Donate
Donate

Gaming the Future: The Book!

Author: Foresight Editor

Turning Diatoms Into Nanodevices

Gina Miller writes "Kenneth Sandhage, a materials chemist at Ohio State University in Columbus, realized based upon a meeting with marine biologist Monica Schoenwaelder, from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, that her description of microshells created by diatoms could be practical microdevices. Sandhage has now teamed with a pharmacologist to develop drug delivery capsules and says: " Eventually, scientists may even seek to tinker with the DNA of diatoms to make tailored shapes." Turning Diatoms Into Nanodevices , on the inScight website (3/18/02)."

Confocal microscope allows imaging 3D imaging of cellular structures

Gina Miller writes "Luke P. Lee, assistant professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and his doctoral student Sunghoon Kwon have developed a miniature microlens and scanner that can see inside of a cell. "You could put this device on the tip of an endoscope that could be guided inside a cancer patient," said Lee. "Doctors could then see how tumor cells behave in vivo. It would also be feasible to deliver drugs directly to the tumor cell, and then view how the cell responds to the drugs." See the Berkeley Campus news site (3/13/02): http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2002/0 3/13_micro.html"

eru writes "[The] press release from UC Berkeley details a proof-of-concept experiment wherein UC Berkeley professor Luke Lee successfully imaged (in 2-D) a lily's cell wall using a combination microlens and scanner, two devices which Lee has stated that he plans to incorporate into a fully miniaturized 3-D microscope in the future."

And Mr_Farlops points to additonal coverage in which "Science Daily reports that researchers at UC Berkeley have built a working array of confocal optical scanners, each one millimeter in size, built with photolithography methods. They plan to build even smaller devices and imagine uses in materials science, microscopic medical robots, cytology and microbiological research. Obviously such devices acting as the eyes of microscopic medical robots will revolutionize medicine even before nanoscopic cell repair robots arrive. I also personally find it significant that the article notes that this development is funded by, in part, by DARPA."

Read more for a longer post in this item from Brian Wang.

Flexible Ceramics at the Nanoscale

RobertBradbury writes "Spacedaily is reporting on the development of complex self-assembling materials that are being described as "block copolymer directed nanostructured organic/inorganic hybrids". The news report is here here. Where is my nano-chainmail?"

eru submitted additional information on this item: "An announcement at Cornell University's website offers a brief outline describing a class of nanostructured organic/synthetic hybrids dubbed 'flexible ceramics' by CU associate professor of engineering Ulrich Wiesner.

The material is described as flexible, transparent, strong and easy to manufacture, with Wiesner stating that "[it] has properties that are not just the simple sum of polymers plus ceramic, but maybe something quite new". "You could almost say we have perfected nature," he adds."

Cautious analysts say advanced nanotech is still "decades off"

An brief article on the Small Times website ("Nanotechnologyís potential needs decades of work before itís realized, expert panel says", by Candace Stuart, 19 March 2002) reports that a panel of "nanotechnology leaders", speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C. on "Small Wonders: Exploring the Vast Potential of Nanoscience" sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), said not to expect much from nanotechnology in the short term. The report says the experts opined that "Nanotechnology probably has decades to go before promise becomes product; but if and when it does, the impact could be staggering."

Similar sentiments were expressed in an article in the Dallas Morning News ("Nanotech may need a little time", by Alan Goldstein, 13 March 2002), focusing on venture capitalists and investors at the Nanoventures 2002 conference held in Dallas, Texas, 6-8 March 2002 (see Nanodot post from 8 March 2002).

India hopes to develop

from the World-Watch dept.
An brief article in The Times of India ("Need to develop nanotechnology", 5 March 2002) reports that Rajeev Ratan Shah, Secretary, Department of Information, speaking at a seminar in Kanpur on 3 March 2002, admitted that "India was lagging behind in the development of nanotechnology", and called upon nano-scientists "to come out with concrete recommendations for quick growth of nanotechnology in the country. He also stressed that the government would provide funds for research in this field." According to the report, "Shah said there was an urgent need for an integrated approach for the growth of nanotechnology in India, adding that scientists from various institutes should come on a joint forum to share their experiences and knowledge in this field. He lamented that India was lagging behind in nanotechnology and it was high time that Indian scientists took initiatives for advanced research in the field."

