X-Message-Number: 22479 From: "Gina Miller" <> Subject: The Nanogirl News~ Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:18:59 -0700 The Nanogirl News September 7, 2003 As promised in CRN's initial response to the recent Greenpeace report on nanotechnology, we have prepared a detailed technical analysis and commentary on their report. For more information, The release is available online at http://CRNano.org/PR-Commentary.htm. Also see the coverage at SmallTimes here: http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=6589 (ETC Recent activity) Developing nations 'must wise up to nanotechnology'. Decision makers in developing countries need more information about the potential impact of nanotechnology on their economies and livelihoods. This was the warning given to a conference in London yesterday that celebrated the 30th anniversary of economist E.F. Schumacher's influential book Small is Beautiful, which argued that inappropriate technologies were failing the developing world. Pat Mooney, head of the Canada-based Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC) warned that emerging field of nanotechnology - technology and engineering at the level of atoms and molecules - could damage developing countries' export markets and agricultural systems...But Mark Welland, a nanotechnologist from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, urged against generating 'hype' over the possible effects of nanotechnology, both positive and negative. "We have to be realistic and not expect too much," he said. (SciDev 9/4/03) http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=992&language =1 Drexler speaks! - Or at least writes! In this week's issue of the magazine, I wrote a story about some of the hype over nanotechnology-particularly estimates of how big of a market various nanoproducts might someday have. But it's hard to talk about nanotech without mentioning the guy who invented the term: Eric Drexler, author of the 1986 book Engines of Creation. (Drexler and everyone else in the field credit the founding vision behind nanotech to a 1959 talk by Caltech physicist Richard Feynman). In researching my article, I had a fascinating E-mail chat with Drexler. Here is some of that exchange:... (USNews 9/4/02) http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/tech/nextnews/archive/next030904.htm?track =rss Nanoscale Iron Could Help Cleanse The Environment; Ultrafine Particles Flow Underground And Destroy Toxic Compounds In Place. An ultrafine, "nanoscale" powder made from iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is turning out to be a remarkably effective tool for cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater--a trillion-dollar problem that encompasses more than 1000 still-untreated Superfund sites in the United States, some 150,000 underground storage tank releases, and a staggering number of landfills, abandoned mines, and industrial sites. (ScienceDaily 9/4/03) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030904074603.htm The world's smallest buckets. In a typical chemistry lab, the smallest containers hold just two millilitres of liquid. But despite their size, these tiny glass tubes still contain billions of atoms. Now, there are "nano test tubes" so small they hold just a few hundred atoms. Such containers, with a diameter equivalent to about 20 atoms, have been manufactured by experts at the University of Nottingham. (BBC News 9/5/03) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/3077720.stm Peres to deliver keynote Nanotech address at U.S. conference. When Shimon Peres appears in Washington DC this week to deliver a crucial keynote address, it will not be in any of his current roles as Labor party leader, Nobel peace prize laureate, nor even as a highly-respected elder statesman for Israel. Instead, Mr. Peres will be speaking in his newest role: that of nanotechnologist. That role was taken on last spring with a speech given before the Knesset, during which Peres unequivocally declared Israel's need to be among those nations leading the development and commercialization of this fundamental new technology. (Israel21 9/7/03) http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWh at=object&enDispWho=Articles%5El498&enZone=Technology&enVersion=0& Nanomaterials. Large chemical and materials companies target small nanotechnology firms for venture investing, collaborations, and product innovations. Good things come in small packages. the unique properties of nanomaterials and structures on the nanometer scale have sparked the attention of materials developers. Incremental shifts in product performance using these materials--for example, as fillers in plastics, as coatings on surfaces, and as UV-protectants in cosmetics--are already occurring. The technology holds more promise for the future, though, and is expected to bring more disruptive changes to both products and markets. (C&E cover story 