[extropy-chat] The Nanogirl News~

Gina Miller nanogirl at halcyon.com
Tue Jul 27 23:49:41 UTC 2004


The Nanogirl News~
July 27, 2004


Indian technology fund gets $400,000 World Bank grant. A private Indian equity company that invests in high technology ventures said Thursday it has received a grant of $400,000 from the World Bank to support up-and-coming companies in developing nations...Most of the companies will be in India, but some will be in other developing countries. "This is the first time the World Bank has invested in a private firm in India," Narasimhan said...Indiaco has raised $7 million to provide initial funding for entrepreneurs in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and energy sectors.
(HindustanTimes.com 7/15/04) http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_888612,00430001.htm

IBM claims nano-scale imaging breakthrough. IBM has claimed a breakthrough in nano-scale magnetic resonance imaging by directly detecting for the first time a faint magnetic signal from single electrons buried inside solid samples. The company said that the development represents a major milestone in the creation of a microscope that can make three-dimensional images of molecules with atomic resolution. (Whatpc 7/16/04) http://www.whatpc.co.uk/News/1156683

Scientists support Prince on nanotech. Tough new rules must be brought in to guard against dangers to health and the environment from nanotechnology, Britain's top scientific and engineering bodies will conclude this week. A weighty new joint report by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering will also urge ministers and scientists to adopt a much more open approach to the public over the technology than it has over GM. The report, to be published on Thursday, marks an abrupt change of attitude by the Royal Society, which has been one of the principal cheerleaders for genetically modified crops and foods, and demonstrates how severely the scientific establishment has been shaken by successful public resistance to them. It also largely vindicates Prince Charles who, in an exclusive article for The Independent on Sunday two weeks ago, warned of the risks of the technology...
(Independent 7/25/04) http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=544416

The promise and perils of the nanotech revolution. Possibilities range from disaster to advances in medicine, space...But there have also been warnings of nano-machines that might race out of control, mass-replicating like bacteria and reducing Earth's surface into what a few nanotechnologists call a "gray goo." Few experts take that scenario seriously, but in recent months, the less frightening potential health and environmental impacts of nano-gadgets have drawn increasing attention. The possibility that one type of nanotech -- large carbon molecules called fullerenes -- damages fish brains is described in this month's issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. (San Francisco Chronicle 7/26/04) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/07/26/MNG767SUKB1.DTL

Betting big on nanotech. Nanosys IPO priced at a sales ratio not seen since dot-com era. Nanosys Inc., an early-stage nanotechnology company, is going public at a price that suggests investors are willing to bet heavily on the relatively unproven field. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nanosys said it will price its 6.25 million IPO shares between $15 and $17 each. At that price range, the offering could raise as much as $106 million and, because Nanosys will have nearly 22 million shares outstanding after the IPO, give the Palo Alto company a total market value as high as $371 million. (SFGate 7/16/04)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/07/16/BUGOJ7MAI11.DTL

It's a small world. A hushed office in Building 8 at MIT stands at the cutting edge of small things. Newly minted PhD Tim Hanlon, 27, points to a device called the nano-indenter, and remarks, "Experiment after experiment, it never fails to amaze me . . . and I've been working here for 4 years." A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. For most of history, such minute distances, the scale where atoms lurk, have been invisible to humans, even though all activity in the physical world really begins there. The nano-indenter contains a tiny diamond tip that can detect the resistance and friction between atoms at the nano-level. Hanlon and his boss, MIT professor Subra Suresh, often prod the tip into various materials -- copper and steels, for example -- to determine how they might be engineered at the nano-level to become stronger and more resilient. (The Boston Globe 7/26/04)
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/07/26/its_a_small_world/

(Book Review) Nanotech Goes Hollywood. A blockbuster in book form, Nano is both entertaining and annoyingly implausible...Reading John Marlow's Nano feels like watching a Hollywood blockbuster, and this is no coincidence. Not only has Marlow turned Nano into a screenplay that is likely to become a movie, he notes in the acknowledgements that suggestions on the screenplay were subsequently incorporated into the novel. Like many blockbusters, Nano tries to distract readers with weapons of mass entertainment while glossing over logic and plot flaws that are far from nanoscale. And so, while the book is engaging and introduces people to nanotech and its implications, it's also full of annoying improbabilities that will likely prevent those in the know from enjoying the action. 
(Better Humans 7/23/04)
http://www.betterhumans.com/Features/Reviews/Book_Reviews/Fiction_Reviews/review.aspx?articleID=2004-07-23-1 

Evolution's next stage? Transhumanists explore ways to overcome the physical and psychological limitations of the body. Thousands of years ago a primitive man or woman, huddled in a squalid cave, struck sparks from a stone and created fire. The result was so successful that manipulating the environment to meet human needs became the norm, turning night into day with artificial lighting, taming the inhospitable effects of weather, and creating devices that reduced daily drudgery to mere minutes of work. (The Star 7/25/04)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1090707008589&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467