New York Times covers nanotech

An article in the New York Times ("Tiny Technologies Slip Unseen Into Daily Life", by Barnaby J. Feder, 11 March 2002) takes a decidedly short-term view of nanotechnology, focusing on the many companies attempting to commercialize nano-structured materials. The article makes only a few passing references to the potential for advanced nanoscale devices, but does note the increasing level of interest from venture capitalists and investors: "The things I said a few years ago would be prototypes in 2005 are here now," James C. Ellenbogen, who heads the nanotechnology division at the Mitre Corporation, which specializes in government-supported technical research. "There has been a sharp upsurge in the number of venture capitalists at science meetings."

[Note: Access to the NYT site is free, but requires registration.]

A quick look at a nanotech-oriented VC firm

An article in the San Jose Business Journal ("VC Draper still rolling the dice", by Sarah Lacy, 1 March 2002) doesnít deal much with nanotechnology per se, but does offer an interesting profile of venture capitalist Tim Draper and his firm of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which is one of the VC firms leading the charge (cautiously) into the emerging nanotechnology sector.

Self-assembling nanotubes may form scaffold for nano-scale systems

Gina Miller writes "Purdue University researcher Hicham Fenniri uses Rosette nanotubes as a frame to direct a target that can change depending on the chemical used. Fenniri believes his self assembling system could be used as a diagnostic tool and for the treatment of disease. See the Purdue News article (March 11, 02) http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/020311.Fenniri.scaffold.html"

According to a press release (8 March 2002), Purdue University researcher Hicham Fenniri has developed a method to create self-assembling nanotubes that can be easily manipulated with specific dimensions or chemical properties. The nanotubes can be used as a frame on which various objects additonal molecules or metal ions can be added to give the structure a specific property or direct it toward a selected target, Fenniri says. Fenniri speculates that tailoring structures this way may allow development of high performance materials or new tools to diagnose and treat disease, or they could be used as a scaffold to custom-build molecular wires and other components for use in nanometer-sized electronic devices, including some that could be inserted into the body. A graphic image of one such structure showing a group of nanotubes linked to form a rosette-shaped ring is also available (Note: this is a rather large JPEG image).

Similar work by Fenniri using DNA as the nanoscale scaffold molecule was reported here on Nanodot on 17 April 2001.

Carbon Nanopores As Alternative Fuel Storage

Gina Miller writes "The University of Missouri-Columbia's recent discovery of a carbon material could become a new fuel alternative for the next generation. MU physicist Peter Pfeifer believes this new material could relieve us of our dependence on foreign fuel and sees a commercially viable carbon nanopore storage product on the market within five years. See University of Missouri website (03/14/02): http://www.missouri.edu/%7Enews/releases/carbonnan opores.html Or See Sci News (03/16/02): http://www.newswise.com/articles/2002/3/NANOPORE.U MC.html"

EPA will examine nanotech environmental impacts

from the another-green-world dept.
According to a report on the Small Times website ("U.S. Regulators want to know whether nanotech can pollute", by Doug Brown, 8 March 2002), "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is gathering information on the potential perils of nanotechnology even while it's enlisting the science in its fight against pollution."

While the EPS will continue to fund research into way to use nanotechnology to clean up the environment and to prevent future environmental damage (see Foresight Update #44), the EPA will also pay for research projects that examine possible negative environmental impacts of nanotechnology, said Barbara Karn, the EPA official in charge of the agency's nanotechnology research.

A second article ("Nano litterbugs? Expers see potential pollution problems", by Doug Brown, 15 March 2002), covers a recent meeting on "Nanotechnology: Environmental Friend or Foe", held on 15 March at the EPA offices in Washington, D.C. The article includes the views of Vicki Colvin, a professor and co-director of the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (http://cnst.rice.edu/cben/) at Rice University in Texas, and Mark Wiesner, also a Rice University professor and the centerís other co-director.

(The CBEN was also the host of a workshop on the possible environmental impacts of nanotechnology in December 2001. See Nanodot post from 17 December 2001.)

The article also describes an EPA request for proposals (RFP) on "Environmental Futures Research in Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology" from the EPA National Center for Environmental Research for research related to the possible environmental impacts of nanotechnology.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin Podcast Spotify
0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop
    Continue Shopping

      Search Foresight Institute