From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Mon Sep 30 2002 - 03:11:21 MDT
The Nanogirl News
September 30, 2002
Interview: Wyden eyes nanotech. As legislation to ensure the nation's
continued progress in studying nanotechnology heads to the Senate floor, its
co-author sees nearly unlimited potential for the field. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., introduced the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development
Act Sept. 17, co-sponsored by Sens. George Allen, R-Va., Joe Lieberman,
D-Conn., and Mary Landrieu, D-La. Even though the public has yet to grasp
idea of nanotech, the science of manipulating matter at the atomic or
molecular level, the country must ensure its abilities in this area, Wyden
said. The legislation builds on the existing National Nanotechnology
Initiative, a multi-agency program started during the Clinton
administration. President Bush's 2003 budget proposal would devote $679
million to NNI activities in basic nano research, and Wyden's bill covers
$446 million of NNI activities focused on non-Department of Defense
agencies. (United Press 9/22/02)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20020920-030036-4843r
Senate Committee Passes Nanotech Bill. The Senate Commerce Committee
unanimously passed on Thursday legislation to promote nanotechnology
research and development. Introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the 21st
Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act would create the
National Nanotechnology Research Program. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen.
Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. George Allen (R-Va.). The proposed program
would be a coordinated interagency effort that would support long-term
nanoscale research and development and promote effective education and
training for the next generation of nanotechnology researchers and
professionals...The bill would place coordination and management of the
nanotechnology program under the National Science and Technology Council. It
would also create a Presidential National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel and
National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, which would provide
administrative and technical support for the Advisory Panel and the Council.
(dc.internet.com 9/20/02)
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/10849_1467121
New DNA separation method could bring faster gene sequencing and DNA
fingerprinting. Cornell University researchers have demonstrated a novel
method of separating DNA molecules by length. The technique might eventually
be used to create chips or other microscopic devices to automate and speed
up gene sequencing and DNA fingerprinting. The method, which uses a
previously discovered entropic recoil force, has better resolution -- that
is, better ability to distinguish different lengths -- than others tried so
far, the researchers say. They separated DNA strands of two different
lengths, using their own nanofabricated device, and demonstrated that
modifications would make it possible to separate strands of many different
lengths. (Cornell News 9/23/02)
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Sept02/entropicSeparation.ws.html
Lightning Rods for Nanoelectronics. Electrostatic discharges threaten to
halt further shrinking and acceleration of electronic devices in the future.
On a dry winter day, walking on a new carpet can generate a whopping
35,000-volt discharge. We are not harmed by this high voltage, because the
amount of charge that flows is puny. Still, it is large enough to destroy
sensitive micro-electronic components. Researchers have come up with clever
ways to prevent such damage. But as circuits get smaller, they become more
sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and the old tricks no longer
work. Can we continue to find new ways to prevent electrostatic damage and
thereby maintain the pace of innovation? -5 pages-
(Scientific American October 2002 issue)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=0005EE17-BE00-1D7F-9
0FB809EC5880000
'Ballistic' gives nano a bad name. Calm down, all you conspiracy theorists
who just saw "Ballistic: Ecks v. Sever" and think governments just might
have that nanorobotic assassin upon which the movie hangs its tissue-thin
plot. Considering how excrementally bad the movie is, getting the science
wrong is no surprise, but what a shame it decided to impart such a
dangerously misguided view of nanotechnology. The premise in "Ballistic" is
some German research group created a killer nanorobot. If injected into a
victim, it would float through the bloodstream until the assassin hits the
proverbial little red button, triggering the injection of something to cause
a heart attack or stroke. We can start with the matter of scale. One scene
has Lucy Liu's character, Sever, examining some computer files about the
robot. The image zooms in on a single blood vessel and finds the little
killer. (United Press 9/21/02)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20020921-032850-1512r
NanoBusiness Alliance to open Albany, N.Y., hub. The NanoBusiness Alliance,
an industry association formed to drive the development of nanotechnology
and small technology industries, is opening a hub in the same building where
International Sematech North will be located. And a New York City company,
Nanocs International Inc., decided to relocate to the same site instead of
move to Texas. Alain Kaloyeros, Albany NanoTech executive director, said the
alliance's decision to open a hub in Albany, N.Y. was significant. (The
Business Review 9/20/02)
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/09/16/daily62.html
Can Nanotubes Be Engineered to Superconduct? Study Suggests Promising New
Avenues for Nanotube Research. Superconducting nanotubes may lie on the
technology horizon, suggests a theoretical study recently published by
researchers from the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), the University of Pennsylvania, and Bilkent
University in Turkey. The intriguing possibility is the team's most recent
finding in a spate of studies showing how changing the shape of tiny
single-walled tubes of carbon may open a potential mother lode of
technologically useful properties. The theoretical investigations are
pointing out productive paths for other researchers to follow in experiments
that pursue opportunities to make new materials and technologies with
nanotubes. (NIST 9/20/02)
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/n02-17.htm
A Little Impurity Goes a Long Way. smattering of impurities might be the
key to more efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) made from plastics.
