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Your interpretations of nanotechnology

Admin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:32:10 +0000

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For reference (and fun) we are gatherering your slant on 'Nanotechnology' - Send in your idea of what nanotechnolgy is.

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We are going to list everyones idea on the concept of nanotechnology. Whether funny, off the wall or serious we would love to hear from you. All submissions will get your name and url acknowledged.

Here is one slightly understated submission - 'Nanotechnology is about small things'

So come on nanoviper's lets be hearing form you. You can use the form below. 100 words or less please. http://www.nanovip.com/contact

Read the results - http://www.nanovip.com/node/53670

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'Micro and Nano Technologies for Food - a healthy and safe option?'

JohnT — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:21:11 +0000

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The 2008 Albert Franks Memorial Lecture
The Royal Society, London

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The 2008 Albert Franks Memorial Lecture will be given by Dr Frans Kampers, currently director of BioNT, the Wageningen biotechnology centre for food and health innovation.

Frans Kampers is one of Europe’s most knowledgeable and charismatic presenters on the topic of novel foods, and no stranger to controversy. His wide-ranging lecture will cover - the benefits and risks of nanotechnology as applied to foods and healthfoods; the opportunities nanotechnology offers for improved safety; and how nanoadditives are providing enhanced nutritional and health benefits. He will also discuss the responsibility of food manufacturers to demonstrate that new applications are safe!

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A small world with big potential

Admin — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:30:35 +0000

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Although still generations away, such scientific breakthroughs are not as far-fetched as they might have once seemed. Faculty members and graduate students at the University of Connecticut are among those leading the way in this emerging area called nanotechnology.

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What if harmful carbon dioxide emissions — the primary cause of global warming — could be stripped from the atmosphere and harnessed to create useful products, such as pharmaceuticals or renewable fuels?

Suppose newly developed chemotherapy drugs could target cancer cells with unparalleled precision, sparing healthy cells from damage and, consequently, patients from unpleasant side effects.

A burgeoning field of promise viewed by some as the next technological frontier, nanotechnology is expected to bring about widespread changes in the world similar to the transformations that followed development of the computer in the 20th century.

Although still in its infancy, many researchers predict that nanotechnology will change everything from how we store information and treat illness to how we power our cars and heat our homes.

In short, scientists are looking for ways to use little things — so small they are unseen by the naked eye and observable only through the most advanced of microscopes — to change the world in a big way.

How small is the nano world? With a single nanometer equal to one-millionth of a millimeter, even a million nanometers reach only across the head of a pin.

In nanotechnology research, scientists are literally working on the atomic level, studying and manipulating matter on an ultra-small scale—typically measuring between a mere 1 and 100 nanometers.

A Promising Investment
In recent years, UConn has emerged as a leader in nanotechnology research in Connecticut, and “the state is starting to pay attention,” says Mehdi Anwar, associate dean for research and graduate education at the School of Engineering.

UConn’s investment in this cutting-edge technology is extensive, with more than 60 faculty plus dozens of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows involved in myriad research projects backed by more than $20 million in research grants and contracts.

Over the past fiscal year, the University devoted more than $1.5 million to support lab facilities and instrumentation essential to this work, and additional plans are in place to build or renovate research space for scientists and engineers in the coming years.

Such an investment, many believe, is well worth it.

“There’s a real buzz now about nanotechnology,” says Harris Marcus, professor of materials science and engineering and director of the University’s Institute of Materials Science, an interdisciplinary research center housing state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories where much of UConn’s nanotechnology studies are concentrated.

“And while the buzz may fade away, the research is going to be profound.”

The number of potential nanotechnology-based applications — in fields as diverse as manufacturing and military defense to medicine and renewable energy — is astounding.

UConn faculty in engineering, physics, chemistry and other sciences are coming together to carry out work that could someday lead to the development of cleaner energy sources, earlier diagnoses of disease and many other innovations that are only beginning to take shape.

Life-Altering Advances
Take, for instance, the potentially life-saving research performed by scientists at the UConn Health Center.

At the R.D. Berlin Center for Cell Analysis, Liisa Kuhn, assistant professor of oral rehabilitation, biomaterials and skeletal development, is exploring the possibility of using nanoparticles to deliver anti-cancer drugs directly — and more accurately than ever before — to tumors and lymph nodes.

Such a breakthrough would serve as a more effective treatment against the spread of cancer while reducing the toxic side effects for nearby healthy cells.

Equally as promising are the multi-disciplinary endeavors explored by UConn chemists such as Robert Birge, the Harold S. Schwenk Distinguished Chair of Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Heavily dependent on nanotechnology and biomolecular electronics, Birge’s research includes a long-standing project dedicated to producing an artificial retina that could restore vision for people who have lost their sense of sight.

At the same time, Fotios Papadimitrakopoulos, a chemistry professor and the associate director of the Institute of Materials Science, has spent the past decade teamed up on a mission to construct special nano-sized sensors that could greatly improve quality of life for people with diabetes.

Working with fellow scientists in the Schools of Engineering and Pharmacy, Papadimitrakopoulos envisions these sensors — wireless and implanted in humans—capable of continuously monitoring metabolic processes, such as blood glucose levels.

For the more than 20 million Americans currently suffering from diabetes, such a sensor would prove to be indispensable.

Nanotechnology could even play a key role in protecting patient medical records, according to Eric Donkor, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“If, for example, someone’s medical information must be transmitted from one doctor to another,” Donkor explains, “we want that information to be as secure as we can make it.”

Donkor’s research focuses in part on building tiny semi-conductor particles — with dimensions of only 10 to 20 nanometers — into networks of special fibers, similar to fiber optic cable.

These fibers would transmit and process information using light—remarkably, a single photon at a time. Communicating confidential medical, governmental, or business data utilizing this fundamental, indivisible particle of light, Donkor says, “is the secret to securing information.”

In the Right Direction
“Nanotechnology will make a fundamental change in the way we live and work,” says UConn chemistry professor Challa Vijaya Kumar, who compares the advent of nanotechnology to the dawn of the Stone Age, when humans first learned to make and use tools.

In considering the developments that could emerge as nanotechnology research efforts intensify, Kumar is optimistic about the next “leap in our civilization.”

He envisions nanorobots that flow through the bloodstream, repairing damaged cells, and nanomaterials 100 times stronger than steel.

