 This section contains news item collected from various web sources in the preceding week. This presents an opportunity to understand the technology trends and opportunities in a particular field.
Design & Innovation
Good response to DST's rural innovations project It is being implemented with a corpus of around Rs. 20 crore CHENNAI: The nation-wide programme launched by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to kick start rural innovations has netted about 39,400 grassroots-level innovations to date. The programme conceptualised by the DST is being implemented through the Ahmedabad-based National Innovation Foundation that was set up on a corpus of around Rs. 20 crore to document, inventorise and incubate grassroots innovations before facilitating the commercial dimension. "We'd like to undertake due diligence studies to identify the ideas that have marketable value," DST secretary T. Ramasami told The Hindu, on the sidelines of an oration at the Central Leather Research Institute on Sunday. Dr. Ramasami underscored the need to develop a support system for innovation that was different from the Western model. He pointed out that most innovations emerging from the West were heavily capital-intensive, as a result of which a product was often priced too high by the time it reached the consumer. What the DST is looking at (for the rural innovation programme) is a low-investment model that is inclusive and can be successfully prototyped for a "spread effect." The DST is all set to launch its much-touted charm offensive to motivate the country’s youth to take up study of basic sciences. The Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research that will dole out 10,000 research scholarships annually to Class X pass-outs will be launched during the current academic year. Young engineers should emerge as innovators Puducherry (PTI): There is a need for young engineers to emerge as innovators as innovation holds the key to global leadership, a top official of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII - Southern Region), said on Saturday. "The youth shold develop an awareness about what skills are needed in the emerging technological sector in the world at large," Subu D Subramanian, chairmam of CII (Southern Region), Information Communication Technology forum, said. They should prepare themselves to face future challenges and aspire to become leaders instead of merely being learners or providers of technology or services, he said. Subramaniam said a scenario was now emerging where there would be a convergence of nano, bio and information technologies. The youth should therefore adapt themselves to emerging requirements, prepare themselves to face future challenges and aspire to become leaders, instead of merely being learners or providers of technology or services. He was addressing students of various engineering colleges at a one'day 'Institute Industry Interface' programme organised by CII under the banner 'enabling e-talent initiative' at Pondicherry Engineering College here. Subramaniam, also Director and Senior Vice-President of Satyam Computer Services Limited, said industries and institutions should collaborate to train youth for global needs. Chairman of the Pondicherry chapter of CII C Chinnasamy who welcomed those present, said there was the inevitable augmentation of skills for students to match themselves with the futuristic demands in the IT sector. As part of the interface, a panel discussion was held, in which experts from various companies and software organisations participated.
Agriculture
Indian Food Processing Industry - An Insight
Microbial fuel cells creates electricity and treats wastewater 
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are using a combination of beer, wastewater and microbes to demonstrate fuel-cell technology. Lars Angenent, Ph.D., assistant professor of Chemical Engineering, and a member of the University's Environmental Engineering Science Program, has devised a microbial fuel cell which he calls an upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC) that is fed continually and, unlike most microbial fuel cells, works with chambers atop each other rather than beside each other. He has received a $40,000 Bear Cub award from Washington University to develop the concept.Using MFC technology, Angenent is treating wastewater donated by local brewery Anheuser-Busch, and in so doing creating electricity in a six-liter device a bit bigger than a large thermos. He uses a mixed medium containing thousands of organisms and optimizes environmental conditions to select for a bacterial community with improved electron transfer in anode biofilms, thereby increasing the electron transfer rate. In addition, he plans to work with a single-culture biofilm to allow a full understanding of how to use operating conditions to manipulate electron transfer in anode chambers. Producing energy from wastewater should be a high international priority because of population growth and worldwide depletion of energy resources. Wastewater, with its high-content organic matter, also can produce methane and hydrogen fuels, however, that theoretically more readily usable energy can be produced when electricity is produced directly in a microbial fuel cell. http://www.ecofriend.org/ Canada experts to boost agriculture PATNA: A team of Manitoba province, Canada, led by its deputy premier, Rosann Wowchuk, called on CM Nitish Kumar and expressed interest in reviving agriculture and marketing activities. Manitoba, which has developed R & D in this regard, had earlier presented its case at an official meeting held in Delhi. On Saturday, the Manitoba team showed its commitment to development of the state, which the chief minister appreciated and promised full cooperation. A high-level delegation of executives of Canada's agri-based organisation led by Wowchuk, on Saturday interacted with members of trade and industry here at the Bihar Industries Association over the modalities to tap the agri food potential of the state with value addition through food processing. Addressing the BIA members, Wowchuk, said that India, especially Bihar, has vast potential for agri food growth and she was looking towards the interest of Bihar in improving their value-added agri industry. She said that she and the Canada agri food entrepreneurs and experts had entered into a positive relationship with the international consultant, IL&FS, which has entered into an agreement with the state government to assist Bihar in their plans to develop a food centre with a concept of food park. Wowchuk agreed with the BIA to be a partner to explore the area and better understanding of the issues, challenges and success for enhancing the potentialities of the agri sector in the state. She also agreed for developing a cluster approach towards agro industries and to share technology for its development. She led a team of official delegates, comprising top-level executives from Candian agri-based organisations, including the International Grains Institute, Wheat Board, and the researchers of Manitoba University. The Canadian experts said 30 to 40 per cent of the agri produce in the state could be saved through adequate storage, proper handling and development of food centres. Welcoming the Canadian delegates, BIA president K P Jhunjhunwala said the Bihar government had under a pro-active industrial policy announced provision of subsidy for agro-based industry. He urged Wowchuk to give a helping hand in development of pulses, maize, fruits, and horticulture produce-based industries, which have good potential in the state. He assured BIA's help to Canadian agencies in setting up food development centres in Bihar with a partnership approach. He added that the state urgently needed fuel efficient cold storages. BIA's past presidents and senior members were among the participants at the interactive sessions with Canadian experts. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com Kenyan team visits agricultural varsity Coimbatore (PTI): A 11 - member high-level delegation from Kenya visited Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,to identify technology aspects and transfer of technologies. The delegation, headed by Dr Samuel Muigi, National Coordinator, Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project, during their four-day visit from November 29, examined the public - private partnership mode and studied agriculture lending and rural credit system in rural areas, a TNAU release said here on Monday. Samuel said the team had come to see the success stories especially with small scale farmers in Tamil Nadu villages, so that it can be propagated in his country. He wanted both India and Kenya to focus on collaboration in irrigation,especially in transfer of irrigation management technologies, the release said. The delegation would try to make an inventory of their technologies and assess the gaps that can be addressed using the potential technologies from India, he said. TNAU Vice Chancellor Dr C Ramasamy said the university was keen to work closely with the Kenyan Government and its organisations for transferring agricultural technologies. The visit would pave way for initiating collaboration between specific organisations and institutions of both the countries, Ramasamy said. http://www.hindu.com Dupont's R&D centre to conduct crop research WILMINGTON: DuPont's first research & development centre in India, which is due to open in Hyderabad early next year, will for the first time see basic research in areas like crop genetics head to an offshore centre. While critical research, so far, is concentrated in DuPont's R&D labs in the US, the Indian centre, which has some 300 scientists, will deal in developing biotech traits and technologies that will be incorporated into multiple crops for the global market. In addition, it will focus on renewable energy, which includes bio-fuel and solar cells with photo-voltaic technology. Addressing the media at the 150-acre experimental station in Wilmington, Delaware, the company's chief science and technology officer and senior V-P Uma Chowdhury said, the new centre was part of the $1.4 billion annual investment in R&D in a diverse range of technologies, from agriculture to electronics. "India can't be just a revenue base," said Balvinder S Kalsi, president and CEO, DuPont India. "It will allow us access to local talent and reinforce the importance of India as a global centre of scientific excellence." Given the somewhat bumpy progress of BT in Indian agriculture, group V-P, agriculture and nutrition, J Erik Frywald, said they were giving it a three-to-four-year timeline for making inroads in the country. "We are trying to convince the government of BT traits in hybrid rice," he said, adding that the company was in favour of regulations. As of now, its subsidiary, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc, is focusing on rice and corn. The global media presence was also the occasion for the company to unveil at Des Moines, Iowa, a new accelerated yield technology (AYT) that increases soyabean yields up to 12%. New varieties will be introduced in 2008. In fact, speaking on the company's strategy, chairman and CEO Chad Holliday explained how the company has integrated three fundamental philosophies-putting science to work, going where growth is and power of one DuPont - to make a shift from textiles and home furnishings to agriculture, nutrition and automobiles. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com TNAU scientist honoured Coimbatore (PTI): Dr N Kumar, Professor (Horticulture), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has been conferred the prestigious 'Fellow of AIPUB' by the Association for the Improvement in Production and Utilisation of Banana (AIPUB). Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister, Veerapandi S Arumugam presented the award during the National Conference on Banana held recently at Tiruchirapalli, a TNAU release said on Thursday. The award, carrying a citation, was in recognition of Kumar's significant contribution in research and development in the field of horticulture, particularly banana. Kumar has standardized 'high density planting,' and 'Fertigation Technology,' in banana, which have been released as new technologies by TNAU, the release said. http://www.hindu.com Satyam sets up new centre of excellence Hyderabad: Information Technology major Satyam Computer Services Ltd has set up a new centre of excellence to offer technology-enabled innovations for the process manufacturing industry. The centre, christened as PROMICE, would initially offer innovative solutions to the chemical and pharma, food processing and metal and mining sectors by leveraging its technology expertise. "Eventually, we will expand our reach to about 10 process industry verticals such as textiles, building materials, pulp and paper, leather, plastics and rubber," Subu D. Subramanian, Director and Senior Vice-President, Satyam Manufacturing and Automotive Business, told newspersons here on Friday. Consulting skills The company had been working with clients such as Du Pont and Nestle. It plans to leverage its existing expertise in consulting to help companies fully exploit advances in IT, he added. The Hyderabad-based company, which has of late been focusing on value addition in its offering to clients, also sees a possibility of earning a significant chunk of revenues from the centre. Revenue model "Right now the revenue model is two pronged as it could come from the original consulting work and also from creation of intellectual property down the line," Subu pointed out. About 60 domain experts working across the globe in different Satyam locations would be brought on a common platform to make the centre operational. "We will also hire a good number of researchers and domain experts," he added. On the investment, Subu declined to give hard numbers and said the initial investment would be in people and physical infrastructure for the centre to be located in Hyderabad. http://sify.com/ Technology Futures' Top 19 Technology Trends for 2008
Nanotechnology
The risks of nanotechnology' In a surprising reversal of roles, nanotechnology scientists outrival the general public in seeing a cause for concern in some aspects of their work, according to a study published last week. Nanotechnology - the science of making things measured in units 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair - holds spectacular promise in virtually every sector. Hundreds of consumer products already contain nano materials, most of which are cosmetics, sunscreens and cleaning products with microscopic particles. But this is the only first step in what promoters of nano say is a revolution whose impact will be outsized compared to the technology’s tiny scale. In medicine, potential applications range from in-body diagnostic devices to tissue engineering to pinpoint drug delivery. Nanomaterials far lighter and stronger than anything in use today could revolutionize the car and airplane industries, and parallel developments are under way for robotics, computers, clothing, energy storage and air purification. Two surveys, conducted among 363 nanotechnology scientists and engineers and among 1,015 American adults, find an intriguing contrast in attitudes about this fast-moving yet untested technology. The man and woman in the street are more worried than the experts that nano will cause job losses, an arms race and a loss of privacy, according to the surveys published on November 25 in Nature. The scientists, unsurprisingly, say their work will lead to major breakthroughs in medicine, environmental cleanup and national defence. But they are also significantly more concerned than the public about the risk of more pollution and unforeseen health problems from nano. The authors of the study, led by Dietram Scheufele of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, chalk up this gap in viewpoints to two things. One is that scientists have already launched a debate among themselves about nano-related risks, and regret a lack of research in this field. At the same time, the media promote the potential benefits of nano and downplay the risk aspect, thus giving a distorted view to the public. Researchers looking at nano risks are focussing on any effect on health from minute particles that are breathed into the lungs or from putative nano-robots that would be inserted into the body to repair damaged tissue. Questions have also been raised as to whether nano materials could be toxic, for health and the environment. "The nano story is one of very slow and rather weak regulatory responses", commented Nigel Cameron, head of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future at the Illinois Institute of Technology and an expert on nanotechnology. "Public and political awareness of the technology - even though we have been talking about it for some time - is amazingly low", he said. In the past, the arrival of new technologies such as nuclear power or genetically-modified organisms are typically greeted with public enthusiasm followed by disquiet when an accident happens or other risks become apparent. Such backlashes have had a crippling effect in some countries, prompting a freeze or pullout from nuclear power or a moratorium on genetically-engineered crops. By addressing the risks before their technology widely enters the public domain, nano experts hope to forestall this backward swing of the pendulum. "Nanotechnology may... be the first emerging technology for which scientists may have to explain to the public why they should be more rather than less concerned about some potential risks", said Scheufele. Morph Technologies Inc. creates, develops and manufactures nanostructured intermediate and finished products for the automotive industry. The Company's patented technologies create nanocrystalline metals with significantly improved mechanical and physical properties relative to conventional coarse grained metals. MTI's patented processes produce high quality nanometals and nanometal-coated ceramics, composites and plastics in large quantities and volumes using highly scalable manufacturing approaches. The Company's nanometals can be applied as coatings or directly formed into complex micro- and macro-scale components. Contact MTI at http://www.morphtechnologies.com http://www.mmorning.com/ Singapore opens first nano-scale measurement facility Singapore has opened Southeast Asia's first nano-scale measurement facility which can measure tiny units of up to one nanometre. A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre or 1/80000 of the diameter of a strand of human hair. This will come as a boost to local companies which require highly precise measurements. It is also a key step towards making Singapore a centre for nanotech-related standards and metrology. In time to come, nanotechnology is expected to permeate almost every aspect of our lives such as healthcare, food, energy and even recreation. Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said: "With nanotechnology, we can develop lighter and stronger materials for automobiles and aircrafts or new sustainable energy sources to address our energy needs. "It may even create new industry segments that are previously unimaginable and bridge the gap between traditionally separate clusters." The global nanotechnology industry is projected to be worth about U S$1 trillion by 2010. Here in Singapore, it has been expanding at about 8 to 21 percent, depending on application and products, with the number of firms quadrupling over the past three years. Having a facility in Singapore means that local firms will no longer have to send their products overseas for calibration. This will, in turn, cut down on time and costs, and boost competitiveness. The facility, built at a cost of S $10 million, is expected to benefit industries such as semiconductor, microelectronics and precision engineering. Professor Freddy Boey, Chair of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, said: "The translation from research to industry right now is evolving. It's not there yet, but it's exciting. "EDB and SPRING Singapore has come up with a lot of incentives, and I think it's a matter of time before this kicks off, probably in a very large scale. "We are very ambitious. Nanotechnology will be as huge a pillar as the semiconductor industry for the simple reason that nanotech is enabling... it goes into energy, biomedicals and chemicals." The Singapore government spends about S$20 million