Emergency Filtration Products to Commence Nano-Enhanced Filter Media Tests for U.S. Air Force Under the Direction of the U.S. Army RDE Command. Emergency Filtration Products Inc. (EFP) (OTCBB: EMFP) announces that it will commence testing its licensed nanotechnology-enhanced 2H filter media in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force in mid-August 2004. This proprietary enhancement encompasses the integration of filter media with various types of nanotechnology solutions for the detection of, and protection from, biological, chemical, radiological and explosive agents. (Business Wire 7/15/04)
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040715005721&newsLang=en

Molecular Imaging Wins R+D Award for AFM Tool. Molecular Imaging is an R&D 100 Awards winner for its new PicoTREC. The awards are sponsored by R&D Magazine and recognize the top 100 products introduced into the marketplace during the year. PicoTREC is the only commercially available instrument to add real-time, simultaneous topography and recognition imaging capability to the atomic force microscope (AFM). A breakthrough tool for AFM, PicoTREC allows researchers to pursue new avenues of discovery in all areas of nanotechnology and nanoscience. (Azonano 7/15/04) http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=227

USC scientist invents technique to grow superconducting and magnetic 'nanocables'. Chongwu Zhou, an assistant professor in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering, is creating dense arrays of ultrafine wires made of magnesium oxide (MgO), each coated with uniform, precisely controlled layers of TMO. In the last decade, TMOs have come under intense investigation because they demonstrate a wide range of potentially highly useful properties including high-temperature superconductivity. Because of the great potential for applications and research, investigators have tried for years to create TMO nanowires, but have so far had limited success. "But now we can supply a group of previously unavailable materials to the nanotechnology community," Zhou said. (PhysOrg 7/15/04) http://www.physorg.com/news386.html

The Nanotechnology Industry, an estimated $961 million for FY 2004. Research and Markets announces the addition of this new report entitled "U.S. Market & Industry Nanotechnology R&D and Marketing 2004" to its offerings...Financial trends also show accelerating interest in nanotechnology despite lingering effects of the US recession in 2001. In 2003, a year when a 20-year US unemployment record was breached, the value of a publicly traded venture capital firm that specializes in nanotechnology investments rose from less than $3.00 per share to more than $15.00 per share, beating the S&P 500 by some 400% (Harris & Harris NASDAQ:TINY). The year 2003 also saw some $304 million in venture capital funding for nanotechnology, a 42% increase over 2002. Although this represents a small portion of total venture capital funding, just over 3%, it is an increase over the 2% fraction in 2002. (PressWorld 7/15/04) http://technology.press-world.com/v/63489.html

Singapore scientists find new way to use animal bones for human implants. Singapore scientists have found a new way to process animal bones, and turn them into scaffolds that are as good as natural bones which can be implanted directly into patients. Inexpensive and easily available, this bone material could soon replace existing material now used for bone repair. This pig's bone was once part of Dr Mao Pei-Lin's soup stock for her son. But it is now the bio-engineering scientist's research material. In the past, surgeons repaired broken bones by grafting human or animal bones that have been cleaned and purified with solvents under extreme high temperature. The problem with this process is - it is expensive, and the high temperature could change the original chemical components and structure of the bone. Another problem - the solvents used are also highly toxic and not easily removed. To overcome these problems, scientists at the Institute of Bio-engineering and Nanotechnology first treat the bone with mild solvents. (Channelnewsasia 7/24/04)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/97369/1/.html

The rise of 'Digital People'. Tales about artificial beings have sparked fascination and fear for centuries; now the tales are turning into reality. The scientists and engineers spearheading the creation of artificial beings and bionic people are responding to the magnetism of the technological imperative, the pull of a scientific problem as challenging as any imaginable...Some researchers now think the Turing test is not a definitive measure of machine intelligence. Yet it still carries weight, and now, for the first time in history, the means might be at hand to make beings that pass that test and others. Advances in a host of areas-digital electronics and computational technology, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, molecular biology, and materials science, among others - enable the creation of beings that act and look human. (MSNBC 7/13/04) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5386726/

Rice university CBEN wins grant for undergraduate nanotech course. Class will present technical aspects alongside analysis of societal impacts. The Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University today announced the award of a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the first introductory nanotechnology class to be offered at Rice University, a research-intensive institution known worldwide for its excellence in nanotechnology research. The course, titled " Nanotechnology: Content and Context," will be offered jointly by the departments of chemistry and anthropology this fall. (Rice University 7/26/04)
http://media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=4833&SnID=524933860

DoD spending bill includes nanotechnology funds. Congress approved funding this week included in a military appropriations bill to continue nanotechnology research at the University of Oregon...The funding includes $2.5 million for research on developing environmentally-friendly nanotechnology materials and manufacturing processes and $2.5 million for development of miniaturized energy systems with broad applications, the university said. (EETimes 7/23/04)
http://www.eetimes.com/at/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=25600219

(lengthy coverage of what nano is and the market analysis) Is Nanotechnology for Real? Which companies will make the most of this field? So far, one has used nano-development to improve drug delivery -- boosting its stock price. But investors searching for commercial value from hundreds of other companies looking to improve products through this science will start down a long road.
(Motley Fool 7/23/04) http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2004/commentary04072305.htm

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
Email: nanogirl at halcyon.com
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."



 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20040727/c4f68d8b/attachment.html>


More information about the extropy-chat mailing list