His own research involves removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into practical products using nanocatalysts.

All this, he says, is the “kind of sophistication [that] is impossible with the current technology.” Nanotechnology, however, could make it a reality.

Still other studies, even in the early stages of development, offer a glimpse into a wealth of possible future benefits.

Bahram Javidi, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, and his team have developed a novel way to view and recognize different bacteria species using a special imaging system that measures how nanoorganisms interact with light.

Unlike the invasive — and time-consuming — processes currently used to identify such organisms, this technique not only leaves the cell undamaged but also provides real-time results.

Having the ability to distinguish microorganisms using this method could eventually allow scientists to automate the monitoring of water supplies for harmful pathogens or to identify, detect and track pandemics such as avian flu far more quickly than previously possible.

“What is good is that the devices, such as lasers and detectors, needed to make these instruments and these discoveries are all moving in the right direction,” Javidi says.

“They are all becoming more available in the domains where we need them.”

UConn’s Institute of Materials Science is the place where sophisticated microscopes and other advanced lab equipment make it possible today for scientists to probe, evaluate and manipulate materials on the nano level.

This high-tech instrumentation is accessible to University faculty and graduate students engaged in cutting-edge studies of materials science and engineering, including nanotechnology.

“Smaller and smaller is where everything is going,” says Marcus, the Institute’s longtime director.

“This instrumentation is absolutely necessary to doing nanotechnology research.”

So in demand are the Institute’s research facilities that about 40 companies located across the Northeast — from the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, chemical and even sporting goods industries — have signed up as members of the Institute in order to attain the right to use its coveted technology.

“They have problems, and they come to us to leverage our expertise,” explains Brian Huey, assistant professor of chemical materials and biomolecular engineering, who came to UConn in 2003 from the National Institute of Standards Technology in Washington, D.C., to bolster UConn’s nanotechnology efforts.

Since his arrival, UConn has added two atomic force microscopes — the core of advanced nanotechnology research — and Huey’s staff has trained numerous faculty and graduate students to use the instruments.

A Remarkable Opportunity
By the year 2014, Connecticut’s Office of Workforce Competitiveness estimates more than 25,000 workers in the state of Connecticut will produce nanotechnology-enabled applications and manufactured goods and worldwide sales of products incorporating nanotechnology are predicted to amount to $2.9 trillion in revenue.

Among UConn faculty involved in nanotechnology, all believe collaboration is necessary to make such predictions a reality. “It is all about partnership, partnership, partnership,” says associate dean Anwar.

“This is a University-wide effort. It is not concentrated in one department. We need to involve each and every discipline to get something done. When we bring partners together, it will all start to make sense.”

Even beyond the University, that message seems to be getting across. The state of Connecticut, through the Connecticut Office of Workplace Competitiveness and the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology is taking steps to fund new projects and further collaboration between UConn researchers and Connecticut businesses.

“It’s all about bringing industry and the university researchers closer together,” says Deb Santy, director of the Small Business Innovation Research program at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology.

“Businesses…go to the universities to see what they are doing in nanotechnology and see what they are willing to share with industry.”

In addition, scientists and state policymakers are looking to establish a Connecticut Center for Nanoscale Sciences, backed by a partnership between UConn, Yale University, and the state and federal governments.

The center would encourage collaboration between scientists at both universities as well as a sharing of the high-priced equipment needed for the research.

And there is no time to lose.

“Nanotechnology really is the future,” says Donkor. “If minds meet together, if we can find a niche and be prominent in that area ahead of time, I think that is critical.”

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By Stefanie Dion Jones '00 (CLAS) & David McKay Wilson
http://uconnmagazine.uconn.edu/sprg2008/feature1.html

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A Virus-Powered Battery

Admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:08:18 +0000

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Engineers at MIT have figured out a way to deal with virus that is better than just killing them:

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Engineers at MIT have figured out a way to deal with virus that is better than just killing them: they're putting them to work. The researchers have developed a new technique wherein a key component of a microscopic battery is assembled by viruses, allowing for the cheap and simple construction of very small power sources.

The research, first published in the journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, builds on earlier work by the MIT group involving viruses. In the earlier experiments the scientists genetically engineered viruses to make a protein skin that attracts bits of metal. In the new experiment, the researchers put that skill to work by having the viruses build a specific part of a larger machine.

Batteries are composed of four key components, an anode and cathode that form the positive and negative poles, an electrolyte that transfers the electric charge between them, and a separator to keep the anode and cathode apart. In the MIT experiment, two polymer layers that would serve as the electrolyte and the separator were lain on top of a four micrometer wide post. The genetically engineered viruses were then encouraged to grow on top of those layers, where they would attract a metal, in this case cobalt oxide, which would serve as the anode. The researchers still haven’t engineered a virus to make the cathode, but that is clearly the next step.

The whole process is especially attractive because of its easy and low cost. The problem is application. Right now, there are no devices that require a battery one tenth the width of a human hair. However, in the future these small batteries could serve as the primary power source for a wide range of nanotechnology. Which is good, because in these days of green energy we wouldn’t want our nanotechnology running on coal or oil.

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popsci.com

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Accidental fungus leads to promising cancer drug

Admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:05:10 +0000

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Washington - A drug developed using nanotechnology and a fungus that contaminated a lab experiment may be broadly effective against a range of cancers, United States researchers reported on Sunday.

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The drug, called lodamin, was improved in one of the last experiments overseen by Dr Judah Folkman, a cancer researcher who died in January. Dr Folkman pioneered the idea of angiogenesis therapy - starving tumours by preventing them from growing blood supplies.

Lodamin is an angiogenesis inhibitor that Dr Folkman's team has been working to perfect for 20 years. Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, his colleagues say they developed a formulation that works as a pill, without side-effects.

They have licensed it to SynDevRx, a privately held Cambridge, Massachusetts biotechnology company that has recruited several prominent cancer experts to its board.

Tests in mice showed it worked against a range of tumours, including breast cancer, neuroblastoma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, brain tumours known as glioblastomas and uterine tumours.

It helped stop so-called primary tumours and also prevented their spread, Dr Ofra Benny of Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School and colleagues reported.

