From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Thu Dec 05 2002 - 04:58:21 MST
The Nanogirl News
December 5, 2002
Digital image stored in single molecule. An image composed of over 1000 bits
of information can be stored in the atoms of a single molecule, US
researchers have shown. Bing Fung and colleagues at the University of
Oklahoma found that the 19 hydrogen atoms in a lone liquid crystal molecule
can store at least 1024 bits of information. The data are stored in the
complex interaction of the protons' magnetic moments. Fung hopes the
technique, dubbed "molecular photography", could one day be used to pack
massive amounts of digital information into a tiny space but admits that the
process is currently experimental. "It's a very, very first step towards
using nuclear spins for molecular information processing," he told New
Scientist. (New Scientist 12/2/02)
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993129
Boulder firm uses nanotechnology to improve tennis game. A European company
with U.S. operations based in Boulder is marketing a line of tennis rackets
constructed with nanotechnology. These high-tech rackets aren't for the
pros, however; they're made for the amateurs, or "club players," among us.
"Players who don't have a nice full swing need a stiff racket to get speed
into the ball," said Jean-Louis Boyre, president of Babolat VS North
American Inc. "By using nanotechnology, we increase the resistance of a
racket."
(The Denver Business Journal 12/2/02)
http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/12/02/story6.html
Magnets double up. Researchers in the US have developed a new technique for
making small and powerful permanent magnets. These so-called
'exchange-coupled nanocomposites' contain two magnetic phases, which makes
them stronger than conventional magnets made from single phase materials (H
Zeng et al. 2002 Nature 420 395) (PhysicsWeb 11/27/02)
http://www.physicsweb.org/article/news/6/11/15
Stanford study may unlock secrets to aging. A new form of nanotechnology
developed at Stanford may lead to a better understanding of the life and
death of human cells. Writing in the Nov. 18 "Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences" (PNAS), Stanford researchers describe how newly created
circles of synthetic DNA -- called "nanocircles" -- could help researchers
learn more about the aging process in cells. (San Jose Business Journal
11/29/02)
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2002/11/25/daily58.html
ChevronTexaco finds nanotechnology blocks. San Francisco-based oil giant
ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE: CVX) said researchers at its Energy Research and
Technology Co. discovered a new class of nanometer-sized materials that may
help advance the field of nanotechnology. The materials, called diamondoids,
are found in petroleum and have the same internal structure as diamonds.
ChevronTexaco scientists have produced higher diamondoids with the weight of
less than a billionth of a billionth of a carat. ChevronTexaco has been the
only company able to isolate higher diamondoids to date. (San Francisco
Business Times 12/2/02)
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2002/12/02/daily11.
html
Growing Smaller. In "Prey," Michael Crichton's latest novel, to be released
this week, the master of technology-run-amok visions sets his sights on
nanotechnology and describes a horde of bacterium-size machines that break
out of a lab and evolve into flesh-eating, self-reproducing predators. While
even experts in nanotechnology consider it "so new that it barely exists,"
the science already sparks widespread alarm among environmentalists and
disarmament proponents, not to mention science fiction writers. (eweek
11/25/02)
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,728185,00.asp
Or see ABC:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/abs_news_body.asp?section=Opinion&OID=10066
NASA looks to mud-dwelling bacteria for nanoelectronics templates.
Scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, SETI Institute and Argonne
National Laboratory in the US have genetically engineered a protein from a
mud-dwelling microbe so that it can form nanoscale arrays of metal and
semiconductor quantum dots. The technique could have applications in making
nanoelectronic devices. (nanotechweb.org 11/25/02)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/11/16/1
Nanotech seen enabling steady semiconductor growth. Nanotechnology will
catapult the semiconductor industry into a new phase of relatively steady,
sustained growth that will replace its historical boom-and-bust cycles,
microprocessor veteran Nick Tredennick said Tuesday (Nov. 19) in a keynote
at the Embedded Systems Conference here. Just as the increased circuit
complexity posited by Moore's Law enabled the PC and its derivatives,
nanotechnologies will enable ever more diverse embedded applications that
will outnumber those spawned by the PC, Tredennick said. (11/21/02)
http://www.eet.com/semi/news/OEG20021120S0024
Artificial cell gets light-powered nanopump for calcium ions. A team of
chemists have found a new way to power artificial cells or liposomes: using
an shuttle molecule, calcium ions are transported across the membrane
barrier to the interior of the cell. The process is powered and controlled
by light, using an artificial reaction center molecule adapted from
photosynthesis. (Eurekalert 11/27/02)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-11/asu-acg112502.php
New Nano Capacity. As conventional transistors shrink in size, they lose
their ability to amplify signals, and thus their very status as transistors.