annually on nanotechnology-related R&D and manpower development http://dan92024.blogstream.com Cancer Breakthrough as Nanotechnologists Discover Cancer Cells are Softer than Normal Cells A multidisciplinary team of UCLA scientists were able to differentiate metastatic cancer cells from normal cells in patient samples using leading-edge nanotechnology that measures the softness of the cells. The study, published Dec. 2, 2007 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, represents one of the first times researchers have been able to take living cells from cancer patients and apply nanotechnology to analyze them and determine which were cancerous and which were not. The nano science measurements may provide a potential new method for detecting cancer, especially in cells from body cavity fluids where diagnosis using current methods is typically very challenging. The method also may aid in personalizing treatments for patients. When cancer is becoming metastatic, or invading other organs, the diseased cells must travel throughout the body. Because the cells need to enter the bloodstream and maneuver through tight anatomical spaces, cancer cells are much more flexible, or softer, than normal cells. These spreading, invading cancer cells can cause a build-up of fluids in body cavities such as the chest and abdomen. But fluid build-up in patients does not always mean cancer cells are present. If the fluid could be quickly and accurately tested for the presence of cancer, oncologists could make better decisions about how aggressive a treatment should be administered or if any treatment is necessary at all. In this study, researchers collected fluid from the chest cavities of patients with lung, breast and pancreatic cancers, a relatively non-invasive procedure. One problem with diagnosing metastatic disease in this setting is that cancer cells and normal cells in body cavity fluids look very similar under an optical microscope, said Jianyu Rao, a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and one of the study’s senior authors. Conventional diagnostic methods detect about 70 percent of cases where cancer cells are present in the fluid, missing about 30 percent of cases. "We detect cancer cells typically by looking at them under a microscope after the cells are fixed and stained with chemicals, which is really an antiquated method," Rao said. "Usually the cancer cells have larger nuclei and other subtle features. However, the normal cells from body cavity fluids can look almost identical to cancer cells under an optical microscope. While staining for tumor protein markers could increase diagnostic accuracy, what we were missing was a way to determine if cancer cells have different mechanical properties than normal cells." Employing one of the most valuable tools in the nanotechnology arsenal, the research team used an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to measure cell softness. Since the cells being analyzed were less than half the diameter of a human hair, researchers needed a very precise and delicate instrument to measure resistance in the cell membrane, said James Gimzewski, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute and also one of the study's senior authors. "We had to measure the softness of the cell without bursting it," Gimzewski said. "Otherwise, it's like trying to measure the softness of a tomato using a hammer." The AFM uses a minute, sharp tip on a spring to push against the cell surface and determine the degree of softness. Think of it as an extension of a doctor’s hands performing a physical examination to determine disease, Gimzewski said. "You look at two tomatoes in the supermarket and both are red. One is rotten, but it looks normal," Gimzewski said. "If you pick up the tomatoes and feel them, it's easy to figure out which one is rotten. We’re doing the same thing. We're poking and quantitatively measuring the softness of the cells." After probing a cell, the AFM assigns a value that represents how soft a cell is based on the resistance encountered. What the team found was that the cancer cells were much softer than the normal cells and they were similarly soft with very little variation in gradation. The normal, healthy cells from the same specimen were much stiffer than the cancer cells and, in fact, the softness values assigned to each group did not overlap at all, making diagnosis using this nanomechanical measurement easier and more accurate. "It was fascinating to find such striking characteristics between the metastatic cancer cells and normal cells," said Sarah Cross, a graduate student in the chemistry and biochemistry department and a study author. "The metastatic cancer cells were extremely soft and easily distinguishable from the normal cells despite similarities in appearance. And we're looking at live cells taken from human patients, so that makes this is a unique finding." Calvin Quate of Stanford University, the co-inventor of the Atomic Force Microscope, said the UCLA study breaks new ground. "This manuscript is the first that directly shows a relationship between the nanomechanical properties and physiological function in clinical samples from patients with suspected cancer," said Quate, 1992 Medal of Science recipient. National breast cancer expert Susan Love said the study findings "open a new era for function-based tumor cell diagnostics." "With these findings, it is foreseeable that a combined biochemical, biophysical and morphological analysis for analyzing human cytological specimens using AFM may be finally realized," said Love, president and medical director of the Susan Love Research Foundation and a clinical professor of surgery at UCLA. Researchers next will explore whether the nanomechanical analysis can be used to personalize cancer treatment based on the characteristics of a patient’s cancer cells. There are standard chemotherapy drugs that are used to treat metastatic cancer, Rao said, but response varies from patient to patient. If researchers could test the cancer cells beforehand, they could potentially apply therapies that would make the cells stiffer, making it more difficult for the diseased cells to spread through the body. http://www.azonano.com/ Fractals on new Mountbatten Building inspired by nanotechnology research The fractal patterns seen on the University of Southampton's new Mountbatten Building were inspired by research on optical nanotechnology research in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) and the Optoelectronic Research Centre (ORC). These technologies are being applied to create new optoelectronic devices which could enhance optical communications or greatly reduce the cost of solar energy.The £55 million building, currently under construction and due for completion in July 2008 will provide a world class facility that will allow ECS and the ORC to make more contributions in these exciting areas of research. The fractals, which form an ornamental design on the glass of the new building, are inspired by research into optical metamaterials, conducted by Dr Darren Bagnall and Dr Adrian Potts at the University's School of Electronics & Computer Science (ECS) working with Professor Nikolay Zheludev of the ORC. 'By drawing features that are much smaller than the wavelength of light, photons can be confused into doing things they normally wouldn't do,' said Dr Bagnall. 'The chiral fractal structures when etched into glass at the nanoscale were shown to produce very unusual polarisation changes. By using similar technologies to produce other types of nanostructured arrays on the surfaces of solar cells we could also ensure that optical asymmetries are created that prevent light from escaping the solar cells.' According to Dr Bagnall the light-trapping technologies could reduce the thickness of expensive semiconductor materials needed in solar panels, and this could directly reduce the cost of the devices. The first challenge is to prove that the technology works in practice, the second key challenge will be to develop cost effective ways to produce nanopatterned layers. The research will continue in the new Mountbatten Building. The state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary facility designed specifically to meet the long-term research needs of the School of Electronics & Computer Science and the Optoelectronics Research Centre, contains a large purpose-built clean room and associated laboratories, along with offices and meeting space. 'The technology which will be available in our new building, coupled with our high-quality academics, students and support staff, will enable us to develop faster, smaller, lower-cost, lower power, more environmentally-friendly devices for the next generations of electronic products whilst continuing our pioneering work in computer science,' said Professor Harvey Rutt, Head of ECS. http://www.alphagalileo.org/ Commercialization of Nanotechnology Investigated in New Podcast This third Podcast titled "Commercialization of Nanotechnology" features key stakeholders discussing the crucial issues around how nanotechnology can be taken from research and development and translated into successful commercial outcomes. Dr Peter Binks, CEO of NanoVic (Melbourne) and podcast interviewee commented, "Nanotechnology has moved from the research laboratory into the domain of product development over the last two years. It is now an investment proposition, and faces the challenges of any new venture in an uncertain market. This podcast is very timely. Five of the investment managers, advisors and portfolio managers give their candid views on what nanotechnology investments are like, and what features successful investments must have. This provides a useful perspective for anyone considering investment in this new field, or sponsoring a development trying to make its way in the market" Dr Ian Birkby, the CEO of AZoNetwork (Sydney), the operator of the AZoNano.com website commented, "The commercialization of nanotechnology provides real opportunities but there are questions as to whether nanotechnology requires a different model. This podcast gives people considering commercialization real insights into different approaches and advice from players who are in different stages of the nanotechnology investment cycle." The podcast features interviews with:
