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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#800080>The Nanogirl News</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV>October 7, 2004</DIV>
<DIV><BR>NSF funds nano-related coursework for grades 7-12. The National
Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a first-of-its-kind grant to a Northwestern
University-led team to train teachers in nanotechnology and help them develop
programs for middle and high schools. "This is different from previous
(NSF-funded) centers, which focus on research but have also done part-time
outreach activity," said Mike Roco, senior nanotech adviser at NSF and an
architect of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. NSF this week is expected
to officially announce the five-year, $15-million award to Robert Chang, a
professor in Northwestern's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
(/27/04) <A
href="http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=8326">http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=8326</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Autonomous Atom Assembly. The ability to use an STM to move and position
atoms with lattice site precision provides us with a quantum workbench to study
the effects of quantum confinement and the electronic structure of perfect
nanostructures. So far, atomic manipulation has been performed manually, or with
rudimentary computer assistance. We are working to extend this capability
significantly by developing an Autonomous Atom Assembler (AAA). An autonomous
atom assembler is an instrument capable of assembling a desired nanostructure
from an unknown random collection of atoms without human intervention. (NIST
8/04)<BR><A
href="http://physics.nist.gov/Divisions/Div841/Gp3/Projects/STM/aaa_proj.html">http://physics.nist.gov/Divisions/Div841/Gp3/Projects/STM/aaa_proj.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(Event) Foresight Institute Conference Tackles Nanotechnology Applications
and Public Policy. Foresight Institute, the leading nanotechnology education and
public policy think tank, is sponsoring the 1st Conference on Advanced
Nanotechnology: Research, Applications, and Policy, October 22-24, 2004 at the
Crystal City Marriott Hotel, Washington DC area. This conference focuses on
molecular nanotechnology and what it will mean for the environment, water
purification, clean energy, medicine, national security, space exploration,
international competitiveness, zero-waste manufacturing and overall societal
impacts and other areas. (TMCnet 10/7/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Oct/1080749.htm">http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Oct/1080749.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>High-tech tweezers enable nano-assembly lines. "This technique makes
possible nano-assembly lines," said Chicago entrepreneur Lewis Gruber. "You can
use it to put things together, twist them, rotate them, fix things in locations
at the microscopic or atomic level. It makes possible, for the first time, a
factory floor under the microscope capable of manufacturing components and
assembling them into products at high throughput, just as is done in the
industrial world." (Chicago Sun Times 10/5/04) <A
href="http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-cia05arryx.html">http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-cia05arryx.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Buckyballs at Bat: Toxic nanomaterials get a tune-up. Over the past decade,
the development of nanomaterials has progressed rapidly toward their eventual
use in products ranging from solar cells to medicines. However, tests of
possible toxic effects of these substances on human health and the environment
have been slow to get under way. Recently, an experiment raised concern about
the soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules commonly known as buckyballs. Now, other
chemists confirm that finding and report an innovation that might disarm
potentially toxic buckyballs.<BR>(Sciencenews 10/2/04) <A
href="http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041002/fob1.asp">http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041002/fob1.asp</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nano AIDS shield given a boost. What could be the world's first
nanotechnology-based protection against HIV has just been given a huge boost.
The Australian biotechnology company Starpharma announced today it had been
granted US$5.4 million (A$7.5 million) from the US National Institutes of Health
(NIH) for its research on an anti-microbial gel which prevents HIV infection of
cells.<BR>(ABCnet 9/30/04) <A
href="http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1210693.htm">http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1210693.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In Search of a Biosensing Biocide. Simple compound is eyed as a lead to a
chemical/biological counteragent. Imagine this: a simple lipid molecule forms a
bilayer, the bilayers curl up to form nanotubes, and bunches of nanotubes
assemble into a "nanocarpet." Furthermore, the nanotubes respond to different
substances by changing color, and they kill bacteria to boot! No need to imagine
all this--such a molecule has been synthesized, and its remarkable capabilities
have been explored by a team at the University of Pittsburgh led by Alan J.
