Results for "DNA nanotechnology"

An article on the Small Times website ("U.S. government to push nanopores, molecular electronics in next decade", by D. Brown, 13 December 2001) describes two areas of nanotechnology research that will be emphasized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in it programs:
The Single Molecule Manipulation and Measurement program, launched in late October, will develop new measurement methods using nanopores to probe the structure, function and dynamics of single biomolecules such as DNA and RNA.
The other effort is a new competence-building project in molecular electronics, which uses molecules to perform the function of electronic components. The science is rapidly developing, but it is largely without standards and measurements. The program project will focus on small-ensemble conduction experiments, test structure assessment, electronic structure characterization and conduction modeling in the near term. It will work with several noted university researchers at Yale University, Penn State University and Rice University, the Hewlett-Packard Research Labs and the Naval Research Laboratory.

from the there's-nothing-small-about-nanotechnology dept.
NIH has put out a call for unusually large, longer-term, and team-oriented applications for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects on nanotechnologies useful to biomedicine. "Partners to the small businesses may play important roles in these projects and may receive appropriate support for their efforts…it should be possible to arrange individual atoms and molecules in space with great precision, leading to the fabrication of truly smart biosensors…the properties of DNA to undergo highly controlled and hierarchical assembly makes it ideal for applications in nanotechnology such as molecular sieves, or scaffolds for the assembly of molecular electronic components. Likewise, eukaryotic rotary motors based on ATPase could be employed as generic engines driving other nanodevices for purposes such as highly directed delivery of drugs or other agents…Nanotechnology promises scientific and commercial opportunities that are virtually unimaginable at this time." And individuals can be paid well: "Because the resources required for nanoengineering are relatively scarce, highly specialized, and multidisciplinary, the total amount of consultant costs and contractual costs requested by applicants may exceed the statutory guidelines."