Carigent Therapeutics Completes Series A Financing; Advancing Nanotechnology for Controlled Delivery of Targeted Drugs and Diagnostics Carigent Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that the company has secured $2 million in its first round of private equity financing. Carigent is advancing a new drug delivery technology that aims to improve drug efficacy and safety by engineering nanoparticles that optimize delivery and controlled release of therapeutic and diagnostic agents into diseased tissues and cells. The financing was provided by Saint Simeon Marketing and Investments Lda. Carigent will apply the proceeds to further develop its nanotechnology platform, improve laboratory production capabilities and core expertise to support partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and advance its lead therapeutic product candidates toward clinical studies. Carigent's products and services are based on novel nanotechnology developed at Yale University. The core technology enables exceptionally high - density anchoring, or "tethering," of biological targeting agents to the surface of biodegradable nanoparticles that encapsulate drugs or diagnostic agents. This unique capability enables Carigent to design and engineer customized nanoscale carriers that are exceptionally versatile. On one hand, the platform allows for delivery and controlled release of therapeutic and diagnostic agents targeted directly to the site of pathology in specific tissues or cells, thus increasing delivered agent concentrations while minimizing systemic circulation of the drug and associated side effects. On the other hand, the technology has the capability to render the particles "stealthy" and increase the bioavailability and functional half-lives of therapeutics with formulation problems. An example of how the technology might work: Carigent nanoparticles engineered to deliver an anticancer therapeutic enter the disease environment, dispatch an increased dose of the encapsulated drug in a controlled fashion to the site of the tumor or within individual cancer cells, and the carrier degrades over time. The method thus leaves healthy tissues unharmed and minimizes systemic side effects. Carigent's multi-functional engineered nanoparticles incorporate FDA - approved PLGA, a polymeric material that has been used successfully in humans for decades. PLGA is the standard substrate used for controlled drug delivery formulations due to its biodegradable and biocompatible nature, as well as its ability to release encapsulated agents in a controlled fashion. Carigent's platform supports encapsulation of virtually any drug or molecule inside the nanoparticle, in addition to attachment of a broad array of ligand molecules to the surface at previously unattainable and unprecedented densities. These surface modifications enable disease-specific homing for delivery of both therapeutics as well as noninvasive contrast-imaging diagnostics. The technology also supports combined targeting agents-for example, a diagnostic imaging agent linked with a drug-in a single delivery vehicle. Controlled delivery of drugs using biodegradable nanoparticles provides a more efficient and less risky solution to many of the challenges of systemic drug delivery, including administration of larger-than-necessary doses, dose-limiting toxicity, and poor specificity that can lead to harmful effects on healthy tissues," said Seth Feuerstein, MD, JD, President and a co-founder of Carigent. "With this technology, Carigent is able to deliver on four key promises of improved drug delivery-the ability to control drug release, to target binding agents to a specific physiological site, to combine multiple payloads within the carrier, and to engineer delivery enhancements for existing drugs on the market or for drugs that have failed due to formulation or toxicity issues." http://www.prnewswire.com/ Cheaper Drugs Now Closer to Realization with New DropArray Technology A standard laboratory tool for measuring pharmacological activity of biological substances and performing other related tests may soon be replaced by a new miniaturized bioassay that will be faster, cheaper and more efficient for scientists to use, with new technology developed by Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN). The new assay, named DropArray, slashes the time needed to run certain lab tests by over 60 per cent and reduces consumable costs by nearly 90 per cent, while maintaining the same level of flexibility and convenience as conventional platforms. According to IBN Team Leader Dr Namyong Kim, "Our technology has the potential to accelerate life science, drug discovery and clinical research. Using our technology, companies can benefit from huge savings in time and money spent on research and development and this would have a direct impact on the cost of medication and new drugs for the consumer." IBN's DropArray represents a unique integration of surface chemistry and microfluidics designed to reduce the amount of material and reagent required by up to 1,000 times, while simultaneously cutting the reaction time by up to 10 folds, making it faster and cheaper than standard bioassays. Each DropArray chip comprises a small (1 inch by 3 inch) flat rectangular patterned glass slide, with hundreds or thousands of hydrophilic glass "wells" surrounded by a hydrophobic coating. These chips can be used for common laboratory processes such as the heterogeneous bioassay, which is typically used by scientists in diagnostic tests to determine how a blood sample interacts with various other substances. The "wells" act as small test tubes in which the reagents are added, mixed and incubated, and a bench-top station automatically completes the rinsing process in heterogeneous bioassay. IBN's DropArray is able to miniaturize bioassays from 50-100 microliters down to 100 nanoliters, making it possible for researchers to conduct various cell-based tests including cancer stem cell immunoassays that had previously been extremely challenging with conventional technology. Furthermore, the reduction in the volume of samples and reagents required provides similar advantages for protein-based assays such as ELISA with limited human and animal serum such as Human Leptin and Endostatin assays. "This DropArray was realized through the efforts of an interdisciplinary team of researchers, which is typical of the project-oriented research at IBN," said Prof Jackie Y. Ying, Executive Director of IBN, one of the 14 research institutes of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Prof. Ying was one of the youngest professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has received many awards for her research in nanotechnology. She was elected to the German Academy of Natural Scientists, Leopoldina, in April 2005 as the youngest member of the Academy. "IBN was established less than 5 years ago with the mission to conduct exciting scientific research with significant commercial impact. Since then, we have filed more than 420 patents, and we are delighted that our entrepreneurial research team of one chemist, one biologist, one biomedical engineer, one mechanical engineer and one chemical engineer has taken less than three years to develop a novel technology platform that would contribute significantly to reducing the cost of drug development and medication. Curiox Biosystems, the company we set up to market this technology, is IBN's first spin-off." Nanostart AG, the German-based world's leading nanotechnology investment company, has invested in Curiox Biosystems, which will further develop and commercialize the DropArray technology. Curiox will be headed by 2 IBN researchers, Dr. Kim Nam Yong, a Korean and Singapore permanent resident who received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Dr. Leck Kwong Joo, a Singaporean who received his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from the Australian National University. For Nanostart AG, the investment in Curiox marks its first in Asia, and is of strategic importance. Nanostart is investing in Curiox as the lead investor and is thus assuming an active role with its investment managers in the ongoing development of the company, jointly with Exploit Technologies, the commercialization arm of A*STAR. "Our new investment holding, Curiox, is our first step into the highly promising Asian market," explained Marco Beckmann, CEO of Nanostart AG. "Singapore has established an outstanding position for itself in Asia in nanotechnology. Through our investment in Curiox, we aim to directly participate in the dynamic growth of this region and to live up to our claim of global leadership. Further investments in Asia will follow." "We are delighted to learn that Nanostart is planning further activities including a local office in Singapore. It would bring along a significant international network of business contacts, and help other local enterprises in creating high value added jobs based on home-grown, cutting-edge technologies," said Prof. Ying. She will hold a seat on the company's board of directors along with a representative from Nanostart AG. The U.S. represents Curiox's largest potential market with more than 12,000 suitable academic and government labs, which spent $14.3 billion on lab instruments, consumables and reagents in 2005, and more than 14,000 industrial pharma and biotech labs, which spent $37.4 billion in 2005. http://www.nanotech-now.com Biological physics creates diagnostics of the future Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is about to enter a new field of research - biological physics. The aim is to develop biomedical instruments and methods for basic research and for applications within pharmaceutical development and medical diagnostics. Professor Fredrik Hook has been recruited by Chalmers to head this research group. Professor Hook, who for the past three years has been Professor of Nanoscience for Biophysics at Lund University, is just one in a series of recruitments which Chalmers has made within bioscience. This time the base is in physics and is linked to current research within materials science and nanotechnology. Fredrik Hook is also an entrepreneur and is expected to become a key link between