[extropy-chat] The Nanogirl News~

Fri Jan 2 23:42:54 UTC 2004

The Nanogirl News
January 2, 2004

Homeland Security Gets Small. How Nanotechnology May Aid Anti-Terrorism.
Ultimately, fighting the war on terrorism may have less to do with giant
aircraft carriers and more to do with atomic-scale detection and prevention
systems. Nanotechnology, which is expected to transform everything from
computer processors to drug delivery systems, may also be the key to
homeland security, argues a new book. In Nanotechnology and Homeland
Security: New Weapons for New Wars, Mark A. Ratner, a professor of chemistry
at Northwestern University and a noted expert in molecular electronics, and
his son Daniel Ratner, a high-tech entrepreneur, claim that current research
in nanotechnology will lead to intelligent sensors, smart materials, and
other methods for thwarting biological and chemical attacks. (ABC News
12/29/03)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/ZDM/nanotech_security_pcmag_031229.ht
ml

The National Science Foundation has awarded to a 13-university consortium
the designation as the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and at
least $70 million to share their facilities with qualified users for a
five-year period. Sandip Tiwari, director of the Cornell Nanoscale Facility,
will lead NNIN. (Cornell 12/22/03)
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Dec03/Nano.net.hrs.html

Hitachi Set to Plant It's Own 'Nanostamp' on the Medical Market. Hitachi's
Advanced Research Laboratory (ARL) is getting ready to commercialize a
low-cost "nanostamp" technology for medical applications. Hitachi's process
creates "nanopillars" with extremely high aspect ratios (narrow relative to
height), a feature that the company believes will prove useful for biochips
and other applications, according to Akihiro Miyauchi, a senior researcher
at Hitachi. The technology uses a silicon "stamp" that presses onto a
polystyrene-based polymer film, producing nanopillars that are extremely
long and thin, about 3 microns in height.
(Smalltimes 12/30/03) http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?documen
t_id=7147

Entering the Nano-Age? By Glenn Reynolds. Last week, I wrote about the EPA
Science Advisory Board meeting where nanotechnology was discussed. I learned
a lot of interesting things there, but one of the things that I learned is
that, even for people like me who try to keep up, the pace of nanotechnology
research is moving much too fast to catch everything.
One of the documents distributed at that meeting was a supplement to the
President's 2004 budget request, entitled National Nanotechnology
Initiative: Research and Development Supporting the Next Industrial
Revolution. I expected it to be the usual bureaucratic pap, but in fact, it
turned out to contain a lot of actual useful information, including reports
of several nanotechnology developments that I had missed. The most
interesting, to me, was the report of "peptide nanotubes that kill bacteria
by punching holes in the bacteria's membrane." You might think of these as a
sort of mechanical antibiotic. (TechCentral Station 12/23/03)
http://www.techcentralstation.com/122303C.html

Through thick and thin. Pair's Work has made HP a Leader in
Nanotechnology...Williams and his team of 30 work in a building that houses
the preserved offices of HP founders Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. In these
hallowed halls they are researching ways to make computer chips at the
atomic level, smaller than a bacteria or a virus. If they succeed in their
mission, HP could begin deploying a new manufacturing technique within the
next three to five years. This technique allows an entire wafer of circuits
to be stamped out quickly and cheaply from a master mold. (San Jose Mercury
News 12/29/03)
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/7563605.htm

Nanowire a Superior Disease Detector. A wire thinner than a human hair has
proven to be 1,000 times more sensitive at detecting disease, producing
results in minutes rather than days. Charles Lieber of Harvard University in
Boston, Massachusetts and colleagues developed and tested the silicon
nanowire in what they say is the first example of direct electrical
detection of DNA using nanotechnology. "This tiny sensor could represent a
new future for medical diagnostics," says Lieber, a professor of chemistry
at Harvard and a cofounder of nanotechnology company NanoSys. (Betterhumans
12/18/03)
http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-12-18-3

The next high-tech frontier? For Donn Tice, the path to the new world of
nanotechnology leads through the old world of apparel manufacturing.
Nano-Tex's chief executive officer has traveled the globe this year selling
his Emeryville, Calif., company's nanotechnology chemical formula that makes
fabrics stain-resistant...Nano-Tex's Nano-Care product is more than just a
coating that repels stains. It changes the fabric itself on a molecular
level, embedding it with tiny, floppy, hair-like fibers that themselves are
attached to a common spine. Just as hair keeps rain from penetrating a dog's
coat, the "nano whiskers" in Nano-Care's chemical mix keeps stains from
soaking into clothing. Spill a glass of Merlot on a white blouse made with
Nano-Care and the wine beads up into harmless blobs. (Rutland Herald
12/29/03) http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/Business/Story/76515.html