Researchers report that palladium atoms present at parts-per-million
quantities in a polymer LED cause the material to phosphoresce. The effect,
described in the 14 October print issue of PRL, could serve as a sensitive
probe into the physics of polymers and lead to improved organic
optoelectronic devices. (Physical Review Focus 9/26/02)
http://focus.aps.org/v10/st14.html
(Also -nanometer sized- impurities) How Oxidation Gets A Foot Up. STM images
reveal surface impurities as nucleation sites for metal oxides.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/topstory/8038/8038notw4.html
Startup aims at intersection of neural nets and nanotech. A startup company
led by Alex Nugent as president and chief technology officer, is attempting
to combine innovatively two leading edge technologies to secure its future
position. Nugent and KnowmTech LLC are focused on the reconfigurable
assembly of neural networks constructed using nanometer-dimension
conductors, such as carbon nanotubes, suspended in a dielectric solution.
The basis of KnowmTech's efforts is a concept referred to as a "Knowm"
[pronounced "gnome"], with which it should be able to build and reconfigure
very high complexity artificial neural networks... (EETimes 9/19/02)
http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020918S0012
Physicists thrown for a loop. Experimental results released this year by the
Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab in Newport News, Va., have upturned the
normally placid world of nuclear physics with the suggestion that protons,
the positively charged particles found in the center of every atom, aren't
round. Instead, they seem somewhat elliptical. The round proton has been a
staple of textbooks for 40 years, tied to the theory that protons and
neutrons are built of three smaller particles called ''quarks'' slowly
bubbling inside their interiors. What difference does it make whether
protons are round or elliptical? Plenty, physicists say. Adjustments in
protons and neutrons could affect scientific understanding of the magnetic
''spin'' of atoms. Scientists hope to use ''spintronics'' in future
computers and tiny ''nano-scale'' devices. Understanding the fundamental
shape of particles will affect those application's success. (Yahoo! News
9/23/02)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20020923/en_usatoday
/4470983
Inventor Foresees Implanted Sensors Aiding Brain Functions. Using
deliberately provocative predictions, speech-recognition pioneer Ray
Kurzweil said that by 2030 nanosensors could be injected into the human
bloodstream, implanted microchips could amplify or supplant some brain
functions, and individuals could share memories and inner experiences by
"beaming" them electronically to others. (EETimes 9/26/02)
http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020926S0013
Famed Nanotech Researcher Axed. A star researcher in electronics at Bell
Labs has been fired after an outside review committee found he falsified
experimental data. The committee concluded that Jan Hendrik Schon, 32, made
up or altered data at least 16 times between 1998 and 2001, the first case
of scientific fraud in the 77-year history of the Nobel Prize-winning
laboratory, Lucent said Wednesday. Bell Labs, which used to be part of AT&T,
is the research arm of Lucent Technologies. (Wired 9/25/02)
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,55391,00.html
(Movie) Using Nanotechnology to Increase Bandwidth. Bandwidth 9
Nanotechnology and lasers converge to drastically increase bandwidth in
optical networks. Bandwidth 9 is a relatively small company whose
innovations are making a big impact on telecommunications. (free to view,
click the arrow, make sure you have Real Player, if not, they provide the
download button to get it) Go to this url and click the "Bandwidth 9" link
to open the movie.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/BusinessNow/BusinessNow.html
SOI sharpens the leading edge as silicon scales to 90 nanometers. Over the
last 40 years, the electronics industry, a major economic contender weighing
in at the $1 trillion range, has relied on a single raw material - silicon -
as the foundation for all electronics-based products. Now considered a
commodity, thanks in part to its global pervasiveness, silicon has been the
key ingredient used in the manufacture of semiconductors that power today's
advanced electronics devices. Major innovative breakthroughs in the
semiconductor industry, however, are no longer expected to come solely from
silicon material. Silicon wafers are highly perfect and this is critically
important for achieving high device yield. The introduction of 300-mm
diameter wafers reduces the cost per chip, while the new generation of
equipment needed to implement the larger wafers further improves their
quality. (EETimes 9/23/02)
http://www.eetimes.com/in_focus/silicon_engineering/OEG20020923S0065
Saarbrücken, Hertfordshire, Frankfurt, 18th of September. Nanogate
Technologies GmbH [profile] from Saarbrücken, Germany and Farécla Products
Limited, Hertfordshire UK, leading supplier of finishing systems for
automobile paints, announced at the Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt
that the companies have signed an international cooperation agreement.