'Using the oral route of administration, it first reaches the liver, making it especially efficient in preventing the development of liver metastasis in mice,' they wrote in their report. 'Liver metastasis is very common in many tumour types and is often associated with a poor prognosis and survival rate,' they added. -- REUTERS

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news.asiaone.com

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Any foreign company may file an application for financing to RCNT

Admin — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:19:27 +0000

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RCNT’s director general Leonid Melamed made such a statement during the talks with federal National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO).

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“The focus of our work in the direction of foreign cooperation is the same as in our ordinary work – financing of the joint projects. Hereby any foreign applicant, any foreign company can file an application and receive financing under the same conditions as Russian companies” – said Mr. Melamed.

RCNT doesn’t differentiate companies due to their origin. The only restriction is that at least part of the production facilities must be situated in Russia.

“We already have applications for financing such joint projects. We render full administrative support for such projects, especially in overcoming of the bureaucracy barriers” – said Mr. Melamed.

The possibility of creating scientific centers outside of Russia is also discussed. “If creation of a laboratory would allow to solve our tasks more effectively in a foreseeable future, not in the next century, we may go for such a step. At least, there are no prohibitions for us in doing so” – said Mr. Melamed.

RCNT has already started cooperation with foreign companies. Besides that, very soon the corporate internet-portal will have the English interface for accepting applications for financing from foreign entities.

According to the head of NNCO Clayton Teague, he was very glad to have an honest and open exchange of opinions. “As for specific actions, the information about business strategy shared by RCNT with us, was very useful. I think that continuing contacts between RCNT and USA through our office is a good start” – said Mt. Teague.

After the talks which passed in a warm atmosphere of a round table in the embassy of Russia in Washington, the RCNT delegation visited the Nanofab complex of NIST’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Gaithersburg, MD. After the visit, RCNT representatives held a company presentation which was visited by about a hundred of American experts and businessmen.

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rusnanotekh.com

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Applied Materials Named Green Energy Innovator of the Year

JohnT — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:54:04 +0000

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Applied Materials, Inc. today announced it was named Green Energy Innovator of the Year for its pioneering work on the Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line,

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Materials, Inc. today announced it was named Green Energy Innovator of the Year for its pioneering work on the Applied SunFab™ Thin Film Line, at a gala presenting the prestigious 9th Annual Platts Global Energy Awards.

“Applied Materials is focused on lowering the cost of solar photovoltaic generated energy through the application of nanomanufacturing technologies,” said Mark Pinto, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager Energy and Environmental Solutions. “The nominees in the category of Green Energy Innovator were international in breadth and included leading global green energy innovators. Amongst such competition, I am pleased to receive this acknowledgement and proud of the great work our teams around the world are doing to help make solar energy an affordable solution to the world’s power needs.”

The award highlighted the revolutionary SunFab, the world’s first and only integrated production line for manufacturing thin film silicon solar modules using 5.7 square meter (m2) glass panels. These ultra-large substrates, sized at 2.2m x 2.6m, are four times bigger than today’s typical thin film solar modules. Key to the SunFab’s success is that it can be replicated by customers around the globe to rapidly establish solar panel manufacturing capacity and achieve lower production cost per watt to drive down the cost of solar electricity.

“Our judges’ panel was impressed by Applied Materials’ demonstration of an innovative solution to an important global challenge and with this award we are pleased to recognize their commitment to environmental responsibility and the advancement of solar power around the world,” said Platts President Victoria Chu Pao.

The Platts awards showcase extraordinary accomplishments by energy businesses and individuals worldwide. Finalists and winners are determined by an independent international panel of judges. Platts, a leading global energy information service, is a division of the McGraw Hill companies.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology™ with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. At Applied Materials, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve the way people live. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

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Applied Materials, Inc.
David Miller, 408-563-9582 (business media)
Connie Duncan, 408-563-6209 (technical media)
Randy Bane, 408-986-7977 (financial community)

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www.appliedmaterials.com

ARROWHEAD FORMS NEW SUBSIDIARY TO COMMERCIALIZE ENERGY STORAGE DEVICES

Admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:21:36 +0000

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Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR) announced today that it has formed Agonn Systems Corporation to explore, develop and commercialize nanotechnology-based energy storage devices for electric vehicles and other large format applications.

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Pasadena, CA - July 9, 2008 - Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR) announced today that it has formed Agonn Systems Corporation to explore, develop and commercialize nanotechnology-based energy storage devices for electric vehicles and other large format applications. Agonn has initiated a strategy to acquire energy storage technologies based on nanoscale engineering from research institutions and expects to begin prototyping ultracapacitors based on carbon nanotubes and other advanced materials this year. The formation of Agonn Systems is part of a strategy at Arrowhead to leverage nanotechnology for clean energy applications.

"We implemented a similar roll up of intellectual property, device design, and manufacturing capability to build our majority-owned subsidiary Unidym into a leader in the application of carbon nanotubes for electronics,” said Arrowhead CEO Chris Anzalone. “We intend to replicate this strategy in the field of nanotech-based energy storage devices."

Arrowhead has established for Agonn a team of scientific advisors pioneering nanotechnology-based energy storage, including:

* Alan Gotcher, Ph.D., former CEO, Altair Nanotechnologies Inc, and former Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Manufacturing at Avery Dennison.
* Joel Schindall, Ph,D., the Bernard Gordon Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Associate Director of the Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) at MIT
* Jud Ready, Ph,D., Senior Research Engineer and Adjunct Professor, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)
* Satish Kumar, Ph,D., Professor of Textile and Fiber Engineering at Georgia Tech
* Prashant N. Kumta, Ph,D., Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering

About Arrowhead Research Corporation

Arrowhead Research Corporation (www.arrowheadresearch.com) is a publicly-traded nanotechnology company commercializing new technologies in the areas of life sciences, electronics, and energy. Arrowhead is building value for shareholders through the progress of majority owned subsidiaries founded on nanotechnologies originally developed at universities. The company works closely with universities to source early stage deals and to generate rights to intellectual property covering promising new nanotechnologies. Currently, Arrowhead has four subsidiaries commercializing nanotech products and applications, including anti-cancer drugs, RNAi therapeutics, carbon-based electronics and compound semiconductor materials.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including the future success of our scientific studies, our ability to successfully develop products, rapid technological change in our markets, changes in demand for our future products, legislative, regulatory and competitive developments and general economic conditions. Arrowhead Research Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K and 10-K/A, recent and forthcoming Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and 10-Q/A, recent Current Reports on Forms 8-K and 8-K/A, our Registration Statements on Form S-3, and other SEC filings discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

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As nanotechnology gains ground, so do concerns

Admin — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:38:00 +0000

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BRUSSELS: Nanotechnology - the science of engineering products or substances down to one billionth of a meter in size - has produced breakthroughs for manufacturers of consumer goods, including clear sunscreens, stain-resistant clothing and superstrong sports goods.

