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Some cool innovations on show and changes daily. Some innovative, some funny, some unbelievable!
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Some cool innovations on show and changes daily. Some funny some unbelievable!
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Admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:21:14 +0000

Nanotechnology is manufacturing with atoms. - William Powell

Lawyer melds soul music, tech savvy

Admin — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:05:26 +0100

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Chris Rizik has an eclectic career.- By day, he is a lawyer and financier who cofounded Ardesta LLC, the $100-million venture capital fund in Ann Arbor that backs companies involved in nanotechnology.

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But during his evenings and weekends, Rizik, 47, runs www. soultracks.com, a top-rated soul music Web site on which he writes about the genre, from his home. His passion for soul music began in his youth.

The son of an accountant father and nurse mother who also sang in a St. Louis opera, Rizik was inspired by the Motown sound and performers of the 1960s and '70s while growing up in Flint.

"Music is probably the most powerful form of communication," says Rizik. "Being in Michigan, I couldn't help but develop a love of soul music."

The site, founded in 2003, had 3.2 million visits in 2007.

In fact, the Web site's following has grown so large that Rizik decided two years ago to hold a soul awards event in Detroit.

On Oct. 3, the third annual event will be at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, where various soul acts will perform.

When asked if he could list a common thread that ties together his interest in soul music and nanotechnology, he explained: "The common theme in all these things is to find something you are passionate about that can help improve people's lives.

"Nanotechnology plays a role in physically helping people's lives though medical devices while soul music helps the emotional, spiritual side."
Comparing U.S., Asian students

About 300,000 middle and high school students across Michigan will watch a segment from an eye-opening, hour-long documentary "Two Million Minutes" on Monday.

The documentary explores the question of whether India and China are doing better than the United States in educating its students.

The show is being broadcast to six million U.S. students by Channel One Network, which delivers 12-minute news broadcasts to U.S. classrooms daily.

"Two Million Minutes" followed six students, two each in India, China and the United States, during their senior years of high school.

It compares how these students prioritize their time, choose their classes and interact with teachers.

The film points out that the students spend their time in drastically different ways and the priorities of U.S. students don't focus as heavily on academics.

The film notes that this can have serious implications for the U.S. economy, including Michigan, in the 21st Century.

Bob Compton, a venture capitalist living in Memphis, Tenn., decided to produce the documentary after visiting India and China.

What he observed about students there impressed him.

"I hope that this piece is a wake-up call for students around the country," said Compton.

"Unlike students of my generation, today's students have an entirely new set of competitors -- peers from India and China who outnumber them and generally out-study them."

Compton, who is the father of two teenage daughters, said: "What we saw and what the film portrays is that our culture has a highly developed athletic and extracurricular system but a deteriorating core academic system.

In 25 years, America has gone simply from being a nation at risk to a nation way behind its largest future economic competitors."

CAROL CAIN writes about business and politics Sundays in the Free Press. She hosts "Michigan Matters" at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WWJ-TV (Channel 62) and 11 a.m. Sundays on WKBD-TV (Channel 50). She can be reached at 313-222-6732 or at clcain@cbs.com.

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Nanotechnology: Towards Reducing Animal Testing - conference details released

Admin — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:09:52 +0100

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Scientists from all over the world will meet in London on 28th and 29th May 2008 to discuss how nanotechnology can contribute towards reducing testing on animals.

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Scientists from all over the world will meet in London on 28th and 29th May 2008 to discuss how nanotechnology can contribute towards reducing testing on animals. The application of nanotechnology is currently revolutionizing medicine and this twoday conference, the first of its kind in Europe, will examine the role nanotechnology could also play in improving or refining the development of alternatives to animal testing whilst maintaining safety.

Animal testing is costly and there is a great deal of research on finding viable and effective alternatives (new methods that refine existing tests by minimizing animal distress, reducing animal usage, or replacing whole animal tests). Despite large reductions in animal testing since the early 1980s due to improved in vitro methods, levels remain high (over 3 million procedures in 2006) and results cannot always be extrapolated to humans.