Tiny nanotube antennas may yield better signals in cell phones, televisions.
In the future, your cell phone calls and television pictures could become a
lot clearer thanks to tiny antennas thousands of times smaller than the
width of a human hair. At least that's the speculation of a University of
Southern California scientist who has been investigating nanotube
transistors. The researcher has demonstrated for the first time that
minuscule antennas, in the form of carbon nanotube transistors, can
dramatically enhance the processing of electrical signals. (Eurekalert
12/30/03)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-12/acs-na123003.php

Can Art Make Nanotechnology Easier to Understand? The old adage "seeing is
believing" hardly applies to nanoscience, which operates on a scale of atoms
and molecules. So how do you make something so miniscule and abstract appear
real to the ordinary eye? Why not through art? A new exhibition at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, called "nano," merges the art and the atom.
Through art-making exhibits, visitors can experience what it's like to move
molecules and manipulate atoms one by one.
(National Geographic 12/23/03)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1223_031223_nanotechnology.h
tml#main

Argonne researchers explore confinement of light with metal nanoparticles.
Optical engineering has had a tremendous impact on our everyday lives,
providing us with fiber optic communications and optical data storage.
However, manipulating light on the nanoscale level can be a Herculean task,
since the nanoscale level is so incredibly tiny - less than one tenth the
wavelength of light. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are making
strides towards understanding and manipulating light at the nanoscale by
using the unusual optical properties of metal nanoparticles, opening the
door to microscopic-sized devices such as optical circuits and switches.
(Eurekalert 12/23/03)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-12/dnl-are122303.php

Extremely cold molecules created by Sandia and Columbia University
researchers. Using a method usually more suitable to billiards than atomic
physics, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and Columbia
University have created extremely cold molecules that could be used as the
first step in creating Bose-Einstein molecular condensates. The work is
published in the Dec. 12 Science. (Sandia 12/11/03)
http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/physics-astron/cold.htm
l

Nanofabrication achieved on a biological substrate. Dip-pen nanolithography,
a process being developed for ultrasmall feature definition on semiconductor
ICs, may blaze new trails in medicine as well, if preliminary work reported
at the fall meeting of the Materials Research Society can be turned into
practical procedures. Albena Ivanisevic, a bioengineer at Purdue
University's Bindley Bioscience Center (West Lafayette, Ind.), described a
process in which amino acid-based nanostructures were assembled on retinal
tissue. The structures might be useful to surgeons trying to correct
blindness caused by macular degeneration.
(EETimes 12/11/03) http://www.eet.com/at/n/news/OEG20031211S0028

Nanotechnology: What is there to fear from something so small?  Next March,
Mark Welland's laboratory at the University of Cambridge, UK, will gain an
unusual member of staff. Welland's team works on nanometre-dimension wires
and tubes that could form the future of electronics, but the new recruit
won't be an engineer or a physicist - he or she will be a social scientist.
The appointment - a two-year position that will include running regular
meetings with everyone from industry representatives to green activists -
acknowledges public fears about the possible effects of nanotechnology on
human health and the environment. Although Welland may not subscribe to
long-standing scare stories about a 'grey goo' of nanometre-sized robots
taking over the planet, he realizes that scientists need to address this and
other concerns head on. (Nature 12/18/03)
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v426/n6968/f
ull/426750a_fs.html

Israel's big plan for a tiny science...Now Shimon Peres, a winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize and a former prime minister, is trying to ensure Israel's
place in nanotechnology, the emerging science of matter measured in
one-billionth of a meter...With that goal in mind, Peres, who turned 80 in
September, and his son, Chemi Peres, a venture capitalist, are aiming to
raise $300 million from American Jewish donors to ensure that Israel can
become a global nanotechnology developer. Right now the Israeli government
has about $150 million invested in nanotechnology research, according to
Einat Wilf, managing director of the Israeli Nanotechnology Trust.
(ContraCostaTimes 12/26/03)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/7574247.htm

UW receives $5M grant to link nanotech, medicine. The University of
Washington will get about $5 million to support nanotechnology research as
part of a $70 million nationwide grant. The National Science Foundation
grant will establish a National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network to
assist research and education in nanoscale science, engineering and
technology, said a UW statement. (Puget Sound Business journal 12/26/03)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2003/12/22/daily21.html

(Computer Game) Review of Deus Ex: Invisible War for Xbox. The main
character uses nanotechnology for special powers within the game
plot.(GamePro.com)
http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox/games/reviews/31870.shtml