Russell, a professor of surgery and of chemical and bioengineering [J. Am. Chem.
Soc., published online Sept. 24. (C&E News 10/4/04) <A
href="http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8240/8240notw2.html">http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/8240/8240notw2.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Arizona
and Cornell University, all in the US, have made a superhard phase of carbon by
applying pressure to carbon nanotubes. The material was at least as hard as
cubic diamond and retained its properties at room temperature even when the
pressure was removed. (nanotechweb 8/23/04) <A
href="http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/3/9/14/1">http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/3/9/14/1</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nanotubes work like radio antennas to convert light into electricity. Radio
aerials have been around for over a century, and routinely receive information
carried by radio waves into our homes. Now, finally, scientists have built an
aerial that can do the same for light waves. The tiny antennas could be used in
solar cells, or 'optical computers' that would move data round as light
beams. (Nature news 8/20/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040920/full/040920-1.html">http://www.nature.com/news/2004/040920/full/040920-1.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>National Cancer Institute Symposium to be Part of NANO Week. The National
Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will
present a symposium on the role of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment
of cancer Oct. 27 as part of NANO Week. The program, "Overcoming Barriers to
Collaboration," will be held at the InterContinental Hotel and MBNA Conference
Center on The Cleveland Clinic Foundation campus. It is free to attend, but
space is limited to 200 registrants. (Yahoo 9/21/04) <A
href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040921/cltu089_1.html">http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040921/cltu089_1.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Physicists Create Artificial Molecule On A Chip. Using integrated circuit
fabrication techniques, a team of researchers from Yale University has bound a
single photon to a superconducting device engineered to behave like a single
atom, forming an artificial molecule. It's the first experimental result in a
field Yale professors Robert Schoelkopf and Steven Girvin have dubbed circuit
quantum electrodynamics. (photonics 8/24/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.photonics.com/XQ/ASP/url.readarticle/artid.251/QX/readart.htm">http://www.photonics.com/XQ/ASP/url.readarticle/artid.251/QX/readart.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Researchers demonstrate nanoscale self-assembly. A new processing technique
developed by Cornell University researchers promises to usher in
lithographic-like self-assembly into single and multidimensional nanoscale
structures. The technique enabled 10-nm precision lithography. <BR>One-, two-
and three-dimensional nanoscale structures self-assembled by combining a block
copolymer with a "cascade molecule" called a dendrimer in which atoms are
arrayed along a carbon backbone, the researchers said. (EETimes 9/9/04) <A
href="http://www.eetimes.com/at/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=47101871">http://www.eetimes.com/at/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=47101871</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Magic clusters double up. Theoretical physicists in Italy and France have
discovered a new family of "magic" clusters using computer simulations. The
clusters, which consist of a nickel or copper core surrounded by silver atoms,
display high levels of structural, thermodynamic and electronic stability. The
silver-nickel structures are also magnetic (G Rossi et al. 2004 Phys. Rev. Lett.
93 105503). (Physicsweb 8/7/04) <A
href="http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/8/9/4/1">http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/8/9/4/1</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Good Vibrations in the Nanoworld. Local defects tune the vibrational modes
of carbon nanotubes. Accessing vibrational modes of molecular chains at the site
of a specific atom in molecules is no longer a dream. Using a scanning tunneling
microscopy technique, the vibrational modes of carbon nanotubes have been mapped
with sub-nanometer spatial resolution. This allows the study of the role of
local defects and demonstrates the crucial importance of nanotubes for the
electronic and mechanical properties of nanotubes. (Max Planck Society
8/27/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/2004/pressRelease20040924/index.html">http://www.mpg.de/english/illustrationsDocumentation/documentation/pressReleases/2004/pressRelease20040924/index.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nanotechnology research funding list now live at Sandia/LANL CINT website.