Chalmers and the biotechnology industry in Sweden. "Chalmers is building on the already successful environment in applied physics. Fredrik Hook's work represents yet another step towards satisfying needs and realising potential within biology and medical applications. The interface between natural science, engineering and medicine can benefit from the unique conditions that exist in Gothenburg. This is expected to lead to new technologies and innovations which could reinforce Swedish healthcare and industry even further. I am convinced that Fredrik Hook will capitalise on these opportunities and develop them optimally together with his fellow researchers," says Chalmers President Karin Markides. Fredrik Hook's research deals with the development of instrumentation and techniques for improved diagnostics and pharmaceutical development. As a PhD student at Chalmers he was involved in founding the company Q-Sense, which manufactures and sells measuring instruments which are used throughout the world by researchers at universities and hospitals as well as developers in industry. The instruments are used primarily to study how biomolecules interact with different materials, which is a key component in the development of diagnostic sensors. Some years after taking his PhD he was offered a professorship in Lund, where his research group developed a completely new method for analysing membrane proteins. "We are seeking to use new concepts within nanotechnology coupled with the most recent advances in molecular biology to develop more effective sensors and analysis instruments. The aim is more rapid detection of diseases at an earlier stage. We want to improve existing clinical instruments and develop new ones in order to increase accuracy and reduce cost. Our instruments should be available for use at companies working on pharmaceutical development as well as in hospitals for diagnostic purposes," says Fredrik Hook. The aim of the research group is to detect disease markers on the individual molecule level. At present, millions of molecules are often needed in a blood sample in order to confirm a disease. Strong research at Chalmers within areas such as soft materials, supermolecular chemistry and biological imaging will be a significant advantage. Co-operation with the Chalmers Biocentre and Sahlgrenska University Hospital will also make it possible to get even closer to the fundamentals of biology and medicine in a completely new way. Fredrik Hook feels that world-class research in itself is not enough: "We have worked our way through to the research front line. The aim now is to get past it and become the leader in the field although we will not succeed in this as an independent research group. We must co-operate with several different disciplines. As a spin-off from our research we have learnt a great deal about cell membranes and how they melt together. This knowledge is vital within pharmaceutical distribution - a new field of interest for us. It is possible to deal with diseases in a completely new way one you have succeeded in getting past the barrier which the membrane represents and can send the drug directly into the diseased cells. Nature has already solved this in the marvellous process where a sperm and an egg merge. We want to learn how to make use of that principle so that one day we can deliver a drug directly to a predetermined place in the body, such as a cancer cell." He will also bring with him to Chalmers a research group which will be integrated with the biologically oriented work previously led by Bengt Kasemo at the Department of Chemical Physics. "There will be a broad range of expertise in the group. We are looking forward to working with different researchers at Chalmers, such as physicists, chemists, bioengineers and electrical engineers. The most gratifying aspect of my work is working with young people with a thirst for knowledge. I also hope to make a strong contribution to undergraduate education at Chalmers." Contact and more information: Fredrik Hook +46-31 772 61 09; fredrik.hook@chalmers.se http://nanowerk.com/ Media Coverage of Nanotech Risks and Government on the Rise More important is the fact that the study, conducted by Professor Sharon M. Friedman of Lehigh University, showed that issues about government regulation increasingly are getting more media attention. In 2006, more articles on regulation appeared than in all of 2000-2005 combined. In comparison with past years, press coverage of concerns about nanotechnology risks is starting to move away from individual science research results-for example, about the toxicity of nanoparticles in fish-and toward larger issues like the government's ability to safely oversee this rapidly commercializing, cutting-edge technology. "While the number of media articles raising concerns about nanotechnology risks is still small, it is growing, and there was a shift in the type of reporting in 2006," said Friedman. "Officials from the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies are more and more being asked to answer questions about the federal government's ability to regulate possible nanotechnology risk like the 'nano-readiness' of existing laws, sufficient resources and adequate safety research." In collaboration with Brenda P. Egolf, a research scientist at Lehigh, Friedman has tracked seven years of newspaper and wire service coverage of nanotechnology risks in the United States and United Kingdom. "Nanotechnology is turning the world upside down by enabling amazing new drugs, electronic devices, and consumer products. Press coverage reflects that increasingly doubts are being raised about whether government is up to the job of nanotechnology environment and health oversight. Stories are focused on whether 20th century regulation is ready for a 21st century technology and marketplace," noted Julia Moore, Deputy Director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. Friedman's presentation, Changing Patterns of Mass Media Coverage of Nanotechnology's Risks, is available at http://www.nanotechproject.org. Prof. Friedman is Director of the Science and Environmental Writing Program and Associate Dean at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture things usually between 1-100 nanometers. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a flea is roughly 1 million nanometers wide. More than $ 50 billion in nanotechnology products were sold in 2006. By 2014, Lux Research projects that $ 2.6 trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology-about 15 percent of total global output. http://www.nanotech-now.com Big boost for tiny technology Neil Kane and his staff had figured out how to rearrange methane gas to create industrial diamonds, but their company could not afford to build the highly specialized lab needed for developing such nanotechnology. So they hit the rental market and paid for lab time at Cornell University's NanoScale Science and Technology Facility. Thirteen nano-level university laboratories across the country are hiring themselves out to businesses eager to make their mark in the millennium of the minuscule. The intimidatingly named National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network, begun in 2004, is funded in part with $14 million a year from the National Science Foundation. Participating business owners say the network allows them to do much more research than they would have without access to its resources. That research, to which the businesses retain all rights, will foster better products and industrial processes that will bolster the national economy, they say. The number of companies taking advantage of the network is growing 10 percent a year, said the National Science Foundation's senior engineering adviser, Lawrence Goldberg. Host universities can apply the fees they receive to anything they like, including additions to their lab equipment. Those fees ranged in fiscal 2007 from a few hundred dollars to $100,000. Cornell's lab and a dozen other campus nano-labs around the country cater mainly to students, faculty and visiting scholars. They are built and run with public and private money. Besides Cornell's lab, participants are at Stanford, Pennsylvania State, Harvard, Howard and North Carolina State Universities, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the universities of Michigan, Washington, California, Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas. Even though the universities must give up some use of the labs and do not get royalties from the business work done there, as they would from most academic work that later proved marketable, the arrangement seems to sit well with universities, businesses and government. Mark Zupan, dean of the University of Rochester's Simon Graduate School of Business Administration in Rochester, N.Y., sees the trade-off as promoting innovation. He said he worried only that businesses might try to use the universities' names or reputations to enhance the credibility of their research. Kane, president of Advanced Diamond Technologies Inc., near Chicago, said his company could not hope to turn its patented material into a cell phone chip or a vision-restoring retinal implant if it could not rent lab time at Cornell. "We have our own equipment for making the diamond," Kane said. "But all of the subsequent steps require access to a clean room, to tens of millions of dollars of equipment that no small company could ever afford. Many big companies can't afford it either." Machines coated with hard, heat-resistant, low-friction diamond last longer and work more efficiently, Kane said. His company's specialty is depositing the diamond uniformly on silicon wafers, a key innovation toward someday making micro-machines entirely out of diamond. Even Fortune 500 firms "that can afford to have their own research infrastructure are not comfortable enough to handle some new nanomaterials" and rely on academia to help them out, said Yoshio Nishi, a former chief scientist at Texas Instruments Inc. who heads the Stanford Nanotechnology Facility in California. Although the operating scale is infinitesimal - a nanometer is roughly 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair - the economic possibilities are colossal. By 2014, nanotechnology may generate $ 2.6 