9/1/03) http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8135/8135nanotechnology.html USC Receives $1.3M Nanoscience Grant. The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of South Carolina a $1.3 million grant to research the ethics of nanoscience, which is the study of atoms and molecules. The four-year grant is a major step forward for the university's nanoscience research, USC said. In June 2001, the university created its NanoCenter, which brings together faculty from science, math and engineering to conduct research. The university sees the efforts as gaining a better foothold in emerging technology. (Macon 9/4/03) http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/nation/6691432.htm In the Laboratory for Electronic and Electromagnetic Systems at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), electrical engineer Markus Zahn and his research team are exploring ferrofluids' potential in nanoscale motors and biomedical devices. All the current uses of ferrofluids involve their responding to permanent magnetic fields, fields that remain constant and don't change over time. Zahn asked, "What happens if you put a ferrofluid in rotating magnetic fields?" He knew that electromechanics involved rotating machinery, and so he reasoned, "Ferrofluids could make the world's smallest and simplest rotating machines. A simple, single magnetic particle in a rotating magnetic field will spin." Since ferrofluid involves countless numbers of particles, "you could induce lots of fluid motion that could be used in nanoscale devices." -the movie on this webpage does not appear to be related- (ScienCentral 9/4/03) http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=article &article_id=218392051 Biomolecular Motors at DARPA. Biomolecular motors are nature's nanomachines that convert chemical energy into mechanical work with performance and scale unparalleled by any manmade motors or machines. The principle goal of this program is to develop an understanding of the fundamental operating principles of biomolecular motors and exploit this knowledge to harvest, modify, and integrate these macromolecular assemblies into useful devices from the nano to macro scale. (DARPA) http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrust/biosci/biomomo.htm ASU Researchers Develop Method for Testing Molecular Electronics. Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a relatively straightforward method for measuring the electrical resistance of single molecules. The advance is a technical achievement in terms of its precision and repeatability. The researchers, Nongjian Tao, an ASU electrical engineering professor, and his student Bingqian Xu, said their method overcomes three thorny issues in the electrical resistance measurements of a single molecule. "What we have is a technique that guarantees one molecule is attached between two electrodes every time; we can identify how many molecules are present; and we can do thousands of measurements in a matter of minutes," Tao said. (Nanotech Planet 9/2/03) http://www.nanoelectronicsplanet.com/nanochannels/research/article/0,4028,10 497_3071161,00.html Nanotubes Surprise Again: Ideal Photon Emission. Carbon nanotubes, recently created cylinders of tightly bonded carbon atoms, have dazzled scientists and engineers with their seemingly endless list of special abilities--from incredible tensile strength to revolutionizing computer chips. In today's issue of Science, two University of Rochester researchers add another feat to the nanotubes' list: ideal photon emission. "The emission bandwidth is as narrow as you can get at room temperature," says Lukas Novotny, professor of optics at Rochester and co-author of the study. Such a narrow and steady emission can make such fields as quantum cryptography and single-molecule sensors a practical reality. (University of Rochester 9/5/03) http://www.rochester.edu/pr/News/NewsReleases/scitech/Krauss-Novotny.html In tech world, is small really beautiful? Three decades after E. F. "Fritz" Schumacher sparked a revolution with his book "Small Is Beautiful," calling for smaller scale technology to end poverty, scientists are asking whether science has become too small for society's own good. The development of molecular level nanotechnology has replaced the giant development projects of the 1960s but poses the question of whether small is still beautiful, a conference in London grouping opponents and proponents of the new technology heard on Wednesday. (CNN 9/4/03) http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/09/04/small.beautiful.reut/index.html Advectus and Immune Announce Nano-Pharmaceutical Project Update. Advectus Life Sciences Inc. (TSX Venture Exchange:AVX) (Other OTC:AVXSF) announced today that it has acquired an option from Immune Network Ltd. (Pink Sheets:IMMFF) (www.immunenetwork.com) which, if exercised, would give the Company an exclusive worldwide interest in a new nanotechnology-based formulation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease based on compositions that penetrate the "blood-brain barrier" (BBB) with existing drugs. (PrimeZone 9/4/03) http://www.primezone.com/pages/news_releases.mhtml?d=44671 Wet nanoparticles alter their atoms. 