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But the applications of nanotechnology could also be a boon for developing new ways to cut waste, clean up pollution and improve the energy efficiency of entire industries.

The problem is that some properties of these tiny particles are unknown, and potentially harmful, and scientists are still trying to determine whether their size affects their toxicity. For governments and other authorities that view commercialization of nanotechnology as a way to develop innovative environmental products and create new industries, the concerns present huge challenges.

Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner, last week emphasized both the potential benefits and dangers of nanotechnology, saying it was the duty of regulators "to ensure that society benefits from novel applications of nanotechnologies" while "fully applying the precautionary principle."

Ensuring public acceptance of nanotechnologies could be particularly important in Europe, which has pledged to keep its economy humming while finding ways of reducing planet-warming emissions by as much as 30 percent by 2020. And even as scientists and environmentalists warn of the dangers of nanotechnology, authorities like the European Commission are pledging support for a wide range of projects.

Those projects include efforts to increase supplies of fresh water, which has become a scarce resource in southern European countries like Spain, where warmer conditions are contributing to shortages. EU officials say nanotechnology could be less expensive and more energy efficient than current methods for water recycling and desalination, which frequently rely on fossil fuels for power.

Using nanotechnology, water could be purified by using the equivalent of very fine nets operating at a molecular scale or by using tiny catalysts that speed up purification processes and, in some cases, mimic the work of enzymes.

Officials also say renewable energies like solar power could be made to work more efficiently using particles engineered through nanotechnology that capture and convert greater amounts of sunlight into electricity.

Financing for nanotechnology remains the greatest in the United States.

But the EU, Russia and Japan all are vying to be important players in a global market that could be worth up to €2 trillion, or $3.1 trillion, and create 10 million new jobs over the next decade, according to the European Commission.

A substantial chunk of that market is likely to be for technologies for energy production and for cleaning up the environment, said Pekka Koponen, the managing director of Spinverse, a technology consulting firm in Finland.

He said green applications for nanotechnology could be used to help create energy-efficient fuel cells, solar cells and catalysts to filter out harmful emissions from factories and vehicles. He also said nanotechnology could be used to help recover oil from wells and tar sands, and be used for refining.

"Not everyone would count that as environmentally friendly, but that would at least save energy and cut back on emissions during oil production," Koponen said.

Other analysts say the greatest near-term benefit of nanotechnologies on energy use and the environment will be in reducing the weight of cars and aircraft, though they caution that some of the most important breakthroughs promised by nanotechnology still could be a decade or more away.

But by then, without more rigorous testing, scientists warn the technology could become as distrusted as genetically modified foods and nuclear power.

"Our policies are badly lagging behind what many companies already are doing," said Sylvia Speller, a professor of physics at the University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands. "I can't see right now who's going to pay for the damage if products turn out to harm people and the environment," she said.

Speller said the small particles used in nanotechnology could pose new risks to human health and the environment because they could penetrate biological barriers designed to keep out larger particles. She said she would not use products like sunscreens in her family that contain such materials out of concern about the long-term effects.

Environmental groups like Friends of the Earth Europe acknowledge that nanotechnology has the potential to deliver environmental benefits.

Even so, they have called for a moratorium on the release of so-called nanomaterials until new laws are in place to protect the public.

Groups like Friends of the Earth also have called for more public funds for testing, and rules that would make companies that market products using nanomaterials liable for any damage to health and the environment.

With so much at stake, regulators are proceeding cautiously.

In a report last week, the European Commission said that current legislation for regulating chemicals, known as Reach, and other laws were adequate for regulating nanotechnology - for now.

But the commission also emphasized the need for more information on the possible toxic effects on humans and the environment and said new regulations could be needed, along with specific labeling for products containing nanomaterials.

source... iht.com

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Barnes & Thornburg LLP Establishes Practice Group Focused on Nanotechnology Opportunities

Admin — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:12:40 +0000

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The anticipated impact of
nanotechnology upon society is frequently referred to as the "second
industrial revolution." Recognizing the potential that nanotechnology has to
affect business and industry in the near future, Barnes & Thornburg LLP has
established a Nanotechnology Practice Group to continue its current work in
the area and assist businesses involved in seeking new applications of
nanotechnology.

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Nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology that
relates to the control of matter on the atomic or molecular scale, generally
100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of devices or materials that
lie within that size range. The firm's attorneys already are advising clients
on nanotechnology's applications in a variety of fields, including in
biotechnology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering and
environmental.

The practice group, co-chaired by Philip J. Faccenda, Jr., a partner in
the firm's South Bend office, and Todd Vare, a partner in the firm's
Indianapolis office, includes attorneys from a variety of disciplines,
including intellectual property, business, environmental, biotech,
governmental services, entrepreneurial services and litigation.

"Our clients increasingly are investigating how nanotechnology can be
brought to market in a variety of applications - from biotech to textiles,
manufacturing processes to environmental remediation," Vare said. "This new
group gives us a more integrated approach to helping clients use
nanotechnology to advance their business interests in their particular
industry sectors."

The announcement comes on the heels of a seminar hosted by Barnes &
Thornburg that addressed the possibilities of nanotechnology from the
perspectives of a Barnes & Thornburg attorney as well as professors from
Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame. In addition, the recent
announcement of the new Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND)
at the University of Notre Dame has raised the profile of nanotechnology and
its applications, especially in the Midwest.

"Barnes & Thornburg recognizes the impact the new institute will have on
businesses throughout Indiana and the Midwest," Faccenda said. "We want to do
everything we can to provide helpful counsel on the issues related to
nanotechnology."

With more than 475 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes &
Thornburg LLP is the largest law firm in Indiana and one of the largest firms
in the Midwest. The firm serves clients worldwide from its offices in Chicago,
Indiana, Michigan and Washington, D.C.

