~Nanogirl News~
Sept.14, 1999
*New Microscopy Method Reveals Molecular Map of Biological Surfaces.Using
modern microscopy tools, scientists have been able to look at the molecules
and molecular structures on viruses, cell walls and other biological
surfaces, but they haven't had any way of knowing what those molecules
actually are. Molecular microscopy techniques have been "chemically blind"-
until now. (new method of AFM) The technique can potentially be used for
nanometer-scale mapping of biomolecules.
http://clasdean.la.asu.edu/news/lindsay.htm
*Story tips from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ornl-stf091399.html
Story tips include:
COMPUTING--Probe opens possibilities
BIOLOGY--Person on a chip?
NANOTECHNOLOGY--The direct approach
CLIMATE--Fooling Mother Nature
Contact: Ron Walli
wallira@ornl.gov
423-576-0226
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (However the ORNL site seems to be down right
now, you can still read further details at the above link provided by
EurekaAlert!)
*Virtual identity game attracts academics and Web users
Interacting online with people from throughout the world is a daily
occurrence for millions of Internet users, yet most do it with little
perspective on the virtual identity they are projecting. Now a multiplayer
online game created by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology is
offering insight to virtual community designers and members.
http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/res-news/TGAME.html
*Engineers designing smart system to prevent power failures. Brownouts like
those plaguing cities this summer may soon be relegated to the history books
if engineers meeting today at Purdue University have their way.
http://purduenews.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/htmlarchive/html4ever/990910.Tsoukalas.
power.html
*Room to let; easy access; all utilities Space station glovebox ready for
scientists to start designing experiments. A versatile experiment facility
for the International Space Station moved closer to flight recently with
delivery of the ground-test model to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/msad14sep99_1.htm
*Knowledge-Centered Awards Jump Start NSF Focus on I.T. for the 21st Century
The National Science Foundation (NSF) this week awarded $50 million in
grants for broad-based research in knowledge and distributed intelligence
(KDI). The awards are for projects as varied as knowledge networking in
biocomplexity, earthquake computer modeling and case studies in intellectual
property. http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/99/pr9950.htm
*University of Arkansas researchers have determined the structure of a
technologically important telecommunications surface that scientists have
debated for years. In the process, they have developed a new technique that
may help solve other significant atomic structures and could revolutionize
the telecommunications industry.
http://pigtrail.uark.edu/news/aug99/atomic.html
*Each month the electronic version of Frontiers and its print counterpart
profile important work funded by the National Science Foundation. Topics
include advances in math and science research, breakthroughs in engineering,
and achievements in educational programs. Also featured: coverage of major
public policy issues that will affect the Foundation's future, as the future
of the research and education communities.
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/publicat/frontier/start.htm
*Los Alamos 9th Workshop on RF Superconductivity November 1-5, 1999
La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM USA.
http://lansce.lanl.gov/rfsc99/
*Berkeley Lab Science Beat- Topics include: Electron Vibration as binary
bits/ Clearing the air/ Microbes thrive on diet of toxic waste/ a new type
of fluorescent probe.
http://enews.lbl.gov/
*Diamonds From Forever. Diamonds May Come from Stars. Stephen Haggerty,
professor of geology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, believes
diamond carbon comes from space. In a recent Science report, Haggerty says
supernovas — explosive, dying stars — released carbon into our solar system
about 5 billion years ago.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/diamonds990913.html
*A potato genetically-modified with jellyfish genes which glows when it
needs watering is created by Edinburgh scientists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/specials/sheffield_99/newsid_44600
0/446837.stm
*Scientists in Britain believe that the reason there are only two sexes is
due to a bacterial infection our ancestors caught about two billion years
ago.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/specials/sheffield_99/newsid_44700
0/447058.stm
*Scientists said on Tuesday they could be closer to understanding the
mysterious subatomic particles that may make up the dark side of the
universe.
Physicists believe so-called Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs)
could account for the 90-99 percent of the universe's dark matter which
cannot be seen because it does not emit light.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/
*Withered cells in the brains of old monkeys were restored to youthful
health in a gene therapy experiment that researchers hope to test soon in
Alzheimer's disease patients.
http://www.popsci.com/news/09141999_dna.html
*Genome & Biotechnology Meetings Calendar maintained by HGMIS for the U.S.
D.O.E. Human Genome Program (including this month)
http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/CAL.HTML
*What robots can teach about souls, MIT considers spiritual spinoffs of AI
research. Graduate student Cynthia Breazeale plays blocks with Kismet, a
robot that can reflect "emotions." But could soulful glances ever be
anything more than programming?
http://www.msnbc.com/news/311105.asp
*Using simple statistics and some sophisticated computational techniques,
data miners are quarrying our vast reserves of raw data for little gems of
knowledge.
http://www.science.org.au/nova/050/050key.htm
*(The Irish Times) Gadgets, clothes talking back.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/1999/0914/hom8.htm
*Dining on Ammonia (Scientific American)
Life's need for nitrogen atoms is evident. Where is most synthetic nitrogen
used?
http://www.sciam.com/1999/0899issue/0899wonders.html
*Panel Urges Embryo Study Funding. Medicine: Federal commission seeks end
to ban. Research on stem cells shows promise in treating an array of
conditions.
http://www.latimes.com/excite/990914/t000082135.html
*More sensitive to pain? It may be genetic. Scientists say a key gene may
explain why people experience discomfort differently.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/09/st091402.html
*Of Mice and money (Forbes) Science and commercialism.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/99/0920/6407116a.htm
*Optical Technique Used to Map 3-Mb Genome of Radiation-Resistant Superbug
The completion of a whole-genome map for the bacterium Deinococcus
radiodurans was reported in the September 9 issue of Science (requires
subscription). The new map was constructed via an optical mapping approach
that uses fluorescence microscopy to view individual, elongated DNA
molecules cut by restriction enzymes. Advantages of this approach are that
it provides a useful picture of the basic organization of an entire genome,
and it eliminates the need for constructing large numbers of clones.
*Globalstar, a satellite phone firm, is close to an agreement with federal
law enforcement officials who had threatened to delay its service if the FBI
couldn't wiretap phone conversations. Even though the company is based in
Canada, it needs to win approval from the Federal Communications Commission,
which has already held up a license for another company due to concerns that
the FBI would not be able to wiretap and monitor its service.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-117671.html?tag=st.ne.1002.thed.1004-20
0-117671
*The US Embassy in China has been cracked. (Sept 7th 99)
The original site:
http://www.usembassy-china.gov/
The cracked site:
http://www.hackernews.com/archive/1999/embassy/mirror.html
(A little more titilating than last weekends, enjoy!)
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
Web:
http://www.nanoindustries.com
E-mail:
nanogirl@halcyon.com
Alternate E-mail
echoz@hotmail.com
"Nanotechnology: solutions for the future."
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