Farécla, a specialist in automobile care and service systems, will enhance
its activities by adopting nanotechnology-enhanced products. The company
plans to enhance its business portfolio in a phased manner by offering
products with water and dirt-resistant properties and anti-fog systems for
the automobile, home equipment and gardening segments. (NanoInvestor
9/28/02)
http://www.nanoinvestornews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=818’
GaN nanowire laser emits first light. Researchers develop the first GaN
nanowire laser and report their findings in a recent issue of Nature
Materials. US researchers have observed lasing in gallium nitride (GaN)
nanowires for the first time. The team from the University of California
says that its tiny UV-emitting lasers may find uses in lab-on-a-chip systems
and in high-density data storage. (Nanotechweb 9/24/02)
http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/9/17/1
Millionaires Lining Up to Buy Personal Gene Maps. A service to map a
person's entire genetic code is being offered by America's genome
entrepreneur Craig Venter, according to the Sunday Times. The newspaper said
that for 400,000 (US$621,500), a person would get details of their entire
genetic code within 1 week. "Armed with such information, the individual
would be able to check for mutations linked with illnesses such as cancer
and Alzheimer's," the Sunday Times reported. (ABCnews 9/23/02)
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Living/reuters20020923_392.html
Accelerators for nano- and biosciences. Practical, affordable yet unique and
exciting new accelerator facilities could advance vital research
capabilities for nano- and bioscience, says Swapan Chattopadhyay. From a
historical perspective, large particle-accelerator facilities entered the
scientific arena as grand instruments that enabled us to understand the
fundamental workings at the heart of matter. Ever since Ernest Orlando
Lawrence's invention of the cyclotron in 1930, we have witnessed the
scientists' obsession with increasingly higher-energy particle beams to
probe deeper into the nucleus, the nucleons and the elementary particles to
understand the fundamental forces and processes at work. (Cern Courier)
http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/42/8/22
(Interview) Questions by Sander Olson. Answers by James Talton. Dr. James
Talton, PhD, is a researcher and businessman who has founded four companies
to date. His latest company, Nanotherapeutics, is aiming to develop novel
techniques for using nanotechnology to aid in the delivery of
hard-to-deliver drugs and proteins. (Nanomagazine.com 9/15/02)
http://www.nanomagazine.com/2002_09_15
9-11 drives advances in nanotechnology. Demand increases for devices that
monitor water, air. The events of Sept. 11 have focused awareness,
increased funding and accelerated the commercialization of micro- and
nanotechnology devices that can sense minute traces of chemical, biological
and nuclear agents in the air or water, according to business leaders and
researchers. Homeland security will not be viable unless without
microsystems. Microsystems will enable homeland security," said Marion
Scott, director of microsystems, science, technology and components at
Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. "We're really looking at
the commercial sector to provide the large volumes we need."
(Detroit news 9/27/02)
http://www.detnews.com/2002/technology/0209/27/b02-598145.htm
Review: 'Tuxedo' a nano showcase. It's becoming more and more apparent
nanotechnology has nearly unlimited potential but come on -- morphing Jackie
Chan into a virtual singing, dancing copy of James Brown? That spot of
artistic license in "The Tuxedo," along with antigravity, are about the only
things completely out of reach for nanotech, the science of manipulating
matter at the atomic or molecular scale. The movie's premise revolves around
a set of jacket and pants whose fabric is computerized and packed with
nanotech, capable of turning the most unassuming man-on-the-street into a
super spy. The idea of having clothing actively impart special abilities is
real -- the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Institute for Soldier
Nanotechnologies, funded by the U.S. Army, is among those researching these
concepts.
(United Press International 9/28/02)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20020928-011648-5340r
Imago Scientific Instruments, US, has won $7 m (Euro 7.16 m) to develop its
LEAP microscope. The company claims that the local electrode atom-probe
device can collect data 1000 times as fast as previous atom-probe designs,
enabling its use in process monitoring. "Imago has a working prototype of
the LEAP microscope and we've been able to demonstrate applications in our
target markets," said Thomas Kelly, Imago chairman. "Our investors recognize
the value of having a product ready for market and potential customers lined
up for first sales." Imago says that the LEAP microscope has a resolution of
0.5 nm in three dimensions and provides 3D atomic-scale topographic imaging
and 3D atomic-scale compositional and structural information.
(Nanotechweb 9/02) http://nanotechweb.org/articles/news/1/9/19/1
Study Shows BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (BTPH) CAP Nanoparticles Induce
Immunity And Protection From Herpes. BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today
announced results of a study that found its patented calcium phosphate
nanoparticles (CAP) vaccine adjuvant to be an effective mucosal adjuvant
capable of inducing mucosal immunity and protection against herpes
infection. The study was published in the September issue of the journal
Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. (NanoInvestornews 9/28/02)
http://www.nanoinvestornews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=817“
Diamond used to break the mould. Japanese team has developed a technique to
build diamond moulds for what it calls nanoimprint lithography (NIL) to try
to print rather than image features on chips. As chips shrink, resist
patterning on silicon wafers becomes increasingly critical. The team says
NIL offers nanometre features over large areas with high throughput.
The combined team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and a Japanese
Electrotechnical Laboratory in Ibaraki has developed a fine patterning
technique for diamond that makes it a suitable candidate for use as a NIL
mould. (SiliconStrategies 9/18/02)
http://www.siliconstrategies.com/story/OEG20020918S0003
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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