X-Message-Number: 22662
From: "Gina Miller" <>
Subject: The Nanogirl News~
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 22:38:53 -0700

The Nanogirl News
October 7, 2003

My apologies for the short edition however I am leaving early in the morning
for the Foresight conference and do not have time for the usual content
size. This will also be the reason why any posts to the list may be delayed.
Don't worry the posts will stay in queue and I will get to them for approval
as soon as I can manage. Thank you, and I'll see some of you there!

Nanotube helium sensors could bring atom beam microscope. Scientists from
the University of Cambridge, UK, have come up with a high-efficiency
technique for detecting neutral atoms such as helium. The researchers used
multiwalled carbon nanotubes under a positive bias to field-ionize passing
gas atoms. (nanotechweb 9/30/03)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/9/16/1

MIT's Hexflex Manipulates The Nanoscopic. Assembling a machine sounds
straightforward, but what if the components of that machine are nanoscopic?
Similarly, bringing together the ends of two cables is simple unless those
cables have a core diameter many times smaller than a human hair, as is the
case with fiber optics. Although there are devices on the market with
similar credentials, they are expensive and have inherent limitations. Using
a fundamentally new design, an MIT team has invented the HexFlex
Nanomanipulator that's not only inexpensive but performs better in many ways
than its competitors.(SpaceDaily 10/5/03)
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-03zz.html

Zyvex Corporation announced four new product releases: Zyvex Dried FilmT
(ZDF) Carbon Nanotube Solutions, Zyvex Microgrippers, Zyvex NanoSharpT
Probes, and Zyvex MEMulatorT Software. (Zyvex press release 10/2/03)
http://www.zyvex.com/News/NewProducts.html

The NanoBusiness Alliance and The National Science & Technology Education
Partnership (NSTEP) have formed a strategic relationship to advance
nanotechnology youth education and expand of the science and technology
workforce pipeline. "The National Nanotechnology Initiative has identified
grades K-12 as key to developing tomorrow's nanotech workforce," said Kathy
Warye, president of NSTEP.  "In creating this partnership with the
NanoBusiness Alliance, we will be able to help support NNI's goals in
primary and secondary education, and to expand nanotech's exposure in
America's science classrooms."
(Nationalstep 9/30/03)
http://www.nationalstep.org/news_and_events/press_releases/pressrelease.cfm?
ID=41

Forest fires being used as natural laboratories. Satellite tracks carbon
monoxide levels on Earth. This article discusses tracking devices that use
nanotechnology as well as the expected quotes from Pat Mooney, of Winnipeg's
ETC Group. (TheStar 10/5/03)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Artic
le_Type1&c=Article&cid=1065264690568&call_pageid=968332188774&col=9683501164
67
Also see Howard Lovy's Nanobot-The nano-brain barrier (10/7/03):
http://nanobot.blogspot.com/2003_10_05_nanobot_archive.html#1065420753591082
3

Preventing mitochondria from turning ugly may postpone Alzheimer's,
Huntington's, Parkinson's diseases. Sandia nanolaser may help extend
life-spans by rapidly analyzing possible neuroprotectant drugs. Anyone
visiting a nursing home has seen the horror of humans surviving beyond their
brains' ability to make sense of their surroundings. That loss of
discrimination is caused by neurons killed by malfunctions in mitochondria -
the submicron-sized power packs found in every animal cell. These
malfunctions are the most immediate cause of afflictions like Parkinson's,
Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases. Malfunctioning mitochondria have
also been linked to battlefield aftereffects caused by radiation or by nerve
agents like sarin. (Sandia 9/22/03)
http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/optics-lasers/mito.html

(TV) Nanotechnology: The next big thing. To a culture raised on glitzy
superheroes and infatuated with Harry Potter, science has always seemed more
like the grandmother who gives socks for a birthday. Generous, certainly,
but practical to a fault. That may be about to change with the emergence of
nanotechnology, a science that promises miracles heretofore not dreamt of.
With the recent launch of UPN's sci-fi adventure "Jake 2.0," it has gained a
human face. In the series, computer nerd Jake Foley (Christopher Gorham) is
transformed into a super-spy after he's accidentally infused with millions
of microscopic computers.
Many researchers claim that within a few decades these and other
possibilities could become a reality through the use of tiny machines that
will work from inside the human body. (DesMoinesRegister.com 10/5/03)
http://www.dmregister.com/business/stories/c4780940/22414801.html