SOURCE Barnes & Thornburg LLP

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Billions could get gain access to clean water through nanotechnology

Admin — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:24:55 +0000

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Advanced filtration, decontamination could turn wastewater into a resource

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Copenhagen, Denmark — Hard work, bleeding-edge innovation and hope are driving the fledgling products and services of nanotechnology — science on the scale of atoms and molecules — along a pipeline that starts in the research laboratory and ends in a range of improved applications.

Nanoscale materials, coatings, membranes, catalysts and other technologies are being developed for use in electronics, energy production and storage, information technology, medicine and health — but industry and consumers will not be the only beneficiaries of these advances.

At Nanotech Northern Europe 2008, held September 23-25 in Copenhagen for 800 participants from 44 countries, a group of international policymakers and experts examined the potential of nanotechnology to help 1.1 billion people who lack access to clean water and 2.5 billion — 42 percent of the global population — who lack access to basic sanitation like toilets and safe latrines. (See “Nations Worldwide Pour Billions into Nanotechnology.”)

“Water purification and desalination has been done in pretty much the same way for decades, said Robert Rudnitsky, a physicist at the U.S. State Department and chair of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Nanotechnology. “What we are seeing is that nanotechnology is likely to bring about improvements to existing methods and create entirely new approaches.”

The Working Party on Nanotechnology sponsored the water session at Nanotech Northern Europe as part of its project on using nanotechnology to address global challenges.

According to the World Health Organization/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, diarrheal disease, which could be prevented by better management of drinking water and sanitation, caused more deaths in 2004 than did HIV/AIDS.

Nanoscience describes the ability to see, measure, manipulate and manufacture things on a scale of 1 to 100 nanometers. A nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter; a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick. At this scale, the physical, chemical and biological properties of materials differ in basic ways from the properties of individual atoms and molecules or bulk matter.

SMALLER IS BETTER

One way nanotechnology can minimize the world’s water and sanitation problems is by changing how clean water is delivered to those who need it.

Developed nations use large centralized water collection, chemical treatment and distribution systems whose thousands of kilometers of pipes deliver water to homes and businesses, said Mark Shannon, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and director of the Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems (WaterCAMPWS), funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

“Centralized systems are capital intensive, energy intensive and chemically intensive,” he said. “Five out of six people on Earth can’t use the systems we’re currently using. There’s not enough money or time to replicate this system around the world.”

In the developing world, nanotechnology can contribute to smaller, distributed systems that incorporate materials and systems for removing contaminants and pathogens, including viruses — which at 5 to 300 nanometers in length are themselves at the nanoscale — without the use of chemicals. Viruses are difficult to eliminate from drinking water using current methods, even in developed countries.

“We have people working on developing what would be a litmus paper,” Shannon said, “that people could dip into the water and it would change color if mercury or lead were present. Now we’re working on [detecting] viruses with the same type of technology.”

NANOTECHNOLOGY AT WORK

Nanotechnology is at work in the villages of Obambo and Kadenge in western Kenya, for example, where Sky Hydrants developed by Siemens AG turn brown sludge from the local dam into clear drinking water.

The self-cleaning ultrafiltration device consists of three piano-sized cartridges that each contains 10,000 minipipes made from thin membranes whose 100-nanometer-diameter openings keep dirt and bacteria from passing through.

Another effort, solar disinfection of drinking water (SODISWATER) is a research project funded by the European Union to show that solar disinfection of drinking water is effective against a range of waterborne diarrheal diseases like cholera at the household level and as emergency relief after natural or other disasters.

Solar disinfection works by filling transparent bottles with contaminated water and placing them in direct sunlight. The water is safer to drink after six hours because the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation kills bacteria. More than 2 million people in 28 countries use the technique.

Tony Byrne, lecturer at the University of Ulster Nanotechnology and Integrated BioEngineering Centre in Ireland, one of the project partners, is part of a technical group that is exploring the use of nanotechnology to enhance the SODIS UV pathogen-killing process and determine if the SODIS process fails to kill any important waterborne diseases.

But one of nanotechnology’s greatest potential benefits might lie in advanced filtration and biological systems that are in development to turn saltwater into freshwater and wastewater into a resource, Shannon said.

“We need to stop thinking about wastewater as a waste and start thinking about it as a resource,” he added.

More information about the WaterCAMPWS is available on the organization’s Web site.

More information about the EU-funded SODISWATER Research Program is available on the iniative’s Web site.

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america.gov

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Cambridge officials look at nanomaterials

Admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:59:52 +0000

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Cambridge, Mass., city officials are urging adoption of a program designed to monitor safety hazards involved in manufacturing and storing nanomaterials.

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Cambridge, Mass., city officials are urging adoption of a program designed to monitor safety hazards involved in manufacturing and storing nanomaterials.

A report by the Cambridge Public Health Department and the Cambridge Nanomaterials Advisory Committee recommends the city take several steps to gain a better understanding of the nature and extent of nanotechnology-related activities under way within the municipality.

The report, issued Monday, doesn't recommend the city enact a new ordinances regulating nanotechnology but it does recommend the city, among other things:

-- Establish an inventory of engineered nanoscale materials that are manufactured, handled, processed or stored in the city.

-- Offer technical assistance, in collaboration with academic and nanotech sector partners, to help firms and institutions evaluate their existing health and safety plans for limiting risk to workers involved in nanomaterials research and manufacturing.

-- Track the evolving status of regulations and best practices concerning engineered nanoscale materials.

-- Inform the city council every two years on the changing regulatory and safety landscape of the nanotechnology sector.

The report is available at http://www.cambridgepublichealth.org/publications/July_17_08_Nano_Recomm....

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it.moldova.org

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Canada to Fund Nanotech Research Including Solar Projects

Admin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:07:55 +0000

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Two of the five winners will develop new solar technology.

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April 28, 2008... The Nanotechnology Initiative of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), announced the five winners of a special $15-million nanotechnology research funding competition. Each proposed project will get $3 million in funding. Two of the five winners will develop new solar technology.

Researchers from the Universite de Sherbrooke and the University of Ottawa will work with scientists and engineers from the NRC Institute for Microstructural Sciences (NRC-IMS) and the NRC Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC), in Ottawa to use quantum dots to produce more efficient concentrator solar cells. Researchers from Universite de Laval, Queen's University, the University of Toronto and Simon Fraser University will work with scientists and engineers from the NRC Institute for Microstructural Sciences (NRC-IMS), the NRC Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology (NRC-ICPET) and the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (NRC-SIMS) in Ottawa will use novel polymeric nano-composite semiconductor materials to produce more efficient solar cells.