Presentations from:

Dr Sandra Coecke, IHCP-ECVAM; Samantha Dozier, PETA; Béatrice Schaak, CEA Grenoble - DSV/ iRTSV; Dr Kelly BéruBé, Cardiff University; Dr J Malcolm Wilkinson, Kirkstall Ltd; Professor Ken Donaldson, University of Edinburgh; Dr John Haycock/ Professor Sheila McNeil, University of Sheffield; Dr. Fanqing Frank Chen, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory; Dr Anna Price, European Commission JRC; Dr Katy Taylor, BUAV; Ulrich Krühne, Teknologisk Institut; Peter Ertl, Austrian Research Centers (ARC) GmbH; Dr Antonio Garcia, Arizona State University; Dr Nirmala Bhogal, FRAME; Dr Rosemary Gibson, Health & Safety Laboratory; Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, Leeds General Infirmary Professor of Translational Vascular Medicine, Leeds Medical School; Arianna Ferrari, Darmstadt University of Technology; Dr Andy Bennett, FRAME.

Sessions will cover Toxicology and Drug Design; Tissue Engineering, Other Novel Models and Testing Strategies; Imaging and Diagnostics; Regulatory and Legal Issues.

For further information please contact Gemma McCulloch, gemma.mcculloch@nano.org.uk, on +44(0)1786 458020. Alternatively please visit http://www.nano.org.uk/events/ionevents.htm#animals.

The Institute, a registered charity, was one of the first organisations to raise awareness of nanotechnology and its applications, and is now a world leader in the field. It disseminates information through its website, http://www.nano.org.uk; organises events for industry on a variety of topics; supports new start-ups; and is involved in EU-funded projects. For more information on the Institute and its activities, contact Dr Mark Morrison, Institute of Nanotechnology, Tel: +44 (0) 141 303 8444; or email: mark.morrison@nano.org.uk

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Nanotechnology transfer no small feat for couple

Admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:34:51 +0100

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Nanotechnology once was confined to the realm of science fiction, conjuring up visions of miniaturized submersibles coursing through the veins of medical patients, as in the ’60s sci-fi flick "Fantastic Voyage."

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Today, the world of supersmall technology no longer is a dream. And Keshab and Shubhra Gangopadhyay, a husband-and-wife engineering duo at the University of Missouri College of Engineering, are taking their "nano" vision from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Nanotechnology is the science of building devices from single atoms and molecules. The basic dimension, the nanometer, is one one-billionth of a meter. To put that in perspective: A red blood cell is 7,000 nanometers in diameter; the head of pin is about 1 million nanometers wide.

The Gangopadhyays initiated their academic careers in their native India. Keshab earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering, and Shubhra obtained hers in physics. In the mid-1980s, they each pursued scientific research and teaching - he in engineering and math; she in physics and engineering - at universities in India and Germany.

While in Germany, Keshab collaborated with a professor from the United States. That association led to an invitation for Keshab to serve as a visiting professor of mathematics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where Shubhra also pursued her academic career. During more than 10 years at Texas Tech, the Gangopadhyays also explored entrepreneurship by devoting time and energy to a company involved with semiconductors.

They left Texas Tech in 2003, when Shubhra was offered an endowed professorship as the LaPierre Chair in the MU College of Engineering.

"She decided to accept the position, and I supported her," Keshab recalled. "After she assumed her new position, I preferred to be a research professor at the university, keeping a significant amount of time available for entrepreneurial activities."

The next year, the enterprising pair formed NEMS/MEMS Works LLC. They pointed their company toward the pursuit of nanotechnology in the fields of energy, security and medicine.

Now these dynamic researchers are synthesizing new nanomaterials for integration using microfabrication techniques to make novel microdevices. Collaborating on this project with the Gangopadhyays are Steven Apperson, an MU doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, and Luis Polo-Parada, assistant professor of medical pharmacology at MU.

