Global News:

Australian sensor 'looks at atoms'
brisbanetimes.com.au November 27th, 2007 Bionic body parts and new pharmaceuticals may be easier to develop with the launch of a new Australian device that can see what's happening at the atomic level. The Inphaze impedance spectrometer, which is the size of a shoebox, uses electricity to detect the structure of samples at the nanometer scale, and could replace larger measuring devices which cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Speaking at the launch of Inphaze, University of Sydney Biophysics and Bioengineering director, Professor Hans Coster, said the spectrometer was unique because it provided a level of resolution not previously obtained by impedance spectrometers. "With this instrument we can picture things with electrical currents that we cannot see otherwise. We have been able to resolve structures down to atomic dimensions, down to seeing the addition of a single carbon atom," he said.

SA pumps R150m into developing tiny science
busrep.co.za November 27th, 2007 The government is investing R150 million to spur research and development of nanotechnology, according to science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena. Innovation centres for the revolutionary cross-disciplinary technology, which can improve the country's scientific research capacity, have been set up at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Mintek in Pretoria. Nanotechnology applications - which explore new worlds of extremely small objects and even envisage microscopic machines the size of molecules - can be used to provide alternative sources of energy and improve healthcare methods.

Nanoparticles find favour in diagnosis, therapy
hindu.com November 28th, 2007 The efficacy of any drug depends strongly on its bioavailability — referring to the presence of the drug in the part of the body where it is needed. Drug delivery mechanisms focus on increasing bioavailability and the residence time. Nanoparticles do both. Generally they assist in diagnosis (as contrast agents in ultrasonography, MRI imaging), delivery (by residing for a long time), treatment (by penetrating through cell walls and into cytoplasm inside the nucleus of the cell), accessing areas (crossing blood-brain barrier) and stimulating the body's innate repair mechanism. Quantum dots are nanoparticles that glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. They shine longer and brighter than today's fluorescent dyes, and are used, both in vitro and in vivo, as luminescent tags to track proteins.

Is artificial life moving any closer?
nature.com November 29th, 2007 Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent gives a brief history of nanotechnology and its key analogies, drawn from molecular biology. In 1961, Richard Feynman was intrigued by the possibility of increasingly tiny assemblers. Eric Drexler hopes to emulate organic molecules in more enduring form. But the present bull market for nanotech seems to have devolved into innovations in materials science, rather than a quest to create tiny self-replicating machines. The same thing happened with artificial intelligence and neural network theory — high aspirations became mired in frustration, then subsumed by lower-level research and industrial buzzwords, lofty goals redefined.

ORNL super water repellent could cause big wave in market
Oak Ridge National Laboratory November 29th, 2007 A water repellent developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory outperforms nature at its best and could open a floodgate of commercial possibilities.

SOURCE: NANOTECHWEB.ORG NEWSWIRE (WEEK 48)

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Nanofibres under control

The materials could now be tuned for specific applications by changing growth conditions

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/32055

DNA sequencing moves on

New "DNA transistor" controls the position of molecules with single nucleotide resolution http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/32030

Nanotubes caught on camera

Direct images obtained of carbon nanotubes in human cells

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/32015

Nano water pump makes its debut - in theory Simulation team is looking to cooperate with experimental groups

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/31974

"Remote-control" nanoparticles home in on tumours Active molecules released by exposing nanoparticles to low frequency electromagnetic fields http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/31970

LAB TALK

Molecular multi-decker sandwiches reveal strong interaction between spin and lattice The stability of molecular magnets is investigated and presented

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/32044

Portable microsensors based on individual SnO<sub>2</sub> nanowires Researchers develop a reliable, temperature-modulated gas sensor

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/32027

In vitro utilization of ferromagnetic nanoparticles in hemodialysis therapy Ferromagnetic Nanoparticles used in Hemodialysis are presented in this work.

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/32024

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