Shortcut to funding sources now available. Nanotech researchers can shorten
their search for funding by visiting the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies
(CINT) Internet site (<A
href="http://www.sandia.gov/cint">www.sandia.gov/cint</A> or <A
href="http://www.lanl.gov/cint">www.lanl.gov/cint</A>). There, a searchable
database of federal government nanotechnology funding sources is supplied as a
service to the nanoscience community by CINT, a joint project of Sandia and Los
Alamos national laboratories supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office
of Science. (Sandia 9/30/04) <A
href="http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2004/micro-nano/database.html">http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2004/micro-nano/database.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Get set for nanotech. Nanotechnology is being called many things: A massive
investment opportunity; an incredibly promising next generation electronics
technology, and even a threat to humanity. For the electronics sector,
fabrication of chips with nanoscale (nm) features is becoming routine. Yet while
semiconductor manufacturing is dealing in nanometres, it too is still to be
affected by true nanotechnology - or more accurately “molecular nanotechnology”.
Molecular nanotechnology (referred to as nanotechnology for the rest of this
article) means constructing materials and devices virtually one atom at a time.
(Ferret 9/27/04) <A
href="http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/ba/0c0278ba.asp">http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/ba/0c0278ba.asp</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(ETC again) Nanotech 'threatens markets for poor nations' goods'. The
introduction of nanotechnologies could threaten markets for goods from
developing countries, according to a presentation made yesterday at the 4th
World Conference of Science Journalists in Montreal, Canada. <BR>The claim was
made by Pat Mooney, executive director of the ETC Group, a Canadian organization
that researches the socio-economic impacts of new technologies. Highlighting the
lack of regulation for emerging technologies, Mooney called for a United Nations
convention to evaluate their impacts, not only on health and the environment but
also on society at large. (SciDev 10/7/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=1647&language=1">http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=1647&language=1</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Kurzweil's Quest For Eternal Youth Sets Group Abuzz. Inventor Ray Kurzweil
takes 250 nutritional supplements a day in his quest to live long enough to reap
the benefits he expects from biotechnology. He says he's trying to reprogram his
body, as he would his computer...And health is a theme Kurzweil returned to
repeatedly; it is the subject of his latest book, "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long
Enough to Live Forever," co-authored with medical doctor Terry Grossman. But it
was his broader vision of how biology, nanotechnology and information science
are merging that set the backdrop for the conference, which brought together
nearly 1,000 scientists and executives from various disciplines to peer into the
future. (Washington Post 10/7/04) <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11564-2004Oct6.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11564-2004Oct6.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>$10 million to establish a multidisciplinary research program in cancer
nanotechnology. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists
from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology two new
collaborative research grants, totaling nearly $10 million, to establish a
multidisciplinary research program in cancer nanotechnology and to develop a new
class of nanoparticles for molecular and cellular imaging. (News-Medical.net
10/6/04) <A
href="http://www.news-medical.net/?id=5380">http://www.news-medical.net/?id=5380</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Rice Finds 'On-Off Switch' For Buckyball Toxicity. Researchers at Rice
University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) have
demonstrated a simple way to reduce the toxicity of water-soluble buckyballs by
a factor of more than ten million. The research will appear in an upcoming issue
of the journal Nano Letters, published by the American Chemical Society, the
world's largest scientific society. One of the first toxicological studies of
buckyballs, the research was published online by the journal on Sept. 11.
(Sciencedaily 10/6/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041006083717.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041006083717.htm</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. -- CNI -- Announces the Issue of a U.S. Patent
for Composites Containing Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes. Carbon Nanotechnologies,
Inc (CNI) announced today the issue of U.S. Patent 6,790,425 B1 for both pure
and composite materials containing derivitized single-wall carbon nanotubes in
substantial alignment with one another. This patent paves the way for commercial
products with superior performance characteristics, such as plastics with
electrical conductivity, improved fibers for bullet-proof vests, plastic parts
that are stronger and longer lasting, and flat panel TVs and displays which are
brighter, longer lasting, and consume less energy. This technology is part of
the intellectual property developed by Nobel-Prize winning scientist Dr. Richard
Smalley and licensed exclusively to CNI by Rice University in 2001.
