is the grant of the application published by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office under number 2002-0060565.

Detection of magnetizable beads is a key element of proposed "laboratory-on-a-chip" systems. In such systems, a magnetic biological marker nano-bead adheres to the immobilization surface when a targeted biological agent is present. A spintronic sensor detects a very small perturbation in the magnetic field caused by adhering beads. This field perturbation is used to detect and quantify the presence of even very low levels of biological or chemical materials such as pathogens...read the wave

Mitsui Chemicals to Launch Thermoplastic Polyimide/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite

April 05, 2005 ---Already widely engaged in the manufacture and sale of thermoplastic polyimide, a super-engineering plastic which extremely excels in heat-resistance, abrasion resistance, cleanliness and moldability, Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (MCI) has decided to launch a new grade of dust-reducing, high-antistatic nanocomposite consisting of thermoplastic polyimide and carbon nanotube by cooperative development with Hyperion Catalysis International, Inc., U.S.A. under the trade name AURUMTM CNT Grade, the company announced today.

MCI is the only manufacturer of thermoplastic polyimide in the world. Thermoplastic polyimide is used for applications such as automotive parts, aviation engine parts and the processing jigs for semiconductor manufacturing by leveraging its characteristics. The new AURUMTM CNT Grade will be commercially available in April this year with the projected annual sales of at least ¥300 million (US$2.76M) by Fiscal 2007.

The background of the launch of the AURUMTM CNT Grade, which is a newly added product line in the company’s Functional Polymers business this time, is MCI’s strategic focus on...read the wave

Altair Nanotechnologies Outlines Battery Electrode Materials Program

RENO, NV -- (MARKET WIRE) --Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTI), a developer and manufacturer of innovative advanced ceramic nanomaterial products, have released a Program Profile to provide more details on its Battery Electrode Materials Program.

The Battery Market : The rechargeable battery market has four major battery types:

Lead Acid
$30 billion a year market.
Used in motive power applications like automobiles, trucks, golf carts, etc.

Lithium Ion (Li Ion)
$5 billion a year market.
Principally used in portable devices like cell phones and PCs
.
Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)
$1 billion a year market
Used in power tools and smaller specialty markets

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)
$1 billion a year market
Deployed principally in power tools, cordless phones and smaller
specialty markets
...read the wave

 

US expert challenges doctor brothers in Kerala to prove nano invention

The US expert who initiated the controversy surrounding the credibility of the promoters of the proposed nano technology centre in Thiruvananthapuram, has alleged the claims and inventions of the doctor brothers are trivial and the State Government should form a scientific committee of experts to look into the proposal before giving nod for the project.

According to Dr Joshy Joseph, Post-doctoral Fellow at the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, the doctor brothers' claim of inventing a DNA sequencing system named DNA Braidgeneseq with a Nanochip (NC) and the Spiral Laser Scanner (SLS) is a pirated invention with cosmetic modifications.

In a series of e-mail communications with Pharmabiz in the last two weeks, Dr Joshy elaborated that their idea of...read the wave

Nanotechnology Can Play Vital Role in Forest Products Industries

MADISON, Wis., (AScribe Newswire) -- The future of the U.S. forest products industries, which employ some 1.1 million Americans and contribute more than $240 billion annually to the nation's economy, could depend on how well those industries embrace the emerging science of nanotechnology, according to a report just released by a panel of leading researchers from industry, government labs, and academic institutions.

The hundred-page report, titled "Nanotechnology for the Forest Products Industry: Vision and Tech