Now researchers have taken advantage of a proposed quantum effect to
construct a Y-shaped, nano electronic circuit that boosts signals
spontaneously. The unique device, described in the 25 November print issue
of PRL , is one of just a few known designs that might lead to circuits of
atomic proportions. (Physical Review Focus, Print issue 11/25/02)
http://focus.aps.org/story/v10/st23
Diffusion narrows contact gap. Researchers have come up with a technique
that may ultimately overcome the resolution limits of conventional
lithography to create contacts with very narrow gaps for nanoelectronic
devices. The scientists, from the Institute of Organic Synthesis and
Photoreactivity (ISOF) at Italy's National Research Council and the Canadian
National Research Council's Institute for Microstructural Sciences and
Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, reckon the key to the solution
could be the diffusion of titanium from titanium silicide. (nanotechweb.org
11/20/02)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/11/13/1
Quantum dot 'basketball' promises new architectures. A group of European
scientists has used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to add and remove
quantum dots from a gold substrate. The researchers, from Gent University in
Belgium, the University of Hamburg, Germany, and Utrecht University in the
Netherlands, first attached the dots to the substrate using molecular
bridges with thiol (sulphur containing) and carboxylate end functions.
(nanotechweb.org 11/26/02)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/11/18/1
Protein based nanomachines for space applications. A 24 page pdf. Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey. MIAC Phase I Grant. "Our Vision: To Develop Protein Based Nano
Machines and Robots. Novel, Biological, Multi-Degree of Freedom, Apply
Forces, Manipulate Objects, Move from Nano to Macro, Lightweight/Efficient,
Self-Assembling, Self-Reproducing.
http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/library/fellows_mtg/oct02_mtg/pdf/806Mavroidi
s.pdf
Patently absurd. Too many patents could kill nanotechnology. Cosmetics
company L'Oréal Group hopes to make its products more colorful (patent No.
5,612,021). The U.S. Department of Energy wants to enable the long-term
storage of nuclear waste (patent No. 5,350,569). And the University of
California aspires to arrest the spread of HIV (patent No. 20,010,041,801).
All of these ambitious plans depend on a tiny molecule, the
buckminsterfullerene, or "buckyball" as it's known colloquially, discovered
in 1985 and named after the architect Buckminster Fuller, because its
spherical structure of 60 carbon atoms resembles Fuller's famous geodesic
domes...(Red Herring 11/20/02)
http://www.redherring.com/insider/2002/11/patents112002.html
Rice deciphers optical spectra of carbon nanotubes. Building upon this
summer's groundbreaking finding that carbon nanotubes are fluorescent,
chemists at Rice University have precisely identified the optical signatures
of 33 "species" of nanotubes, establishing a new methodology for assaying
nanotubes that is simpler and faster than existing methods. The research is
detailed in a paper published online this week by Science magazine.
(Eurekalert 11/28/02)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-11/ru-rdo112502.php
Altair Nanotechnologies' RenaZorb Begins Animal Testing; First
Nanotechnology Based Drug for Phosphate Control in Kidney Dialysis
Patients -- a $400 to $600 Million Market. Altair Nanotechnologies
(Nasdaq:ALTI) today announced that RenaZorb(TM), its new non-calcium
containing pharmaceutical for removal of phosphate ions from patients with
end-stage renal disease undergoing kidney dialysis, has begun in vivo
testing in animals. This battery of tests will determine if RenaZorb
performs as well in animals as in the in vitro laboratory tests. The testing
should be completed by the end of February 2003 and is being conducted at no
expense to Altair. "It is significant that RenaZorb is being tested in
dogs," commented Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, president of Altair Nanotechnologies.
(StockHouse USA 12/4/02)
http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=ALTI&newsid=1427701
Guinness calls Japanese thermometer world's smallest. The Guinness World
Records book has named a thermometer using a carbon nano tube as the world's
smallest thermometer, its developer, the National Institute for Materials
Science, said Tuesday...The device, a tube formed by carbon atoms, measures
about 85 nanometers in diameter and several thousand nanometers in length.
One nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter. (Japan Today 12/3/02)
http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=241209
New US Patent for Gradiflow. The potential value of Gradipore's (ASX Code:
GDP) breakthrough separations platform - Gradiflow has been extended with
the granting of a new US patent. The patent covers Gradiflow's unique
ability to remove biological contaminants such as viruses and bacteria.