trillion of manufacturing output and employ 2 million people, Lux Research Inc., of New York, estimates. In the 12 months through September, nearly 700 companies - mostly small start-ups, but also some corporate titans - paid for lab space and research help from the network, which is anchored by Cornell and Stanford and boasts top-of-the-line nanoengineering tools, techniques and staffs. http://www.nanowerk.com/ German nanotechnology firm invests in S'pore biomedical start-up A leading German nanotechnology company had decided to make a 16.5 per cent investment in a Singapore-based start up called Curiox Biosystems. Nanostart AG is widely seen as the world's leading nanotechnology investment company and this marks its first investment in Asia. Curiox holds the patent for what's called the DropArray. This is a technology platform in miniaturised aqueous bioassays that allows researchers to conduct tests quickly and with lower costs. It will cut testing time by 60 per cent and costs by nearly 90 per cent, without compromising the accuracy of results. So life science agencies and pharmaceutical companies can benefit from huge savings in time and cost. Meanwhile, for consumers, it would mean cheaper drugs. Curiox wants to market the DropArray to research laboratories and screening facilities worldwide, especially in the US. Curiox is a spin-off from Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), which is part of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Curiox is headed by Dr Namyong Kim, who was the leader of the IBN research team that developed the bioassay technology. The bioassay patent is just one of more than 420 IBN patents held by Curiox. - CNA/vm http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ Saudi Arabia plans to set up nanotechnology institute Saudi Arabia plans top set up a nanotechnology institute. The proposal has been approved by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, according to Dr Abdullah Al Othman, rector of King Saud University (KSU). To be located on a two million square metres facility in Riyadh Techno Valley, it will be named after King Abdullah, and serve as an advanced technology research centre for KSU.Al Othman said that Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defence and aviation, has donated SR30 million for the recruitment of top research scientists from all over the world. He spoke at the start of the three-day Seventh Saudi Engineering Conference, which was inaugurated by Interior Minister Prince Nayef on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan at KSU's auditorium in Riyadh recently. Prince Naeyf welcomed the KSU initiative and stressed the importance of manpower for the kingdom's development. "The future of the country depends on its youth, which in turn depends on human resources development. The scientific community must exert more effort to train and qualify the Saudi youth," he said. He praised KSU’s effort to recruit Nobel laureates and top research scientists as well as creating chairs to conduct research with the cooperation of leading universities and multinational companies. http://www.khaleejtimes.com Israeli Nanotechnology companies have doubled since 2005 For the first time ever, an exclusive, comprehensive platform of the entire Israeli http://search.dainfo.com/inni Nanotech eco-system has been launched. It is an all inclusive portal, mapping the entire Nanotech ecosystem, including over 300 researchers, 80 companies and 40 governmental and nonprofit organizations. The Portal has been created by http://www.dainfo.com/ d&a analysts for the Israel National Nanotechnology Initiative (http://www.nanoisrael.org/) with the support of the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) at the http://www.tamas.gov.il/NR/exeres/B0B48981-357D-446F-AFAC-91A358E93C87.htm Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor. As part of INNI's initiative, this portal will help "make Nanotechnology the next wave of successful industry in Israel by creating an engine for global leadership." The new platform is built upon d&a's research, analysis and unique mapping methodology which presents the entire industry in a clear, visual manner. The platform's capabilities allow you to search by company, researcher or any free term. The portal's navigation capabilities and birds eye view of the industry promotes the collaboration between Israeli and global Nanotechnology stakeholders, particularly for projects that lead to continuing success in academia and industry. The platform also serves INNI's initiative by enabling international companies to easily locate potential partnerships and opportunities as well as to gain insights into Israel's impressive Nanotech industry. d&a's research team have become experts in the Nanotech industry and have found that, "the academic and research field in the Israeli Nanotechnology field is dynamic and growing impressively and like other high technology sectors has the potential for significant international collaboration in science, technology and business." says Michal Oren, d&a's lead analyst. The 2005 survey conducted by d&a and INNI confirmed Israel's potential as a global Nanotech R&D hub, revealing strong continual growth in national research capacity. Since then, the numbers of researchers in the field have shot up significantly. Being home to six world-class research institutions, each with its own advanced programs in Nano-science and Nano-technologies 79 new researchers have emerged since 2005. Israeli Nanotechnology developed greatly since 2005. In addition to receiving an immense sum of funding (the donation matching model has effectively raised $ 230 million), and being the number one leader of innovations, Israel was recognized by ISI (the Institute for Science Information) as one of the top 15 countries producing Nanotech related knowledge and techniques, and the number of companies have doubled to a total of 81 in 2007 (compared to 30 companies in 2005). http://www.nanotech-now.com Media Coverage of Nanotech Risks and Government on the Rise U.S. newspaper and wire service coverage of questions about nanotechnology risks rose dramatically last year, according to findings of a new study presented at a Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies event. The number of U.S. risk-focused stories rose 58 percent-from 36 in 2005 to 57 in 2006. More important is the fact that the study, conducted by Professor Sharon M. Friedman of Lehigh University, showed that issues about government regulation increasingly are getting more media attention. In 2006, more articles on regulation appeared than in all of 2000-2005 combined. In comparison with past years, press coverage of concerns about nanotechnology risks is starting to move away from individual science research results-for example, about the toxicity of nanoparticles in fish-and toward larger issues like the government's ability to safely oversee this rapidly commercializing, cutting-edge technology. "While the number of media articles raising concerns about nanotechnology risks is still small, it is growing, and there was a shift in the type of reporting in 2006," said Friedman. "Officials from the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies are more and more being asked to answer questions about the federal government's ability to regulate possible nanotechnology risk like the 'nano-readiness' of existing laws, sufficient resources and adequate safety research." In collaboration with Brenda P. Egolf, a research scientist at Lehigh, Friedman has tracked seven years of newspaper and wire service coverage of nanotechnology risks in the United States and United Kingdom. "Nanotechnology is turning the world upside down by enabling amazing new drugs, electronic devices, and consumer products. Press coverage reflects that increasingly doubts are being raised about whether government is up to the job of nanotechnology environment and health oversight. Stories are focused on whether 20th century regulation is ready for a 21st century technology and marketplace," noted Julia Moore, Deputy Director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. http://www.azonano.com Agilent and Multiprobe to Bring Nanoprober to Asia Agilent Technologies and Multiprobe announced their intent to expand the companies strategic partnership. As a result, Multiprobe s Multiscan Atomic Force Prober (AFP), a high-resolution nanoprober, will be sold and supported by Agilent to customers in Asia and Japan. The arrangement strengthens the existing relationship between the two companies and expands Agilent s product offerings. Multiprobe is already using the Agilent B1500A semiconductor device analyzer in its current products. The Multiscan AFP allows users to quickly and repeatedly probe and characterize the electrical parameters of transistors and other structures at 65nm and below. The Multiscan AFP uses multiple, specialized atomic force microscope heads to locate a failing transistor and contact extremely close-spaced terminals. Its software allows the user to place probes easily, making previously expensive, time-consuming measurements routine. This also saves time and greatly facilitates the debug process. At 65nm and below, semiconductor manufacturers face tremendous challenges in failure analysis, including the probing of extremely small line widths and the measurement of very small voltages and currents, said Minoru Ebihara, vice president and general manager of Agilent Hachioji Semiconductor Test Division. By expanding our relationship with Multiprobe, we are now planning to offer our customers in Asia access to a comprehensive solution available for nanoscale probing for failure analysis. We are pleased to continue and expand our partnership with such an established and well-respected leader in the industry, said Andy Erickson, president of Multiprobe. This partnership with Agilent will allow us to further expand our reach to the customer base in Asia and Japan with Agilent s high-quality customer support. Multiprobe manufactures the world s highest resolution nanoprober. The tool is primarily used in electrical measurement of the smallest semiconductor devices. Multiprobe s Atomic Force Probers are installed worldwide, improving yield and accelerating development of 