Steve Clark writes of a new DNA nanotechnology diagnostic method: "Bio-bar-Code Amplification (BCA) is a new diagnostic method that now rivals PCR. BCA can also scan a sample for many different disease targets simultaneously. This new technology, based on gold nanoparticles and DNA, is easier to use, faster, more accurate, and less expensive, making it a leading candidate in point-of-care diagnostics. The Northwestern University team demonstrated it can detect as few as 10 DNA molecules in a matter of minutes, and believes it can be commercially available for certain diseases in one year. Additional info can be found on the Press Release."

InfoComm writes "The convergence of nanotechnology with the world of communications – nanomobility – creates a whole new industry segment for the commercialization of solutions. When combining nano-scale applications to the Personal Area Network ecosystem, for example, what type of products and services do you foresee in the market 5, 10, 15 years from now?"

Dr. J.P. Singh writes "Nanostructures such as nanorods, nanowires and nanosprings are building blocks of future nanomachines and have potential applications in nanosensors and nanodevices. Due to their high structural flexibility and strength, nanosprings should be suitable for applications in nanoelectromagnetic sensors and devices. However, so far no electromechanically actuated nanosprings has been demonstrated. We demonstrated a nanoscale electromechanical actuator operation using an isolated nanoscale spring. The four-turn Si nanosprings were grown using the oblique angle deposition technique with substrate rotation, and were rendered conductive by coating with a 10 nm-thick Co layer using chemical vapor deposition. The electromechanical actuation of a nanospring was performed by passing a dc current through it using a conductive atomic force microscope tip. The electromagnetic force produces spring compression. See upcoming article in 10 May 2004 issue of Appl. Phys. Letts."

Roland Piquepaille writes "Let's face it. Our computing devices are going faster year after year. But our laptop batteries don't show the same performance improvement. They still work only for a few hours, just a little bit more than ten years ago. Several companies want to change this, according to this UPI report, "Nanotechnology improving energy options." For example, mPhase Technologies plans to introduce smart batteries based on millions of silicon nanotube electrodes. These nanobatteries, to be introduced before the end of 2005, will last longer than traditional ones and will be respectful of our environment. Meanwhile, Konarka Technologies wants to reduce the weight of batteries with its flexible solar-fueled nanobatteries. You'll find more details and pictures in this overview."

Steve Clark writes "Foresight director Glenn Reynolds has previously written several pessimistic articles on the Nanobusiness Alliance's views on molecular manufacturing. His latest article points toward a refreshing change: "It looks to me as if the industry has avoided a serious mistake, and that it has done so before its earlier approach led to disaster." Included is a quote from Smalltimes: "Modzelewski, normally an outspoken Drexler critic, was unusually courtly toward the group. 'Foresight has created some frameworks and guidelines for going forward that people should be looking at,' he said." Here's the complete article."

Roland Piquepaille writes "Strictly speaking, it's not about nanomedicine, but it's close enough, because it concerns our future, so I think it's appropriate to give you this kind of information. A revolution in medical testing will soon come to a doctor's office near you, thanks to a simple CD player. A team of Purdue University scientists led by physicist David Nolte devised a method to create analog CDs which will be able to screen thousands of proteins in your blood for potential diseases while you wait. You will no longer have to wait for weeks before getting the results provided by a specialized lab. Still, expect a few years before this technology comes to your physician's office. In "BioCDS could hit No. 1 on doctors' charts," Nolte says that "it will be at least 10 years before doctors have Bio-CDs at their disposal." You'll find more details, pictures and references in this overview."

Roland Piquepaille writes "In this article from Backbone Magazine, Douglas Mulhall, author of "Our Molecular Future" tells us about the future of nanomedicine. He thinks that medical diagnosis will be the first successful steps, involving nanorobots which will raise alerts when they detect pre-cancerous cells. And twenty years from now, researchers envision that nanomedicine will be a trillion dollar industry. Around 2025, you'll pay $1,000 a year for a nanopill that will extend your life by suppressing heart attacks, diabetes and other diseases. Other scientists say that nanotechnology will be used to build synthetic bone and tissue, an opinion shared by Scientific American, which warns that growing replacement organs is still at least another 10 to 20 years in front of us. More details and references are available in this overview focused on how nanomedicine is going to totally take over healthcare in the 21st century. [Additional note: you can find former references to Mulhall's works on Nanodot, here or there.]"

brian wang writes "Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the U.S. Department of Energy are developing 'smart' nanoparticles to clean up environmental toxins that resist conventional remediation methods. Carnegie Mellon University researchers create nanoparticles to clean up contaminated sites"

Jerry Fass writes "A Purdue University team has created a lithographically produced cooling microtechnology, with some nanometer size parts. As with many other micron scale systems, the prefix 'nano' is being used in some descriptions of it: 'Nano-lightning' could be harnessed to cool future computers… The device uses micro scale ion driven airflow, a weakly ionized plasma, to drive cooling air currents. Such principles may be useful if scaled down to molecular nanotechnology sizes, for cooling, or maybe propulsion."

