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In this issue:
Foresight has articulated six critical challenges that humanity faces which can be addressed by nanotechnology. In the Weekly News Digest we identify news items, research breakthroughs, and events citing current research and applications providing the stepping-stones to solutions to these challenges.
Same idea, different approaches
Nanotech firms take various paths to harnessing sun
News source: San Francisco Chronicle by Paul Carlstrom
While Konarka, Nanosolar and Nanosys have similar ideas about flexible
solar cells, each company approaches the challenge differently.
Source
Technical Papers: Nanofiltration
GE Infrastructure Water & Process Technologies
Nanofiltration is a form of filtration that uses membranes to preferentially separate different fluids or ions. Nanofiltration is not as fine a filtration process as reverse osmosis, but it also does not require the same energy to perform the separation. Nanofiltration also uses a membrane that is partially permeable to perform the separation, but the membrane's pores are typically much larger than the membrane pores that are used in reverse osmosis.
Source
Understanding how targeted nanoparticles enhance drug activity
News source: National Cancer Institute Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
The ability to target nanoparticles to tumors in order to enhance the antitumor activity of potent anticancer drugs while reducing potential side effects is one of the most promising applications of cancer nanotechnology. Now, new evidence suggests that the increased activity of drugs delivered using at least one specific targeting molecule results from the fact that drug is released from targeted nanoparticles over a longer time inside tumor cells.
Source
NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer http://nano.cancer.gov/index.asp
New nanotech centre opens new food possibilities
News source: Foodproductiondaily.com by Anthony Fletcher
A grant for a new state-of-the-art nanotech research centre in the UK underlines the potential of this brave new technology for the food industry.
Source
NRL Discovery Advances Potential of Nanotechnology
News source: Nanotechwire.com
Novel electronic devices based upon nanotechnology may soon be realized due to a new understanding of how impurities, or 'dopants,' can be intentionally incorporated into semiconductor nanocrystals. This understanding, announced today by researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory and the University of Minnesota (UMN), should help enable a variety of new technologies ranging from high-efficiency solar-cells and lasers to futuristic 'spintronic' and ultra-sensitive biodetection devices. The complete findings of the study are published in the July 7, 2005, issue of the journal Nature.
http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=2123
Naval Research Laboratory http://www.nrl.navy.mil/
University of Minnesota http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php
Research Institution: Space Nanotechnology Laboratory
The Space Nanotechnology Laboratory (SNL) is located in the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI). The SNL, along with our companion laboratory, the NanoStructures Laboratory (NSL), is a member of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL), a consortium of campus microfabrication facilities with shared interests.
Their primary mission is to develop nano-fabrication, advanced lithography and precision engineering technology for building high performance space instrumentation, including x-ray telescopes and high resolution x-ray spectrometers, magnetospheric imagers and solar physics instrumentation.
http://snl.mit.edu/mission.html
What are Productive Nanosystems?
Productive Nanosystems are molecular-scale systems that make other useful materials and devices that are nanostructured. The Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems will provide a common framework for understanding the pathways for developing such systems, the challenges that must be overcome in their development, and the applications that they can address. The Roadmap will also serve as a basis for formulating research and commercialization agendas for achieving these capabilities. Productive Nanosystems will drive research and applications in a host of areas, providing new atomically-precise nanoscale building blocks, devices and systems. The intended audiences for the Roadmap include governments, corporations, research institutions, investors, economic development organizations, public policy professionals, educators and the media.
For more information about the Foresight Nanotech Institute Roadmap Initiative:
http://www.foresight.org/roadmaps/index.html
October 22-27, 2005
San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel
http://www.foresight.org/conference2005/index.html
The submission deadline is July 15, 2005 for the Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes in Theory and Experimental categories, the Foresight Institute Distinguished Student Prize, the Foresight Institute Government Prize and the Foresight Institute Prize in Communication. [Note: since this email was sent, the prize deadline was also extended to July 31]
To submit a nomination:
http://www.foresight.org/prize/
Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes in Theory
For a complete list of past winners follow this link:
http://www.foresight.org/about/fi_spons.html#PrevPrizes
Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes in Experimental
For a complete list of past winners follow this link:
http://www.foresight.org/about/fi_spons.html#PrevPrizes
Foresight Institute Distinguished Student Prize
For a complete list of past winners follow this link:
http://www.foresight.org/about/fi_spons.html#PrevPrizes
Foresight Institute Prize in Communication
For more information about this prize:
http://www.foresight.org/about/communicationprize2004.html
These prizes will be awarded at the Feynman Prize banquet on Wednesday night, October 26, 2005, at the Advancing Beneficial Nanotechnology: Focusing on the Cutting Edge conference in San Francisco, California.
