String theorist Michio Kaku suggests molecular nanotechnology as one way to deal with the heat death of the universe: "There is nothing in the rules of science to prevent the regeneration of an advanced civilisation from the molecular level. For a dying civilisation trapped in a freezing universe, this may be the last hope." The size of his proposed devices seems to vary, however. Read more for the full quote.

Roland Piquepaille writes "By mixing a salt compound with an hydrocarbon, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have created molecules able to sense their environment. Then they used these molecules to develop self-assembling nanotubes which look like that 'nanocarpets'. These nanostructures can change colors when their environment is modified and can be trained to kill bacteria, such as E. coli. Now, they plan to develop products that would both detect and destroy biological weapons. Read more for selected excerpts about these nanostructures acting as biosensors."

Keck writes "Foresight's logo has served us well for many years, and I'm sure many long-time members are very attached to it. But I've noticed on orkut that it's one of the duller logos around these days, entirely lacking in color and textural depth, and relatively text-heavy. Perhaps many would like to scoff at such superficial considerations, and it could even be argued that the current logo should remain defiantly retro, as it subtly testifies to Foresight's remarkable age and consistent message. But I'd like to spark a discussion about it.

Can and should the existing logo by reinvigorated by at least adding some color? Should the texty-ness also be lowered? Are there any more radical suggestions for a new logo, perhaps incorporating a bio-medical motif? Or should we just leave well enough alone? What do you think?"

Dr_Barnowl writes "A somewhat dubious product was recently released by BatMax (See here for technical details.) It was apparently convincing enough to be posted by a Slashdot moderator (here).

The company basically claims it can drastically improve the performance of your mobile phone battery with what amounts to a stick-on decal. The spurious and unscientific descriptions of the technology (allegedly) involved are nothing special, apart from the association with nanotechnology.

It would seem that it's not just manufacturers of sunblock, tennis rackets and trousers that have cottoned on to the "magical" properties of putting a *10^-9 in your product blurb. If this becomes commonplace, what kind of damage will it do to the funding prospects of projects promising similarly outrageous (but scientifically feasible) benefits as a result of genuine MNT?"

Ed. Note: Hmmm… a "nano-ceramic" — aren't most ceramics "nano-" in nature?

Anonymous Coward writes "

Behind the public face of nanotechnology — the science fiction novels, environmental doomsday prophecies and excited research news — a debate has been evolving and swirling for the past decade around a fundamental question: Can tiny machines build things useful to humans by moving molecules or even individual atoms?

More….

Brian Wang writes "By 2011, the market for next-generation, nonvolatile memories will be worth $65.7 billion, according to a new report from research firm NanoMarkets LC on Wednesday (August 18, 2004).

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David Kanaan writes "Nanotechnology-Based Solid Lubricant NanoLub Shows Promising Performance for Space Applications

NanoLub surpasses minimum limits for space durability

New York, USA, August 5, 2004. ApNano Materials Inc. (www.apnano.com), a provider of nanotechnology-based products, today announced that its proprietary product NanoLub, the worldís first commercial nanotechnology-based solid lubricant, has significantly surpassed an outgassing screening test for space applications. This aerospace qualification test, in accordance with international specifications, was conducted under a simulated space environment by the Space Technology Division Materials Group of the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in Israel.

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Anonymous Coward writes "Feynman's vision has finally begun to materialize, thanks to ever more sophisticated microelectronics. Micro- and nanoscale machines are poised to become a multibillion-dollar market as they are incorporated in all kinds of electronic devices.

But, again, at very small scales, chemical batteries can't provide enough juice to power these micromachines. As you reduce the size of such a battery, the amount of stored energy goes down exponentially.

Researchers developing sensors the size of a grain of sand had to attach them to batteries they couldn't make smaller than a shirt button. The nuclear microbatteries we are developing won't require refueling or recharging and will last as long as the half-life of the radioactive source, at which point the power output will decrease by a factor of two.

For the IEEE Spectrum article click here."

Ed. note: This reminds me of the Gd¹⁴⁸ power source for nanorobots (Nanomedicine Vol I, Sec 6.3.7, pgs 156-159). It begs the issue that a lot more people are going to have to become a lot more comfortable with radioactive power sources.

Anonymous Coward writes "The Inquirer posted an article stating that Applied Micro Systems will team up with US company Micromechatronics to create a highly miniaturised set of robots. These robots will be used to build microprocessors and are appearantly capable of moving in nanometers. A potential for "top down" production of further miniaturized nanobots seem probable."

Ed. note: The article seems a bit thin and nikkei.net appears to require registration. Does anyone have any more detailed information? At 3 cm² this is quite a way from "nanorobots" even if it can move in nm increments. And with chips pushing down into the 70nm and smaller range it is questionable how "nanorobots" of this size could be useful.