"We are beginning to produce nanomaterials that can be used very effectively for biosensors and medical applications," Keshab explained. "In the near future, the company envisions the manufacture of a shock-wave generator microdevice for cell transfection, drug delivery and gene therapy."

Among their efforts is a prototype nanodevice to help physicians treat life-threatening illnesses. Dubbed "the smart bomb of the nanotechnology world," the molecular-sized device speeds and targets the delivery of drugs to treat diseases such as cancer. The miniscule device is "smart" because it can target only diseased cells. This would enable physicians to aim the proper amount of treatment to the exact location and minimize undesirable side effects.

Thus far the Gangopadhyays and their research team have tested their nanodevice only on animal and plant cells, achieving a high success rate. A significant amount of time - potentially two to five years - and additional testing will be needed before this therapy is available for human applications.

Although the Gangopadhyays are busy in the lab, they also are exploring commercialization possibilities for their work with the help of a dedicated team of tech-savvy business counselors at the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Center counselors Jim Gann and Paul Rehrig are an integral part of the NEMS/MEMS business team, Keshab says.

"They have the right expertise. We’ve needed their professional help for business negotiation with the university and the outside business world," Keshab said. "Jim has helped us develop the business plan for each technology, and Paul has been helping us with our SBIR proposals. They also mentor us in preparing our presentation to potential investors."

The Gangopadhyays know the next five years are very important to the transfer of their nanotechnology research to the marketplace. They are confident the assistance of Gann and Rehrig will help them develop a model for commercial success.

Mary Paulsell is the director of the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri. Reach her at paulsellm@missouri.edu or visit www.missouribusiness.net.

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Nanotechnology for ‘smart’ soldier uniforms

Admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:34:00 +0100

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Nanotechnology is not one single thing. It’s a number of different areas which examine both materials and physics on the nanometer-length scale.

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Paula Hammond: Nanotechnology is not one single thing. It’s a number of different areas which examine both materials and physics on the nanometer-length scale.

That’s Paula Hammond on engineering materials at scales one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair. Hammond’s a professor in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She said there’s more to nanotechnology than just making springier golf clubs and tennis rackets.

Paula Hammond: We can also engineer materials that are extremely sensitive and can therefore detect something that might cause disease. We might be able to generate biomedical sensors that are extremely accurate.

Hammond and colleagues are developing “smart” uniforms for soldiers, clothes that respond to changes in light and heat, and can even seal themselves from a chemical or biological attack.

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Nanotech helps gauge hotness of chilli

Admin — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:23:25 +0100

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Want to gauge how hot a chilli is? Nanotechnology can help, says a new study. Scientists have turned to carbon nanotubes to accurately gauge the hotness of chillies - hitherto the job of professional food tasters.

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The technology might soon be available commercially as a cheap, disposable sensor for use in the food industry.

Richard Compton of Oxford University has developed a sensitive technique to measure the levels of capsaicinoids, substances that make chillies hot, in samples of chilli sauce.

The new method is expected to be quicker and cheaper than tasters and also more reliable for purposes of food standards; tests could be rapidly carried out on the production line.

They tested a range of chilli sauces, from the mild 'Tabasco Green Pepper' sauce to 'Mad Dog's Revenge', which sports an extensive health warning and liability disclaimer.

The Scoville method, currently the industry standard, involves diluting a sample until five trained tasters cannot detect any heat from the chilli, reports Sciencedaily.

The number of dilutions is called the Scoville rating; the relatively mild Jalapeño ranges from around 2,500 to 8,000, whereas world's hottest the Naga Jolokia of Nagaland, has a rating of one million.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can also be used, but this requires bulky, expensive equipment and detailed analysis of capsaicinoids.

In Compton's method, the capsaicinoids are adsorbed onto multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) electrodes. The team measures the current change as the capsaicinoids are oxidised by an electrochemical reaction, and this reading can be translated into Scoville units.

The technique is called adsorptive stripping voltammetry (ASV), and is a relatively simple electrochemical method.