Abstract Deadline has been extended to - July 31, 2005
To submit an abstract, please follow this link:
https://www.foresight.org/forms/php/abstract.php?Event_ID=44
Early Registration Discount – August 30, 2005
Customize your conference experience – Choose the days and sessions that provide the kind of nanotechnology information and contacts you seek. Foresight Nanotech Institute offers an "a la carte" conference so you can select the days that are most valuable to you. Or attend all six days and receive a comprehensive overview: from Vision, through current Applications and Policy work, to Research on the cutting edge of advanced nanotechnology.
http://foresight.org/conference2005/registration.html
Prestige Sponsor:
Battelle - http://www.battelle.org/
Platinum Sponsors:
Biophan - http://www.biophan.com/
Dorsey & Whitney LLP - http://www.dorsey.com/
Draper Fisher Jurvetson - http://www.dfj.com/
Nanorex, Inc. - http://www.nanorex.com
NaturalNano - http://www.naturalnano.com/
Nanoscience Technologies, Inc. - http://www.nanoscience-tech.com/
Sun Microsystems - http://www.sun.com/
The Analytiq Group - https://www.theanalytiqgroup.com/
Gold Sponsors:
Buchanan Ingersoll/Burns Doane - http://www.bipc.com/
Foley & Lardner LLP - http://www.foley.com/
Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin - http://www.howardrice.com/
White & Case LLP - http://www.whitecase.com/
Silver Sponsors
nanoTitan - http://nanotitan.com/index.htm
Give your firm prominence within the nanotechnology community by becoming a conference sponsor. To become a sponsor follow this link:
http://www.foresight.org/conference2005/index.html
The National-Biology Interface: Exploring Models For Oversight
The Center for Science, Technology & Public Policy at the Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota
September 15, 2005
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Christine Peterson will speak on "Long Term Potentials, Unprecedented
Challenges for Governance."
http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/stpp/nanotechnology.html
Foresight Nanotech Institute has updated its membership levels and added benefits. One of the new levels is the corporate membership. This week’s spotlight is on Foresight corporate member Nanorex.
The mission of Nanorex is to become the leading provider of computational modeling tools made specifically for the design and analysis of productive nanosystems. Nanorex's first product, nanoENGINEER-1T, includes a nanomechanical CAD module that combines capabilities found in traditional chemistry software with features found in popular 3-D mechanical CAD systems. Nanorex is led by Mark Sims, President, J. Storrs Hall, PhD., Chief Scientist and K. Eric Drexler, Chief Technical Advisor.
The official release of nanoENGINEER-1 is targeted for Fall 2005. For more information about Nanorex, send an email to info@nanorex.com or go to
http://www.nanorex.com
If you attend or use any of our media partners’ events or services, please tell them you heard about it from Foresight Nanotech Institute.
The Methuselah Foundation is auctioning on eBay a lunch with Dr. Ray Kurzweil, recipient of the US National Medal of Technology, and author of numerous books including Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever and The Age of Spiritual Machines.
Individuals are organizing into teams of six to maximize their chances of winning lunch with Ray Kurzweil—you can too. The lunch location and date will be set at the convenience of the winners and Ray.
The auction ends tomorrow Thursday, July 14, 2005—Follow this link to place your bet - http://www.mprize.org/auction.
TRN’s TOP 10 Stories
News source: Technology Research News
TRN has selected its Top 10 science and technology news stories for the first
half of 2005, many of which are nanoscale or relevant to Productive
Nanosystems: self-assembling DNA machines, self-reproducing robots.
Source
August 24, 2005 – Debate: Nanotechnology: Radical New Science or Plus Ça Change?
Surface Science Summer School
Sponsored by the University of Nottingham
Nottingham, United Kingdom
This debate will be held in the University of Nottingham and is open both to those attending the Summer School in Surface Science and to the general public.
Confirmed members of the panel are:
Professor Richard Jones, University of Sheffield and author of Soft Machines.
Dr. J. Storrs Hall, Chief Scientist of Nanorex, Inc and author of Nanofuture:What’s Next for Nanotechnology?
Jack Stilgoe, a researcher at the Demos think tank and an investigator on an Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) project titled "Nanotechnology and Public Engagement"
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~pazxc/ssss2005/
The Foresight Nanotech Institute Weekly News Digest is emailed every week to 15,000 individuals from 129 countries. Foresight Nanotech Institute is a member-supported organization. We offer membership levels appropriate to meet the needs and interests of individuals and companies. To find out more about membership follow this link:
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If you would like to submit a news item for the news digest, please send it to editor@foresight.org.
Visit our blog Nanodot and join the discussion led by Christine Peterson
http://foresight.org/nanodot/
Foresight Nanotech Institute is located in Menlo Labs in the Menlo Business Park, in Menlo Park, California. Our space is a generous donation from Tarlton Properties. If you are seeking space for your nanotechnology or biotechnology company, please contact them at http://www.tarlton.com.
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Foresight Nanotech Institute is the leading think tank and public interest organization focused on nanotechnology. Founded in 1986, our mission is to ensure the beneficial implementation of nanotechnology. Focusing on the six Foresight Nanotechnology Challenges, Foresight provides balanced, accurate and timely information to help society understand nanotechnology through publications, guidelines, public policy activities, roadmaps, prizes, tutorials, conferences, discussion forums and networking events. For more information about Foresight Nanotech Institute:
http://www.foresight.org
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