"Canada already has considerable expertise in the field of nanotechnology, and the government is ensuring that our country takes its place among the most innovative nations of the world,” said Mr. Galipeau, Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament for Ottawa-Orleans and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole House.

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www.compoundsemi.com

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CMU to study the hazards of nanoparticles

Admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:12:03 +0000

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Since the field of nanotechnology is still new, sustainable development of the nanotechnology industry right now will prevent mankind from regretting this new technology in the future.

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The advancement of technology has always affected the environment, often adversely. Techniques to counteract those negative effects and to promote sustainable development are usually employed only after it is too late. In order to prevent this from happening again, the Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology (CEINT) was established as a collaboration between four universities, including Carnegie Mellon University.

Since the field of nanotechnology is still new, sustainable development of the nanotechnology industry right now will prevent mankind from regretting this new technology in the future.

Headquartered at Duke University, the center consists of four core universities including Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Howard University, and Virginia Tech. Faculty from the University of Kentucky and Stanford University are also involved.

The center aims to understand the impacts of nanoparticles on the environment. As reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review last week, the center plans to develop 32 controlled ecosystems called “mesocosms” in the Duke Forest in Durham, N.C. The report further stated that the ecosystems will serve as “laboratories” where the researchers can study the effects of nanoparticles on different ecosystems.

Testing nanoparticles on different ecosystems is just one aspect of what the center aims to do.

The center will also explore the transport and transformations of nanoparticles in the environment and also the effects that microorganisms have on the nanoparticles. This is where Carnegie Mellon comes into the picture. Gregory Lowry, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and also the deputy director of the center, explained Carnegie Mellon’s role; “Carnegie Mellon’s part of this is [studying the] fate, transport and transformation of nanomaterials in the environment.”

Studying how nanoparticles are transformed and transported in the environment is important, as nanoparticles do not follow the same rules that bulk materials do.

“The whole reason that we’re using nanomaterials is because their properties are different from the bulk properties,” Lowry explained.

“If I make [a bulk material] small enough, the surface properties are going to change, there are changes in crystal structure, there are changes in surface energy, [and there are also] changes in the number of reactive sites on the particles.”

Since such nanomaterials are used very often in commercial products now, it is important to know what happens after these are exposed to the environment. Lowry mentioned the use of silver nanoparticles in items of daily usage like socks, washing machines, and water filters. When items such as socks get washed, the nanoparticles get washed down the drain and eventually enter the environment. In the course of this transport, the nanoparticles undergo a variety of transformations.

The particles can undergo chemical transformations due to oxidation-reduction reactions, they can be transformed by microorganisms, and they can also undergo physical transformations by attracting other nanoparticles and forming a larger particle. All these transformations can drastically change the properties of the nanomaterials and could perhaps increase their toxicity. “We have to understand how chemical, biological, and physical transformations occur and then how those impact transport in the environment,” Lowry said.

He added that these studies would help interpret the observed effects of the nanoparticles on the artificially created ecosystems. “There is no way for us to interpret that data unless we have the fundamental understanding of fate, transport, and transformations of the nanomaterials. We will conduct [such experiments] largely at Carnegie Mellon University,” Lowry said.

Carnegie Mellon has a couple of projects focusing on the theme of fate, transport, and transformation of nanoparticles. Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Kelvin Gregory leads one such projects, which will focus on the biological transformations of nanoparticles.

Specifically, the group plans to study how microorganisms affect nanoparticles in the environment.

Since such studies have not been conducted until now, the researchers have no idea what results to expect.

“[Microorganisms] aren’t necessarily going to be intensifying any hazards. They could be ameliorating them as well. But there is no doubt that the interactions of nanomaterials and microorganisms are going to affect the fate, transport and toxicity of nanomaterials,” Gregory said. Gregory explained that the transformations due to microorganisms could enhance or lessen the toxicity of the nanoparticle and could prevent or ease the transport of nanomaterials into the environment. The team currently has no answers to these questions, but hopes to find them very soon.

This research that Carnegie Mellon is doing is part of the bigger picture of developing the nanotechnology industry in an environmentally friendly way.

“We’re going to develop some design rules for nanomaterials to make them environmentally benign. [We aim to] maximize benefits and minimize risks,” Lowry said.

The center aims at developing sustainable techniques before the field gains momentum, so that the new technology does not run amok. “We’re trying to avoid the pitfalls of very rapid growth of new technology, such as the burning of fossil fuels, now years and years later causing an effect in the accumulation of greenhouse gases,” Gregory said.

As reported in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the center was awarded a $14.4 million grant by the National Science Foundation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The official opening ceremony of the Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology was held on Sept. 26.

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thetartan.org

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Compassion is Absolutely Necessary for Healthy Form of Scientific Progress

Admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 11:32:59 +0000

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Greater technological power within society will demand greater love and compassion. Society must committ itself to greater love and compassion for frail, weak, and most vulnerable citizens to insure a healthy form of scientific progress.

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An Increase in Greater Technological Power
Requires An Increase in Greater Compassion
For the Most Frail, Weak, and Vulnerable Citizens
Within Society to Insure Evolution
of a Healthy Form of Scientific Progress

Honor Thy Mother and Father. The Scripture mandate is clear. Ancient Scripture is a guide for compassion. Compassion for all despite race, creed, gender, or ethnic origin is absolutely necessary for evolution of a healthy form of scientific progress. Ancient Scripture is a vital guide for human compassion

In the book, The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead, Dr. Frank Tipler provides a discussion of how a pre-existing God can use science to fulfill the hope of every major religion. Dr. Frank Tipler pointed out that all major religions share common central themes. (Tipler, Frank, The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead, Anchor Publishing Company, September 1997)

Greater technological power within society will demand greater love and compassion. The goal of every religion should be to increase love and compassion in a prudent intelligent fashion that does not allow compromise of central tenets. Religious leaders should help increase love and compassion for the frail, weak, and most vulnerable members of society as scientific technological power grows to meet human needs.