65nm, 45nm and 32nm processes for its customers. http://www.nanowerk.com Inhofe recycles unscientific attacks on global warming Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called "consensus" on man-made global warming. "Padded" would be an extremely generous description of this list of "prominent scientists." Some would use the word "laughable" (though not the N.Y. Times' Andy Revkin, see below). For instance, since when have economists, who are pervasive on this list, become scientists, and why should we care what they think about climate science? I'm not certain a dozen on the list would qualify as "prominent scientists," and many of those, like Freeman Dyson - a theoretical physicist - have no expertise in climate science whatsoever. I have previously debunked his spurious and uninformed claims, although I'm not sure why one has to debunk someone who seriously pushed the idea of creating a rocket ship powered by detonating nuclear bombs! Seriously. Even Ray Kurzweil, not a scientist but a brilliant inventor, is on the list. Why? Because he apparently told CNN and the Washington Post: These slides that Gore puts up are ludicrous, they don’t account for anything like the technological progress we're going to experience…. None of the global warming discussions mention the word 'nanotechnology. Yet nanotechnology will eliminate the need for fossil fuels within 20 years....I think global warming is real but it has been modest thus far - 1 degree f. in 100 years. It would be concern if that continued or accelerated for a long period of time, but that's not going to happen. And people say I'm a techno-optimist. So Kurzweil actually believes in climate science - rather than the reverse, as Inhofe claims - but thinks catastrophic global warming won’t happen because of a techno-fix that stops emissions. If wishes were horses...everyone would get trampled to death. In the real world, energy breakthroughs are very rare, as we've seen, and it's even rarer when they make a difference in under several decades. Then we have the likes of this from Inhofe's list: CBS Chicago affiliate Chief Meteorologist Steve Baskerville expressed skepticism that there is a “consensus” about mankind’s role in global warming. Wow, a TV weatherman expressed skepticism. If only the IPCC had been told of this in time, they could have scrapped their entire report. Seriously, Wikipedia says "Baskerville is an alumnus of Temple University and holds a Certificate in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University." I guess Inhofe has a pretty low bar for "prominent scientists" - but then again he once had science fiction writer Michael Crichton testify at a hearing on climate science. I don't mean to single out Baskerville. Inhofe has a lot of meteorologists on his list, including Weather Channel Founder John Coleman. I have previously explained why Coleman doesn't know what he is talking about on climate, and why meteorologists in general have no inherent credibility on climatology. In any case, they obviously are NOT prominent scientists. Then we have people like French geomagnetism (!) scientist Vincent Courtillot, geophysicist Louis Le Mouël, geophysicist Claude Allègre, geomagnetism (!!) scientist Frederic Fluteau, geomagnetism (!!!) scientist Yves Gallet, and scientist Agnes Genevey - whose "research" on global warming is brutally picked apart by RealClimate here and especially here (and again here by other scientists), who together "expose a pattern of suspicious errors and omissions that pervades" their work. So, yes, the Inhofe list is utterly ignorable compared to either the IPCC report or the Bali declaration by actual prominent climate scientists. The notion it is relevant to the climate debate is laughable, as even a cursuory examination makes clear. And yet in an article unhelpfully titled, "Climate Consensus 'Busted'?" the NYT's Andy Revkin amazingly writes of it: The perennial tug of war over what average people should think and do about human-caused global warming has just experienced another big yank, this time from those saying actions to cut greenhouse gases are a costly waste of time. Big yank? More like Inhofe is letting go of the rope. Revkin continues But when you sift through the studies, what emerges (to me at any rate) is not so much the shattering of a consensus as a portrait of one corner of the absolutely normal, and combative, arena in which scientific ideas emerge and either thrive or fade. What does Inhofe's list have to do at all with the normal scientific process? What do meteorologists and economists have to do with the normal process of climate science? Should scientists really be influenced at all by one inventor's wild claim that nanotechnology will eliminate fossil fuels in 20 years. Or by a contrived and mistake-riddled study by geomagnetists? One final (depressing) note: How effective is Inhofe’s media outreach compared to that of the entire community of climate scientists? Well, according to technorati, as of today, Friday the 21st, the IPCC Synthesis report has had 278 blog reactions since its release November 17, whereas Inhofe's "report," issued just yesterday (Thursday), has already had over 300 blog reactions. We have a long way to go if we're going to triumph over the disinformation and preserve the health and well-being of the next 50 generations. Let's all redouble our efforts in the new year. http://www.nanowerk.com Beautiful nanotechnology images from the Science as Art competition The 2007 Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting concluded in Boston on November 30. This was the first time that the popular Science as Art competition was held at an MRS Fall Meeting. Three first place and three second place winners were selected from the various entries. Some of the images are from the nanotechnology domain but most are micro-scale.    Second place winners    Solar power and nanotechnology The Nano-Science Center of the University of Copehagen announced the discovery of a new material called nano flakes that can potentially revolutionize the way solar power is converted into electricity. "We believe that the nano flakes have the potential to convert up to 30 per cent of the solar energy into electricity and that is twice the amount that we convert today", says Martin Aagesen who is a PhD from the Nano-Science Center and the Niels Bohr Institute at University of Copenhagen. During his work on his PhD thesis, Martin found a new and untried material. "I discovered a perfect crystalline structure. That is a very rare sight. While being a perfect crystalline structure we could see that it also absorbed all light. It could become the perfect solar cell", says Aagesen who is also director of the company SunFlake Inc. that pursues development of the new solar cell. "The potential is unmistakeable. We can reduce the solar cell production costs because we use less of the expensive semiconducting silicium in the process due to the use of nanotechnology. At the same time, the future solar cells will exploit the solar energy better as the distance of energy transportation in the solar cell will be shorter and thus lessen the loss of energy." http://www.energyrefuge.com Bible on Chip Smaller than Pinhead The timing couldn't have been better considering we're just a couple of days away from Christmas. Scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have reached a major breakthrough in Nanotechnology by printing the entire Old Testament on a Silicon chip smaller than a pinhead - thereby creating the world's smallest Bible. The 'nano-Bible' is written on a Silicon chip, which is so small that it is less than 1/1000th of an inch in size. How was it written? Using a focused ion beam (FIB) generator that shot tiny particles called Gallium ions onto a Gold surface covering a base layer of Silicone. How long did it take? The actual 'writing' of full text took just 90 minutes. Whereas the computer program that guided the FIB generator took over three months. What are the possibilities? Professor Uri Sivan, who conceived the idea of the miniature, said the research could lead to the creation of more advanced miniature structures and imaging on a nanometric scale, advancement in the storing of information in very small spaces, and usage of DNA molecules in storing information. Meanwhile, the ongoing plan is to photograph the nano-Bible and expand it 10,000 times to make it fit into a 75-square foot frame to be hung in the Technion Faculty of Physics. The size of the photograph will make it possible to read the entire Old Testament with the naked eye. The height of each letter will be three millimetres. And, the original nano-bible will be displayed next to the photograph. http://www.techtree.com Gold nanoparticle probes may allow earlier cancer detection Using tiny gold particles embedded with dyes, researchers have shown that they can identify tumors under the skin of a living animal. These tools may allow doctors to detect and diagnose cancer earlier and less invasively Studded with antibody fragments called ScFv peptides that bind cancer cells, the gold particles grab onto tumors after their injection into a mouse. When illuminated with a laser beam, the tumor-bound particles send back a signal that is specific to the dye, scientists at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology report. The results appear online Dec. 23 in the journal Nature Biotechnology and are scheduled for publication in the Jan. 1, 2008 print edition. "This is a new class of nanotechnology agents for tumor targeting and imaging," says senior author Shuming Nie, PhD, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Dr. Nie and his collaborators at the Emory/Georgia Tech Cancer Nanotechnology Center of Excellence have been developing light-emitting semiconductor crystals called "quantum dots" into tools for cancer detection and treatment for several years. However, colloidal gold, or gold particles in suspension, offers advantages compared with quantum dots in that the gold appears to be non-toxic and the particles produce a brighter, sharper signal, Dr. Nie says. "The detail is like a fingerprint, and because of the enhancement provided by the gold surface, the signal from the dye tags is very bright," he says, adding that the distinct