Applied Nanotech, Inc. has formed a team with a leading Japanese display
component manufacturers to produce a 25 inch diagonal full color CNT TV
prototype. The purpose of this effort is to demonstrate that carbon nanotube
(CNT) TVs in field emission mode have progressed enough to enable high
volume manufacturing. (SpaceDaily 10/1/03)
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-03zy.html

China's nanotechnology patent applications rank third in world. Patent
application cases concerning nanotechnology have grown rapidly in China over
recent years, with the number following the United States and Japan to take
the world 's third place.
(Chinadaily 10/3/03)
http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-10/03/content_269182.htm

An "AAAAAAAAA" Battery? Florida Researchers Make Progress On Tiny Cell. It
would send and receive faxes and video and have the processing power of a
personal computer. The cell phone of the future would be on the market today
but for one hitch: the battery. The technology is available to build cell
phones that would make the latest versions -- those that allow users to send
pictures and play video games -- seem almost primitive. But the batteries
now used in cell phones are not nearly powerful enough to drive all the
fancy add-ons, said Charles Martin, a University of Florida chemistry
professor. Laptop computers, video cameras and digital cameras also are
hobbled by today's power storage technology. Meanwhile, tiny machines being
developed for a variety of purposes -- such as "lab-on-a-chip" devices that
sense airborne chemical or biological pathogens -- will require batteries
many times smaller and more powerful than today's smallest batteries. So
Martin and his team are making progress on a new approach: Batteries
inspired by the emerging field of nanotechnology. (UFNews 10/9/03)
http://www.napa.ufl.edu/2002news/nanobattery.htm

Contruction to Begin on Canada's Quietest Space. Building to House Research
into the Very, Very, Very Small. A ceremonial groundbreaking tomorrow,
Saturday, October 4, 2003, will mark the beginning of the building phase for
the permanent home of the National Research Council's (NRC) new National
Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT). The new building will be one of the
world's most technologically advanced research facilities and will house
laboratory space that will be the quietest in Canada. In order to provide
the optimal conditions for tiny nano-scale research, "quiet" lab space is
absolutely critical. In the scientific realm, "quiet space" refers to lab
space with ultra-low vibration and minimal acoustical noise or
electro-magnetic interference. (CNRC 10/3/03)
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/newsroom/news/nint-ground03_e.html

MEMS/Nanotechnology Journal Club Meeting at Bell Labs/NJNC (New Jersey
Nanotechnology Consortium) "Nanotechnology and Nanofluidics in Biology" Dr.
Robert H. Austin, Princeton Physics Professor Thursday, October 16, 2003
Lucent Technologies Bell Labs/NJNC 600 Mountain Ave, Murray Hill, NJ 07974
Agenda and Registration: www.njnano.org/about/invite_101603.shtml (Thank you
Dave Forrest!)

DNA tiling assembles nanostructures. Scientists at Duke University, US, have
used DNA nanostructures as templates to build silver nanowires and arrays of
proteins. The nanostructures could have applications in preparing logical
molecular devices.
(nanotechweb 10/7/03)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/2/10/4/1

Nanotechnology and Nanoscience. In June 2003 the UK Government commissioned
the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to carry out an
independent study of likely developments and whether nanotechnology raises
or is likely to raise new ethical, health and safety or social issues which
are not covered by current regulation. For more information please visit:
www.nanotec.org.uk, a second progress report, was produced on 30 September
2003.
(The Royal Society) http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/nanotechnology/

Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
http://www.nanoindustries.com
Personal: http://www.nanogirl.com
Foresight Senior Associate http://www.foresight.org
Nanotechnology Advisor Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org

"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."

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