These findings have been reported in The Analyst.

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Future Scenarios - Living with a Brain Chip

Admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:21:08 +0100

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Should cranial implants be used to enhance cognition? - This cranial chip features a data feed that puts information into the brain while the user is resting.

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The next generation of cranial chip implants enables data transmission directly to the brain during rest without interfering with sleep. This data feed feature dramatically decreases the amount of time needed to assimilate new data each day, in fact the chipped person will just wake up knowing what was streamed into their head the previous night. The presence of the chip interferes with REM sleep, but the new data feed does not actually disrupt or alter in any way the sleep of the person with the implant.

The new disruptor cage is constructed out of more advanced materials that are lighter and more comfortable for the wearer. No longer is it necessary to lock head, neck and torso in to a rigid structure, the new generation of disruptor cages need only to lock to the head and upper vertebrae of the neck. This new format still provides the same protection against magnetic damage to the brain, advances in real time processing now allow for emergency shut off if the magnetic pulses are not directed exactly at the chip. The use of rare earth magnets in a wider net around the cranium makes for a more thorough disruption of the chip (even while undergoing data feed). This improves sleep by removing annoying dream sequences, restlessness, or need for sedatives previously common in past cranial chip implants.

These advances in cranial chip disruptors will work with all cranial chips. However, those with the newer (Gen. 3.4 or higher) cranial chips will see the most improvements and those who receive the soon to be released Gen. 4.0 will be able to take advantage of many new options. The 4.0 chips, like those before it, are a sandwich of carbon nanotubes, and gate molecules that are covered in neural growth promoters. The 4.0 chip features advances in neuron-to-chip interface, allowing for more neurons to contact the chip in more functional ways. This in turn increases the rate of information in and out of the chip, further increasing cognitive ability.

With this increase in connectivity of brain to chip and chip to brain comes increased assimilation and learning time. After implantation (still an outpatient procedure) it will take 30 to 90 days of neuron growth around the chip for it and the brain to become fully integrated. Upon chip integration, the newly chipped person will need to attend nine months of intensive classroom based courses, where they are taught new ways to think, process thoughts, and to categorize memories and data.

It is during this time, as the chip becomes enabled, that they will begin to feel the effects of the continuously running chip. As the brain becomes dependant on the chip the implantee will find it difficult to sleep. The first effects will be tossing and turning at night, followed by repetitive dreams, and finally inability to sleep. It is at this point that the cranial chip disruptor is needed and technicians will work with the chip implanted person (and spouse if necessary) insuring proper technique in fitting the disruptor, allowing the user to have the best nights sleep ever.

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http://cns.asu.edu/nanofutures

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Future Scenarios - Engineered Tissues

Admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:19:39 +0100

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What are your thoughts on synthetically grown tissues and organs? - Using tissue printing technology, this system is able to build tissues with a vascular structure enabling the building of new organs.

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Newly developed artificial tissues have been approved for use in wound healing as well as for skin grafts. These artificial tissues are made by “seeding” cells into a bioengineered scaffold where upon they reorganize it into a material suitable for use as an artificial tissue. In the process of tissue engineering the cell makes use of the scaffold components as nutrients. The starting scaffold is usually three dimensional Jello like material called a collagen gel. Made up mostly of water, sugars, and carbohydrates the gel also contains fibrous proteins like collagen, fibrin, and fibronectin which allow the cells to interact with the scaffold. The fibrous proteins are large and tend to form bundles of fibers, or fibrils. After some time the cells use up the scaffold materials reorganizing some of them into an artificial tissue that can then be used for surgical procedures.

Because the tissue is grown from the patient's own cells, there is almost never any rejection of the transplant. In some cases, such as cancerous tissues, this is not possible. However, using compatible cells from an appropriate donor gives a high success rate with no risk to the cell donor. Further developments of tissue engineers have made it possible to replace not only tissues, but also organs. One such technology is tissue printing which would allow one to produce whole organs from gel scaffolding and cells in an ingenious way.