Roland Piquepaille writes "Cosmetics companies are always launching new products. And they are increasingly turning to nanotechnology to improve these new cosmetics. For example, L'Oréal introduced nanocapsules in its products since 1995. These nanocapsules release their active components when the skin's enzymes dissolve their envelopes. Now the company wants to closely look to your individual skin. It has developed a sensor on a chip, the SkinChip, in collaboration with STMicroelectronics. In "Skin Science," ScienCentral News says that the SkinChip takes very detailed images of your skin, up to the nanoscale level. The company hopes that it will help to tailor its products to individual customers. This overview contains more details and pictures."

RobertBradbury writes "ChevronTexaco has announced that it is able to refine diamondoid molecules, sp. adamantane, from crude oil and gas condensates and is prepared to scale up production as demand (presumably driven by nanotechnology research) increases. A Space Daily article provides more details." See also "ChevronTexaco MolecularDiamond Technologies Produces Research Quantities of Diamond Molecules From Petroleum"

Roland Piquepaille writes "Increasing storage density by packing more than 0 or 1 in a single memory cell is an appealing idea. Now, "researchers from the University of Southern California and NASA have built a prototype molecular memory device that stores three bits in the same spot." Each memory cell is a field-effect transistor (FET) made from a 10-nanometer-diameter indium oxide wire. By applying current to a gate electrode, the nanowire can have eight discrete levels of electrical conductance, therefore representing the eight combinations of 3 bits. The prototype can retain data for 600 hours and provides a data density of 40 gigabits per square centimeter. The researchers think they can reach a density of 400 gigabits per square centimeter within 5 to 10 years. More details and references are available in this overview. [Note: Nanodot described another approach to molecular memory last March.]"

RobertBradbury writes "Well on Monday I flew across the country to attend the NIH Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative Project Launch Meeting. It drew quite a crowd — 400+ scientists from all over the country. The goal — to develop 4+ multi-disciplinary nano-bio-tech research centers funded at the level of ~$1.5M each for perhaps 5+ years."

Roland Piquepaille writes "Two chemists from New York University, William B. Sherman and Nadrian C. Seeman, have created a DNA nanowalker with two legs, each one being 10-nanometers long. This nanoscale bipedal robot moves from one pair of anchors — strands of DNA — to another one. This is a major breakthrough for nanoscale manufacturing. And New Scientist says this opens the way for future nanoscopic robots that will assemble other nanomachines or manipulate individual molecules. Obviously, this is still at the experimental stage. Even the researchers don't say when such nanowalkers will be able to do some real work. More details are available in this overview."

Christine Peterson writes to point to an interview of Kazunobu Tanaka, Board trustee, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), with suggestions for developing nanotechnology as a key industry in Japan: "'Dr. Tanaka says nanotechnology in Japan will not make any progress unless project leaders and researchers with a wide outlook are brought up. He adds that the master plan for developing nanotechnology in Japan should be discussed from the mid- and long-term viewpoint by young researchers with strong physical and intellectual ability.' Sounds right to us, for other countries too."

With the latest in DNA nanotechnology, WillWare writes "Several news sources recently described work by Ehud Shapiro at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He and his team "have built a tiny biological computer that might be able to diagnose and treat certain types of cancer. The device, which only works in a test-tube, is years from clinical application… it can detect the abnormal messenger RNAs produced by genes involved in certain types of lung and prostate cancer… When the computer senses one of these RNAs it releases an anticancer drug, also made of DNA, which damps expression of the tumour-related gene." Shapiro has posted the PDF of his article in Nature which illustrates that detection of the abnormal RNA is a multi-step process, and that there is some real computation involved. It makes very interesting reading."

The second volume in the Nanomedicine book series by Robert A. Freitas Jr., Nanomedicine, Vol. IIA: Biocompatibility, is now freely available online in its entirety at http://www.nanomedicine.com/NMIIA.htm First published in hardcover by Landes Bioscience in 2003, this comprehensive technical book describes the many possible mechanical, physiological, immunological, cytological, and biochemical responses of the human body to the in vivo introduction of medical nanodevices, especially medical nanorobots.

Roland Piquepaille writes "In this article, the MIT Technology Review says that different new nanotools will help us to diagnose or kill cancerous tumors. 'Nanoshells' invented at Rice University could become an alternative to chemotherapy by killing only cancerous cells after injection into patients' bloodstream. And nanoparticles created at the University of Washington in Seattle could be used to noninvasively diagnose and treat brain tumors. Meanwhile, a biochemist from Brigham Young University has developed "a method for examining mutations in DNA to determine a person?s genetic predisposition for developing cancer." This overview contains more details and a diagram showing how nanoshells are conjugated with antibodies to kill cancerous cells. [Note: Previous results about nanoshells were reported here by Nanodot in February.]"