<BR>(BusinessWire 9/5/04) <A
href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041005006176&newsLang=en">http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041005006176&newsLang=en</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nanomaterials break out of laboratory into marketplace. Miniature medical
machines that can bring sight to the blind and computers that work at the speed
of light are no longer the stuff of futuristic novels. Argonne National
Laboratory researchers are creating nanomaterials and nanotechnology to make
these and other innovations possible, and collaborating with industry to bring
new technologies to the marketplace. (nanotechwire 10/4/04) <A
href="http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1166">http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=1166</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Gates Backs Education for Tech Growth. Microsoft mogul Bill Gates told
hundreds of engineering students Friday that the future of technology could open
the door for much more innovative applications than those of the past decade,
but the key to further advancements lies in the strength of higher education. In
Zellerbach Hall, Gates said that while the last 20 years have seen vast advances
in personal computing and communications technology, we can expect to see more
developments intertwined with other fields in the future, such as biotechnology
and nanotechnology. (The Daily Californian 10/4/04) <A
href="http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16337">http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=16337</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Presidential Candidates Speak Out on Science Policies. With the exception
of the debate over stem-cell research, science remains a background topic in the
current campaign. Democratic candidate John Kerry has occasionally highlighted
US science policy and used it against President Bush, charging that the
administration has put politics and ideology ahead of science. "Let scientists
do science again," a headline on the Kerry election website says. Bush has
responded, primarily through his science adviser, John Marburger, by pointing to
the 44% increase in federal R&D since fiscal year 2001 and the record $132
billion in the administration's FY 2005 R&D budget. "Kerry ignores President
Bush's record science investments," reads a headline on the Bush reelection
website. Kerry answers by noting that most of the R&D money is going for
weapons systems and defense spending related to the war in Iraq, not basic
science programs. Marburger and other administration officials point to several
R&D initiatives, including new nanotechnology centers, the Moon/Mars space
initiative, and the program to develop hydrogen fuel technology. <BR>(Physics
Today 10/3/04) <A
href="http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-10/p28.html">http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-10/p28.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Tiny battlefield in the war on disease Devices as small as genes detect,
fight illnesses. To the incredibly tiny gold particles doctors send to search a
blood sample for signs of illness, human cells would seem as big as mountains.
But the particles' mission is to hunt down something more their size: prostate
specific antigen, or PSA, a signal that prostate cancer may be on its way to
returning - long before it actually does. Welcome to the new frontier of
nanotechnology, where scientists are learning how to make super-small devices -
as small as genes and proteins - to diagnose diseases that remain unseen with
present equipment and to provide treatments tailored to affect individual cells.
"The particles go into a blood sample, and if there are as few as 10 molecules
of PSA present they will find them," said Chad Mirkin, director of Northwestern
University's Institute for Nanotechnology. "The current test would need 10
million molecules of PSA to record a positive reading." (Monterey Herald
10/1/04)<BR><A
href="http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/9809270.htm">http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/9809270.htm</A></DIV>
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<DIV>Gina "Nanogirl" Miller<BR>Nanotechnology Industries<BR><A
href="http://www.nanoindustries.com">http://www.nanoindustries.com</A><BR>Personal:
<A
href="http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html">http://www.nanogirl.com/index2.html</A><BR>Foresight
Senior Associate <A
href="http://www.foresight.org">http://www.foresight.org</A><BR>Nanotechnology
Advisor Extropy Institute <A
href="http://www.extropy.org">http://www.extropy.org</A><BR>Tech-Aid Advisor <A
href="http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html">http://www.tech-aid.info/t/all-about.html</A><BR>Email:
<A
href="mailto:nanogirl@halcyon.com">nanogirl@halcyon.com</A><BR>"Nanotechnology:
Solutions for the future."</DIV></BODY></HTML>