Unlike other large-scale purification technologies, Gradiflow can purify
proteins and remove viral and bacterial pathogens simultaneously. This
offers pharmaceutical manufacturers the opportunity to reap the economic
benefits of faster, higher yielding manufacturing processes, reduced
processing costs and improved product safety and quality.
(StockHouse USA 12/4/02)
http://www.stockhouse.com/news/news.asp?tick=GDP&newsid=1427148
Look, Ma, No Stains. New techno-clothes let a man be a mess without looking
like one. Will shoppers buy slob chic? ...The idea of pants as a bib is one
whose time has come. Levi's Dockers brand has unveiled its Go Khaki with
Stain Defender line. Treated with DuPont Teflon, these trousers allow the
wearer to spill any "oil or water-based liquid" (e.g., beer, salad dressing)
and have it bead up and roll off. Earlier this year, Lee introduced its
Performance Khaki, which uses Nano-Care, microscopic whiskers that repel
spills.
(Time.com from the 12/9/02 issue of TIME magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101021209-395345,00.html
Startup debuts 'nanoimprint' litho tool for 20-nm designs. Paving the way
for a new class of applications, startup Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII) next
week will unveil its first product--a tool aimed at the emerging
"nano-imprint" lithography market, SBN has learned.
MII will roll out what the company calls a "step and flash imprint
lithography" (S-FIL) tool for use in processing a range of emerging devices
at the 100-nm (0.10-micron) node and below. The Austin-based company also
claims that it has demonstrated the ability to process devices at linewidth
geometries down to 20-nm (0.02-micron).
http://www.eetimes.com/semi/news/OEG20021202S0082
(Small Piece) Triton, Thermonix merge to target breast cancer.
Chelmsford-based Triton BioSystems Inc. has merged operations with
Minneapolis-based Thermonix Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The companies will
continue operating under the Triton name at the Chelmsford facility. The
former partners decided to merge the companies to focus on developing
nanotechnology-based therapies for advanced breast cancer. Nanotechnology is
a fast-growing field that merges chemistry and engineering to manufacture
devices on a molecular or atomic scale. (Boston Business Journal 12/3/02)
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2002/12/02/daily18.html
Plant sucks up gold particles through roots. US researchers have found that
alfalfa plant sucks up gold through its roots in a form that perfectly suits
the needs of the field of nanotechnology. They have shown that alfalfa
produces specks of gold less than a billionth of a metre across in a form
needed in devices a billionth of a metre in size, according to the American
Chemical Society's Nano Letter. (The Times of India 12/3/02)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=300944
51
University At Buffalo Engineer Develops Novel Method For Assembly Of
Nanoparticles; Process May Lead To Manufacture Of Nanoscale Devices. A
University at Buffalo engineer has developed a novel method for assembling
nanoparticles into three-dimensional structures that one day may be used to
produce new nanoscale tools and machines. The work could be an important
step in fulfilling the immense potential of nanotechnology because it gives
scientists and engineers improved control and flexibility in the creation of
materials for the manufacture of many nanoscale devices, according to
Paschalis Alexandridis, associate professor of chemical engineering in UB's
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
(ScienceDaily 12//4/02)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021204081355.htm
The United Kingdom's business community has to put nanotech and MEMS "on its
research agenda" or lose the race to commercialize the technology, according
to Marc Desmulliez, author of a recent report, "2010 Micro/Nanotechnology in
the U.K." Desmulliez is chairman of the Institution of Electrical Engineers'
(IEE) Microsystems and Nanotech Professional Network (PN). The report was
based on a survey of about 200 U.K. company officials his team at the Micro
Systems Engineering Center at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh conducted
for the IEE. (Small Times 12/4/02)
http://www.smalltimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=5139
Nano-lubrication: facts and friction. The sickening grinding noise that a
car engine makes if it runs out of oil is unforgettable. Without suitable
lubrication, the microscopic 'nanoscale' machines and gears of the future
will fail in the same way. US chemists have now worked out how to reduce
friction at the molecular level. Their findings should help keep tomorrow's
micro-machines running smoothly and may even speed up computer processing.
Hyun Kim and Jack Houston of Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New
Mexico, have separated out the roles played by physical and chemical
resistance, which, when combined, cause friction. They studied the friction
between gold film and a one-molecule-thick lubricating layer. (Nature
Science Update 12/6/02)
http://www.nature.com/nsu/001207/001207-7.html
"Happy Holidays!"
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
nanogirl@halcyon.com
"Nanotechnology: Solutions for the future."
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