The exercise of greater love and compassion for frail, weak, and most vulnerable citizens may slow rapid scientific progress. Overall, greater love and compassion for frail, weak, and most vulnerable citizens should be worth the social cost because greater love and compassion will contribute to a healthy form of scientific progress.

The United States Senate should not have to engage in very much debate to do the right thing in terms of passing a Medicare Prescription package plan for senior citizens. The United States senate should pass full Medicare Prescription coverage for seniors effective immediately.

How can we forget our seniors who so diligently labored and toiled during times when modern day conveniences did not exist? Seniors of today diligently labored and toiled to diaper young men and women who are now leaders of todays new generation. Leaders of today would not be where they are today, if not for seniors.

Of course, not all seniors are fathers and mothers. At some point in their life as a responsible active citizen, seniors who choose to remain single or simply failed to meet the right person, more than likely did some mothering and fathering by virtue of participating in church programs for youth, volunteer organizations, and/or social service careers including teaching. The book, It Takes a Village, written by Senator Hillary Rodman Clinton, provides a discussion of the need of all responsible citizens to help in parenting young people.

An allocation for Medicare Prescription coverage may also help senior veterans who served to protect individual freedom so that people like me can write and publish freelance feature articles. If senior veterans are already covered by VET health insurance then additional prescription coverage provided for all seniors should expand veteran benefits.

Future science may one day remove limitations imposed by impossibility. Nanotechnology is leading toward molecular electronic circuits and super strong lightweight materials. Molecular electronic circuits used in conjunction with super strong lightweight materials may one day make extrasensory telepathic communication and telekinetic control of objects common everyday normal occurrences. In the future, young people of today may not have to get up off the couch to pick up the television remote control. Given this eventuality, should we forget Senior citizens who labored and toiled without modern day conveniences?

One major problematic social issue regarding an increase in health benefits for aging citizens approaching senior classification is a severe drain on federal funds as a consequence of aging citizens who may opt to radically extend their life expectancy by new nanotechnology enabled medical advances. A radical extension of the human life expectancy by new nanotechnology enabled medical advances will create an over population problem which may strain the biosphere of planet earth.

Nanotechnology is a new science to prepare the human race to encounter harsh environmental conditions above in outer space. Kentucky Educational Television (http://www.ket.org/ ) aired a program about how frogs that become overpopulated in one lake make a giant leap to another lake miles away. Frogs that leap to another lake miles away sometimes have to readapt to the ecosystem found within the habitat of the new lake.

If God should ordain the sun to rise tomorrow, eventually the human race will have to make the giant leap to another pond. It may be centuries before space vehicles are fast enough to allow humans to travel outside the solar system.

In the future, nanotechnology may allow scientist to assemble extraterrestrial matter and thereby engineer a biosphere within the orbital of the suns gravitational field. Solar panels may be used to deflect sunlight to where it is needed on the new biosphere. Nanotechnology may allow terrestrial forming to create a habitable earth like atmosphere on the surface of the new manmade biosphere.

If God ordains the sun to rise tomorrow, then God must ordain the human race to continue as rambling wonderer on an incredible journey. Middle age citizens of tomorrow who may freely choose nanotechnology enabled medical advances to radically extend the natural life expectancy may have to be required to make a leap to a new manmade biosphere at a certain prescribed age.

The modern day generation pampered by efficient modern day conveniences more than likely would cry out in great dismay if todays modern generation had to use an old fashioned washboard to wash clothes in a creek bed as senior citizens commonly washed clothes. Modern day teenagers would hysterically flip out if every morning modern teenagers had to go outside to use an old fashioned outhouse.

Will modern day youth who are pampered by modern day efficient time saving appliances be ill prepared to endure hardship imposed by the jump to another outer space biosphere pond?

About the Author

Author byline and Bio: Mark Gaffney is a contributing freelance writer. Mark has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a concentration of coursework in physiology, biology, and computer science. Mark is in the process of trying to start a new Not-for-Profit Foundation entitled, Wonderful Life Foundation. Mark plans to submit his online work as a thesis project to earn his Doctorate (PhD.) degree and officially become a Nanotechnology Sociologist. Bookmark this page now and click here to review preliminary plans for organizational development of Wonderful Life Foundation currently published on ServeNet.org. ServeNet.org, Idealist.org, and Network-for-Good.org are associated with the government web site portal, freedomcorp.gov, an initiative of President George W. Bush to promote volunteerism and provide services to help Not-for-Profit organizations.

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nanotechnology.moreinfoguru.com

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Eleventh Annual NSTI Nanotech 2008 Final Call for Papers

JohnT — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:18:18 +0000

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he Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) Nanotech 2008 Call for Papers will close December 6

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NSTI Nanotech 2008

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) Nanotech 2008 Call for Papers will close December 6, 2007. The 2008 event is expanding to highlight how top nanoscience and nanotechnology research is having an impact on R&D at Fortune 5000 companies as well as health and environmental issues. Nanotech 2008, the largest nanotechnology conference in the U.S, will be held June 1-5 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Hynes Convention Center.

Papers on the following nanotechnology topics are in highest demand for Nanotech 2008 submissions:

* Nano in Life Science & Medicine: (Cancer Detection, Live-Cell Research, Assisting with Gene Therapy, Drug Formulation ad Delivery, and a special symposium with the National Cancer Institute)
* Nano in Energy: (Nano-Enabled Fuel Cells, Nanomaterials for Oil Extraction, Light-Weight Composites for Better Energy Efficiency)
* Nano in Consumer Goods: (Nanostructured Fluids, Soft Nano, Filtration & Separation, Smart Packaging -- including the “Health & Environmental Summit on Nano”)
* Nano and Security: (Sensors, Filtration, Integrated Systems)
* Nano and Materials& Technologies : (Carbon nanotubes, Nanomanufacturing, Fabrication, Composites)
* Nano Electronics& Microsystems : (Semiconductor research, Advanced Lithography, Modeling, MEMS, Atomic Simulation, Displays & Thin Films)
* Business Submissions: (Internal or co-operative research and co-development efforts between large commercial firms, and university, research centers, and government labs)
o Investment, Licensing, Partnering and R&D
o Initiatives, Education & Policy

Submissions guidelines, forms and further information can be found online at: http://www.nsti.org/Nanotech2008/authors/abstracts.html

About The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI)

The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI; www.nsti.org) is chartered with the advancement and integration of nano and other advanced technologies through education, collaboration and research services. NSTI accomplishes this mission through its offerings of continuing education programs, conventions, scientific and business publishing and custom research services. NSTI produces the annual Nanotech 200x conference and trade show, the world’s largest event to focus on nanoscience and nanotechnology, attracting more than 3,000 industrial, academic, business and governmental attendees from around the world. Nanotech 2008 will celebrate the event’s eleventh year serving the global nano & small technology industry.