This advanced technique allows for cells to be arranged within the scaffold in order to shape the tissue into larger structures. Cells are arranged by inserting them into a device analogous to an inkjet printer where cells are ink. The cells are then printed in a two dimensional pattern such as a circle. After a circle of cells is laid down on top of a sheet of scaffold, another layer of scaffold is placed on top, followed by yet another circle of cells and another sheet of scaffold. Several circles placed in this way will reorganize the scaffold to form a tubular tissue, thus creating a tissue with a vascular system. This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in tissue engineering, because it allows blood and nutrients to flow through the artificial tissue. Tissue printing thus allows us to develop microstructures. These developments have lead to externally grown tissues which can replace vital organs, as well as more general tissues like skin, bone, muscles, and arteries. The lack of transplant materials is no longer a problem.

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Speedway to host VC open house

Admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:12:28 +0100

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At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today there will be the roar of engines -- that is, if the rain holds off -- but also plenty of talk about academic topics like microbiology and nanotechnology.

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In a bid to help rev up Indiana's technology and life- sciences sectors, state officials have created a new hobnobbing session matching top researchers from Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

The invite-only event, dubbed "Meet the Researcher," is a bit like speed dating for business ideas.

"The biggest push is to get researchers to think about, 'How do I take what I'm working on in the lab and pair up with an entrepreneur, pair up with capital,' " said Nathan Feltman, who is president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the state's secretary of commerce.

He said the goal also is to encourage research collaboration among universities across the state.

It's also about luring "angel" investment and venture capital -- the high-risk investments typically used to fuel the growth of tech and biotech startups.

About 200 academics, investors and business leaders are expected to attend today's event, including venture capitalists from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland and Kentucky.

Feltman said IU, Purdue and Notre Dame each was asked to send 10 top researchers -- a list that includes Dr. Michael Klemsz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the IU School of Medicine; Michael Ladisch, director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering at Purdue; and Wolfgang Porod, director of the Center for Nano Science and Technology at Notre Dame.

Local tech or life-sciences companies slated to attend include Carmel-based search engine startup ChaCha and Quadraspec, a West Lafayette-based medical diagnostics startup that licensed technology from Purdue.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, who will speak during the event, said he is eager to welcome "folks with lots of money from other states."

"It's another important initiative to try to strengthen the entrepreneur sector of our state," Daniels said. "Our potential won't be complete until we have a flourishing entrepreneur sector."

Feltman said he is planning to organize quarterly "Meet the Researcher" events that eventually would include other schools in the state such as Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Ball State University.

Indiana still is playing catch-up to plenty of other states when it comes to attracting venture capital.

In the first quarter of 2008, Indiana had $12 million worth of venture investments, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Report. That compares with $111 million in Illinois and a whopping $3.45 billion in California, the nation's hotbed of venture investing.

Some national experts, though, said Indiana is taking a savvy approach with its "Meet the Researcher" party.

"The thing that jumps out is that the state is being very proactive in trying to bring these competitive schools together and saying we have to work together for the betterment of the state," said Mark Heesen, president of the Virginia-based National Venture Capital Association.

He said cooperation between Duke University, Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina helped lead to that state's famed Research Triangle, home to many startups and tech facilities.

Even in this age of electronic communication, business deals often still depend on face-to-face meetings.

"Getting together in person is a powerful thing, because it's more special than chatting over the phone," said Matt Marshall, founder of VentureBeat.com, a California-based news Web site that covers venture investing.

"I just held an event with more than 400 people, and afterward the scoops came pouring in from grateful attendees."

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Todays Quote

Lawyer melds soul music, tech savvy

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Nanotechnology: Towards Reducing Animal Testing - conference details released

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Nanotechnology transfer no small feat for couple

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Nanotechnology for ‘smart’ soldier uniforms

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Nanotech helps gauge hotness of chilli

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Future Scenarios - Living with a Brain Chip

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Future Scenarios - Engineered Tissues

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Speedway to host VC open house

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