'Just add water' is a phrase found on many instant-mix food packets. Now scientists at the University of California Berkeley, US, have found that applying the technique to certain nanoparticles can actually change their structure. The researchers synthesized zinc sulphide (ZnS) nanoparticles with an average diameter of 3 nm in anhydrous methanol. They discovered that adding water to the nanoparticles at room temperature reduced distortions of the surface and interior of the particle, producing a more crystalline arrangement of atoms. The resulting structure was close to that of sphalerite - tetrahedrally coordinated cubic ZnS. (nanotechweb 8/28/03) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/8/15/1 Rapid Assembly. Method forms ordered, nanosized circuit elements on multiple length scales. A solution-based method for assembling nanowire structures from the bottom up with spatial control on several length scales, ranging from nanometers to centimeters, has been demonstrated by scientists at Harvard University. Researchers there have shown that large numbers of uniform and hierarchically ordered nanoscale circuit elements can be prepared simultaneously using a simple and adaptable technique. (C&E 8/25/03) http://pubs.acs.org/cen/topstory/8134/8134notw9.html Genetic Engineering News Reports on Advances in Nanobiotechnology. Nanobiotech companies are developing miniaturized components that could revolutionize medical implants, ophthalmic surgery tools, cell manipulators, and nanofluidics, reports Genetic Engineering News (GEN; www.genengnews.com ). Some firms are manufacturing nanotech systems for homeland security and other applications in national defense, according to two related articles in the September issue of GEN. "Nanotech received a huge boost with the introduction of the atomic force microscope in the late 1980s because this allowed scientists to take measurements at the atomic level," says John Sterling, editor-in-chief of GEN.(Quote.com 9/5/03) http://finance.lycos.com/qc/news/story.aspx?story=35590096 Gold Speck Highlights Molecules. How do you sense what is happening at the scale of molecules, which are thousands of times smaller than microscopic objects like red blood cells? Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Germany have found a way to detect the very small spectral shifts that occur when the light scattering off a single gold nanoparticle interacts with molecules. The device makes it possible to detect molecular changes in real-time. The method could eventually be used to make arrays of devices that very quickly sense many types of molecules at once. (Technology Review 8/29/03) http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/rnb_082903.asp DNA Throttle Controls Molecular Machine. A DNA sequence that acts as a throttle to control the rate at which an enzyme moves along the DNA has been observed by researchers at UC Davis. By controlling the activity of the RecBCD helicase enzyme, the "Chi" sequence can affect how efficiently genes are repaired. RecBCD unwinds the DNA double helix so that the genetic code can be read, copied or repaired. This unwinding is an essential first step in most processes involving DNA. The research findings, which are published in the September 5 issue of the journal Cell, could explain how short DNA sequences such as Chi can interact with enzymes and affect how DNA is copied or repaired. They could also give insight into how to control the speed of tiny nanomachines built for various purposes. (ScienceDaily 9/5/03) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030905072455.htm Patent Awarded for Method of Making Nanobatteries. A University of Tulsa chemistry professor and two former students have been awarded a patent for a method of making nanobatteries for use in tiny machines similar to the microbe-size craft that traveled through a human's blood vessels in the 1966 science-fiction movie, "Fantastic Voyage." U.S. Patent 6,586,133 was awarded July 1, 2003, to chemistry professor Dale Teeters and to Nina Korzhova and Lane Fisher, who were both chemical engineering students at TU when they worked on the process to manufacture nanoscale microscopic batteries. One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The diameter of an average hair is 50,000 nanometers. (Newswise 8/20/03) http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/500572/ I hope you all had a lovely Labor Day. Gina "Nanogirl" Miller Nanotechnology Industries http://www.nanoindustries.com Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org Extropy member http://www.extropy.org "Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22479