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NSTI.org
Michael Doyle, 925-600-1001
mdoyle@NSTI.org

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EPA Hosts Environmental Nanotechnology Conference In Chicago, Oct. 7 - 9, 2008

Admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:20:14 +0000

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Researchers from Asia, Australia and Europe will join U.S. scientists and government officials to discuss nanotechnology applications ...

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EPA Hosts Environmental Nanotechnology Conference In Chicago, Oct. 7 - 9, 2008

September 29, 2008

Chicago, IL - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 will host the 2008 International Environmental Nanotechnology Conference: Applications and Implications, Oct. 7 - 9 at Chicago's Hyatt Regency Hotel, 151 E. Wacker Dr.

Researchers from Asia, Australia and Europe will join U.S. scientists and government officials to discuss nanotechnology applications for environmental cleanup, pollution control and the implications of releasing engineered nanoparticles into the environment.

Opening remarks Oct. 7 at 8 a.m. will be provided by EPA Region 5 Deputy Administrator Bharat Mathur, EPA Office of Research and Development Assistant Administrator George Gray and EPA Nanotechnology Manager Jeff Morris. The conference agenda includes over 100 presentations and poster sessions. About 40 exhibitors will be represented at the poster session the evening of Oct. 9. Registration for the entire event is $475.

Partner agencies represented at the conference include the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Science Foundation, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Energy and University of Illinois at Chicago's Great Lakes Centers for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health.

SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Eureka Forbes ties up with IIT professors

Admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:30:17 +0000

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To explore possibilities in the nanotechnology sector to make products useful to the people.

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KOCHI: Eureka Forbes has tied up with some professors of IIT, Chennai, to form a company to explore possibilities in the nanotechnology sector to make products useful to the people.

This was stated by Suresh Goklaney, vice-chairman and managing director of Eureka Forbes here on Wednesday. He said the joint company would evolve new products.

V. Mathialagan, associate vice-president, said professors had provided the know-how to make drinking water pesticides free. The impetus came because of the large incidence of Endosulfan pollution in Kasaragod district. Water purifiers using this technology have been launched in the market.

Eureka Forbes, started in 1982, which depended on technology provided by Sweden for making vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, has grown into a Rs.800-crore company employing nearly 8000 people, they pointed out.

The company is the largest direct selling organisation and has been considered as one among the most admired consumer durable companies in the country.

The company has also drawn up plans for diversification to manufacture products aimed at ‘smart homes/safe homes’ employing the state of the art technologies.

A Rs.17-crore factory at Dehra Dun is engaged in making eco-friendly products, they added.

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K. Venkiteswaran
www.thehindu.com

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http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/15/stories/2008021556192100.htm

Exploring nanotechnology

Admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:32:56 +0000

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An Indian microbiologist is trying to use nanotechnology to help identify an opportunistic pathogen that colonises recto-vaginal areas.

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An Indian microbiologist is trying to use nanotechnology to help identify an opportunistic pathogen that colonises recto-vaginal areas in up to 50 per cent of women worldwide and causes several life-threatening diseases in infants. Atul Kumar Johri, Associate Professor at JNU’s School of Life Sciences in New Delhi, is keen to develop a mechanism to identify Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria that cause pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis in newborns and is responsible for significant morbidity in pregnant women and the elderly.

Dr. Johri along with scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia is working on a project to make use of nanotechnology for rapid, more sensitive as well as efficient detection of the GBS bacteria in pregnant women.

“In the U.S., the UK and France, there is a mandatory test for detection of GBS in pregnant women between 35-37 weeks of their pregnancy. If the bacteria are detected in their samples, four hours before the birth of the child penicillin shots are given to the women through intravenous injections so that they can prevent the bacteria from infecting the baby and causing pneumonia and meningitis,” informs Dr. Johri.

In India, he claims, there is no such test or even much knowledge about the existence and prevention of GBS. The fact that a large number of childbirths in the country happen outside the health centres is another cause for worry, he adds.

“Timely detection of GBS can save a lot of babies in India. The problem is that in India, common people are not even aware of such a micro-organism, diseases that it causes, and that it is so easily preventable. GBS has nine serotypes. In India, Type I-A and Type III are predominant. After they made the test mandatory, the number of children getting infected with such diseases in the Western countries has come down significantly,” adds Dr. Johri.

He is also working with the Australian researchers to develop one universal vaccine for the GBS.

Dr. Johri had collected data on the GBS serotypes prevalent in the National Capital Region of Delhi that he presented during a conference at Lisbon in 2006.

Dr. Latif Zafar Jilani, a lecturer with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh Muslim University, has been elected a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr. Jilani obtained his MBBS and MS Orthopaedics degrees from AMU .The membership diploma will be awarded to him at the annual convocation of the Royal College to be held next year.

Meanwhile, on Republic Day this week AMU will felicitate eminent teachers and talented students who have made remarkable achievements in 2007. Vice-Chancellor P. K. Abdul Azis will felicitate them.

The Institute of Clinical Research (India) has invited applications for one-year (part-time) post-graduate diploma in Clinical Trial Management. The course begins this February at ICRI centres in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.

Students will be selected on the basis of an entrance examination and an interview.

The prospectus can be obtained from the Institute on all working days between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Details can also be sourced by writing to enquiry@icriindia.com.

IIT-Bombay is celebrating its golden jubilee year from September 2007 to March 2009. As part of the celebrations, the institution this past weekend announced its National Outreach Programme for its Alumni Association in the Capital.

The programme is aimed at creating awareness about the activities planned for the year. IIT-Bombay director Ashok Misra said: "The golden jubilee year is a landmark occasion to celebrate our institution’s past and embark on new initiatives as a fountainhead of ideas and innovation.”

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Parul Sharma
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/24/stories/2008012450890300.htm

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http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/24/stories/2008012450890300.htm

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