Wendy Emanuel writes "Northbrook, Ill. ñ January 26, 2005 ñ Researchers at Nanosphere, Inc. today reported unprecedented benefits in the companyís technology for the medical analysis of human DNA. Nanosphereís nanoparticle-based technology allows for rapid, highly-sensitive and specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping, which is the direct detection of a particular gene and the extent to which it is normal or mutated.

More…

Ok, I'm at a loss. We have a report from U Wis.-Mad. regarding the ability to construct structures someplace between MEMS and MNT. The diagram is looking like things are on the micrometer scale yet the effects seem to be being produced at the nanometer scale. Is this or isn't this nanotechnology?

Drew Sauter writes "Nanoliter which has recently invented new, simple technology for a handheld "syringe" that can electrokinetically fly nanoliters, microliters and picoliters at targets or into vessles for application to MALDI TOF analysis of cancer biomarkers or for simple sample dilution has developed a course about its signature technology, Induction Fluidics(IBF).Along with Dr. Mitch Johnson of Duquesne University,the course will be given with Mr. Drew Sauter, the inventor of IBF. Schedules are being set and will be posted at Nanoliter.com."

Ed. Note: If you look at the site they list number sources for further information.

Dr_Barnowl writes "The BBC reports on the upcoming nanotechnologies that we can expect to see in the near future. One interviewee asserts that "As soon as you mention it, people conjure up images of small robots carrying out surgery or things that are not desirable."

Whereas my perception is that as soon as you mention it, people go "Whuh?" Not really anything new or innovative here, but it's always nice to see nanotech mentioned in mainstream media, even if the Drexlerlian vision is being dimissed as sci-fi, as per usual.

Aside from that, there is a link to everyones favourite manifestation of nanotech – NanoPants! "

Nanotechwire is pointing out the forthcoming publication of Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine by Elsevier who claim that it is to be the world's first peer-reviewed journal devoted to nanomedicine. Robert Freitas is supposed to have an article "What is Nanomedicine?" in the first issue. One would hope that will get the journal off in a good direction. Slowly the mainstream science community seems to be acknowledging that nanotechnology and nanomedicine are not fantasies.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley Lab are using nanotechnology to learn how to clean up environmental contaminants like nuclear waste. They are also using supercomputers and state-of-the-art imaging to predict how quickly pollutants react with minerals in soils and aquifers. This article from the Daily Californian says they are studying kinetics, or rates, of reactions which occur at the earthís surface using a nanoscale approach. They started to look at the reactions that take place at the pore scale and plan to expand their scope from nanometers to meters in the months to come. This research has implications for transport of contaminants, especially of radioactive materials, but also for oil or ore recovery. This overview contains more details, references and a picture of a device used to grow and monitor nanocrystals important for our environment."

SpaceDaily based on UPI is covering how scientists from Luc Jaeger at UCSB to Ned Seeman at NYU (and others) are creating grand plans to use DNA and related chemical molecules to do everything from assembly to analysis.

Sounds like the combination of the fact that the hardware to do the synthesis of these molecules exists and the fact that there are a lot of things these molecules can manage via self-assembly is giving these methods a lead in the "real" molecular nanotechnology arena.

Strategies Unlimited writes "January 18, 2004 ? Mountain View, CA?Companies developing nanophotonic products are aiming collectively at opportunities worth over $30 billion today in large displays and over $3 billion in other photonic applications." More…

The LANL/Sandia "Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies" is providing a database of solicitations for future funding by the government (including DARPA and military) for nanotechnology R&D.

This will give you some idea of where all of those $ billions will be going…

Nanopolis writes "The 1st Nanotechnology multimedia encyclopedia for science and business arrives soon.

From Feynman's visionary predictions to today's applications the "Exploring Nanotechnology" interactive multimedia encyclopedia was conceived to provide an understanding of nanotechnology and their transformative effects on the world as we know it today. Containing extremely intuitive multimedia explanations of the concepts, technological processes and applications of nanotechnology, summary charts show the major players associated with each concept along with the references necessary for further insight.

Hundreds of world-wide actors contribute to its finalizing through the e-collaborative Nanopolis platform at http://www.nanopolis.net"

NanoWorld Group extends radius of action

Schaffhausen/Switzerland, January 7th, 2005 ñ As of January 1st 2005 NanoWorld Holding AG acquired 100% of the German based NanoAndMore GmbH.

This is a first step to extend the NanoWorld Groupís radius of action along the value added chain.

With this acquisition the NanoWorld Group gains access to the greatest end-customer base for Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) related supplies in Europe and benefits even more from the probes supermarket concept that was created and successfully implemented by NanoAndMore GmbH founder and CEO Peer Burshille.

At the same time the acquisition enables the NanoWorld Group to participate more directly in the promising tool business that NanoAndMore successfully started in 2004.

NanoAndMoreís sales expertise and NanoWorld Holdingís strong financial background will enable NanoAndMore to expand the scope of products, service and support.

www.nanoworldholding.com
www.nanoandmore.com