peaks in the dye signal mean several different probes could be used at the same time. "The tags' rich spectroscopic signatures provide the capability of using several probes at once, but that will require more sophisticated computational tools," says May Dongmei Wang, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and director of biocomputing and bioinformatics in the cancer nanotechnology center. "We are developing data processing tools and making them available to the National Cancer Institute's caBIG (cancer biomedical informatics grid) so that the research community can use them." While colloidal gold has been used to safely treat people with rheumatoid arthritis for several decades, the toxicity of quantum dots, which contain the heavy metal cadmium, and their long-term fate in the body are still being studied, Dr. Nie notes. Compared with quantum dots, the gold particles are more than 200 times brighter on a particle-to-particle basis, although they are about 60 times larger by volume. Covered with a non-toxic polymer, the gold particles are about 60-80 nanometers in diameter. That's 150 times smaller than a typical human cell and thousands of times smaller than a human hair. "I expect that with these probes, it will be possible to detect cancer much earlier, at the microscopic level," says Dong Moon Shin, MD, associate director of Emory's Winship Cancer Institute and professor of hematology, oncology and otolaryngology. Dr. Shin's laboratory is working with Dr. Nie's to refine the gold particles' use in living animals. "Even a half-centimeter-wide nodule contains millions of cancer cells, but with this technology we can detect many fewer cells at a time," says Dr. Shin. In the Nature Biotechnology study, the researchers report that they are able to detect human cancer cells injected into a mouse at a depth of 1-2 centimeters. That makes the gold particles especially appropriate tools for gathering information about head or neck tumors, which tend to be more accessible, Dr. Shin says. The technology will need further adaptation for use with abdominal or lung cancers deep within the body. The particles described in the study were linked with "single chain variable fragment" (ScFv) antibodies that recognize epidermal growth factor receptor, which is present on the surfaces of many human tumors including head and neck and lung carcinomas. In the study, antibody-linked particles accumulate in tumors ten times more than particles without antibodies. However, both kinds of nanoparticles tended to accumulate in the liver and spleen over several days, the researchers found. Dr. Nie says his lab plans to modify the coatings of the nanoparticles to improve tumor targeting. Eventually, he says, the gold particles could also be used to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells. The Nature Biotechnology report is a collaboration between first author Ximei Qian, PhD and graduate student Dominic Ansari in Dr. Nie's laboratory, Xiang-Hong Peng, MD PhD in Dr. Shin's laboratory and research specialist Qiqin Yin-Goen in the laboratory of Andrew Young, MD PhD, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. Other Emory faculty investigators included Georgia Chen, PhD, associate professor of hematology and oncology and Lily Yang, MD, associate professor of surgery. The joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University provides an excellent environment for translating new biotechnologies into biomedical applications and clinical practice," Dr. Wang says. "This work on cancer nanotechnology illustrates a significant collaboration involving five academic departments and four Georgia Cancer Coalition Scholars," Dr. Nie says. "It is also a product of inter-programmatic collaboration between two NIH-funded centers at Emory and Georgia Tech, one for cancer nanotechnology and one for studying head and neck cancer." http://www.eurekalert.org Sri Lanka to set up nanotechnology research institute The Ministry of Science and Technology of Sri Lanka is ready to launch the nanoscience project together with industrial private sector early next year, Secretary to the Ministry A.N.R. Amarathunga told the Sunday Observer. Under the project two institutions, NANCO and SLINTEC will be set up. NANCO will be the holding company that will own the nano park proposed to be established in Homagama. State of the art laboratories will come up in the park to facilitate private sector companies and other research institutions. Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology (SLINTEC), the research institute will be a joint venture with the private sector. Private sector will invest 50% to set up the SLINTEC which will decide on the salaries and other emoluments to the professionals who will join the institution. The Institute will conduct research programs directly focused on upgrading the industrial products, initially our main industrial exports. Any innovation of SLINTEC will be used by the private sector partners of the institute. The investment of the project is Rs. five billion. "The major advantage Sri Lanka tend to gain in this new technology is the human resources we have," Amarathunga said. Some of the world's top nano scientists are Sri Lankans who will extend their support to the project. Professors Ravi Silva and Gihan Amarathunge will join from the beginning and Prof. Silva is due here by January next year. Prof. Silva is presently attached to the University of Surrey and is one members of the five member consultative committee of the UK government on nano technology. Prof. Amarathunge is in the University of Cambridge. "Sri Lankan nano research will initially focus on industries such as apparel, rubber, ceramic, chemical products such as paints, activated carbon, mineral and herbal products which are the main industries in Sri Lanka. Nanotechnology research will enable these industries to face the risk and compete globally. For instance our apparel industry is catering for high end niche markets and we are competing in quality and not in volume. Nano technology can be used to produce high quality apparel products. In rubber industry too we can add more value to our rubber products. Nano technology is a vast area and can be applied in every industry, Amaratunga said. The private companies that will join the project are MAS Holdings, Brandix, Jinasena, Dialog and Sri Lanka Telecom. Some countries have agreed to technically support the project. Some universities and research institutes have already started training scientists in nano science. SLINTEC will be initially located at Biyagama and later shifted to the nano park in Homagama. once the construction work is completed, which will take around two years," he said. "This is the first time the corporate private sector will collaborate with the government in research and development. Nanotechnology is a new breakthrough in science and if we grab the opportunities at the very beginning the country will benefit immensely. We missed the industrial revolution, electronic revolution, bio revolution and the IT revolution. Many developing countries successfully utilised these technologies in their economic development. Our objective is to be a leader or at least an equal partner in nano research, Amaratunga said http://www.nanowerk.com Fizeau Interferometers Using New Method to Analyse Surfaces With Different Reflectivities Due to their stable design, Fizeau interferometers are used to determine the topography of surfaces such as, e.g., plane surfaces. PTB has now developed a method which makes it possible to analyse surfaces with different reflectivities in a simple way. This method can also be extended to dynamic measurements. Fizeau interferometers generate an interference between the surface of a test sample and a reference surface that is brought close to the test sample. The interference image is recorded and analysed by an imaging optics system. The contrast and the shape of the interference signals depend, however, on the reflectivity of the test samples. The time and effort required for measuring and analysing the topographies of differently reflecting test pieces is therefore significantly increased. The method of separating the wavefronts of the reference surface and the test sample surface in the plane of the reference surface - for which a patent has been applied for - uses a new generation of commercially available beam splitters, also called "on-axis beam splitters", which cause a separation of the polarisation directions of the incident light along the optical axis. In comparison with common Fizeau interferometers, this has various advantages. On the one hand, through the generation of polarised light, the measurement can be traced back to a pure two-beam interference. The analysis of the signal is thus significantly facilitated and improved. Classic Fizeau interferometers, however, are based on the analysis of the multiple-beam interference. On the other hand, by varying the direction of polarisation, a maximum contrast can be set, independent of the reflectivity of the test sample. In contrast to this, in conventional Fizeau interferometers, different reference surfaces with adapted reflectivity must be held available in case the reflectivity of the test samples varies strongly. In order to increase the accuracy of analysis of common Fizeau interferometers, a variable phase is generated by varying mechanically the distance between the test sample and the reference surface (phase-shifter interferometry). Another advantage of the new method is that such a phase shifting becomes possible through the use of electro-optical components and thus without using mobile parts. Thanks to the increased measuring dynamics achieved in this way, it is, for example, possible to carry out topographical measurements in environments which are subjected to vibrational strain. The new method allows a facilitated and improved analysis of the measurement data, requires only one calibrated reference surface instead of several, and opens up new possibilities of application in the field of dynamic interferometry. It is particularly suited for measurements on structured or unstructured surfaces with different reflectivities - especially in the optical and semiconductor industry. http://www.azonano.com |