IBM's Millipede May Challenge Flash Memory. Some say The Information Age
began with the invention of the PC. For others, it's the birth of the
Internet, the development of the silicon chip or the global crisscrossing of
fiber-optic cable that shifted our societal pivot from goods-production to
information management. In a couple of years, IBM's Millipede data storage
system might also enter the debate. (Forbes 12/24/03)
http://www.forbes.com/2003/12/24/1224ibmpinnacor_ii.html?partner=my_yahoo&re
ferrer=

Viet Nam produces first nano material. Viet Nam has succeeded in making nano
coal, the first material, based on nano technology, said Nguyen Chanh Khe,
director of the Research and Development Center under the Saigon Hi-Tech
Park (SHTP). (VietnamEconomy 1/3/04)
http://www.vneconomy.com.vn/en_index.php?action=preview&cat=03&id=0312241032
55

Cardiff University is Creating Designer Molecules Against Cancer. Welsh
researchers are working on developing ultrasmall nanoparticles to tackle
breast and prostate cancers more effectively. It could allow higher doses of
more toxic drugs to be used without fear that widespread damage to tissues
will be caused. The work is being carried out by the recently established
Centre for Polymer Therapeutics established within the Welsh school of
Pharmacy at Cardiff under the direction of Professor Ruth Duncan. (Small
Times 12/23/03)
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?section_id=45&document_id=712
2

Zyvex Expands Nanomanipulation Product Line. Zyvex Corporation [profile]
today announced the A100 Assembly System, a manipulation and assembly tool
which can be used with either a scanning electron or optical microscope to
assemble microscale components. "The A100 Assembly System represents a
significant product line extension for Zyvex," said Robert Folaron, Director
of Product Development at Zyvex. "Customers will not only benefit from
Zyvex's industry leading nanomanipulation capabilities for assembling
complex MEMS structures, but will also benefit from the microassembly
techniques we've developed through our NIST-ATP program." (NanoInvestorNews
12/25/03)
http://www.nanoinvestornews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2144

Light frozen in place. Researchers at Harvard University have trapped and
held a light pulse still for a few hundredths of a millisecond. The
experiment extends previous research that showed it is possible to store a
light pulse by imprinting its characteristics into gas atoms, and to
reconstitute the pulse using a second beam. The Harvard researchers went a
step further by briefly holding the reconstituted light pulse in place. (TRN
12/31/03)
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/123103/Light_frozen_in_place_123103.html

Chemists Grow Nano Menagerie. Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories
have found a simple way to make tiny, complicated shapes from zinc oxide,
including arrays of vertically-aligned rods, flat disks, and columns that
resemble stacks of coins. The researchers grew the structures, which are
similar to those found in biomaterials, by seeding a solution with zinc
oxide nanoparticles. They were able to produce different shapes by changing
the amount of citrate in the solution at different points during particle
growth. (Technology Review 12/24/03)
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/rnb_122403.asp

TV series unravels the saga of 'DNA'. A half-century of science and
all-too-human conflicts. James Watson, who rocked the human race a
half-century ago by discovering the DNA molecule's double-helix structure,
has only one complaint about "DNA," a documentary series in which he serves
as the overarching presence. I wish they had shot it 20 years ago when I
didn't look so old," the 75-year-old Watson says with a rueful laugh. "It's
not the view I have of myself." Still, a big part of his view of himself -
also clearly visible to the outside world - is that of someone who likes to
rock the boat and create waves. And that part seems impervious to age.
(MSNBC 12/31/03) http://msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3848587&p1=0

2003: The Year of the Straw NanoMan. Ronald Bailey, in his very reasonable
piece about the "growing peril" of a nanotechnology moratorium," asserts
that anti-nano activists "cannot be lightly dismissed."I agree to a point,
having made similar assertions myself, but after speaking and listening to a
number of business and government leaders, I can't help but think that
activists like Pat Mooney of the ETC Group might be the best thing that's
happened to the nanotech industry. When it comes to the environmental
debate, the handful of people who call for a moratorium on nano research
conveniently play the role of the straw enemy of nanoprogress, since their
pseudoscience can easily be attacked. That is what I was thinking as I
listened to Phil Bond, the U.S. Commerce Department's undersecretary for
technology, give an eloquent speech recently in Chicago. (Howard Lavoy's
Nanobot 12/24/03)
http://nanobot.blogspot.com/2003_12_21_nanobot_archive.html#1072287574695510
87

(Humor) Santa's speed? It must be gas. Scientists explain how Santa Claus
zips around the world on Christmas Eve depositing presents without breaking
the laws of physics. -Apparently Santa uses nanotechnology to turn cookies
into toys!- (Herald 12/24/03)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7561195.htm

Happy New Year!

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
Tech-Aid Advisor http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html
nanogirl at halcyon.com
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."