Nanotechnology News - January 2009 Archives

World's first mandatory national nanotech rule pending (1/29/2009)

Canadian officials plan to require quantity, usage and toxicity data ...> Full Article

Ethical evaluations of nanotechnology (1/28/2009)

Recent action in Congress to reauthorize the US federal nanotechnology research program offers the chance to address the social and ethical issues concerning the emerging scientific field, experts say. ...> Full Article

Plasmonic whispering gallery microcavity paves the way to future nanolasers (1/26/2009)

The principle behind whispering galleries -- where words spoken softly beneath a domed ceiling or in a vault can be clearly heard on the opposite side of the chamber -- has been used to achieve what could prove to be a significant breakthrough in the miniaturization of lasers. Ultrasmall lasers, i.e., nanoscale, promise a wide variety of intriguing applications, including superfast communications and data handling (photonics), and optical microchips for instant and detailed chemical analyses. ...> Full Article

Nano-tetherball biosensor precisely detects glucose (1/25/2009)

Researchers have created a precise biosensor for detecting blood glucose and potentially many other biological molecules by using hollow structures called single-wall carbon nanotubes anchored to gold-coated "nanocubes." ...> Full Article

Tension in the nanoworld (1/24/2009)

Infrared light visualizes nanoscale strain fields. ...> Full Article

Light-speed nanotech: Controlling the nature of graphene (1/24/2009)

Researchers 'tune' graphene's properties by growing it on different surfaces ...> Full Article

Semiconducting nanotubes produced in quantity (1/23/2009)

After announcing last April a method for growing exceptionally long, straight, numerous and well-aligned carbon cylinders only a few atoms thick, a Duke University-led team of chemists has now modified that process to create exclusively semiconducting versions of these single-walled carbon nanotubes. ...> Full Article

Nanotech safety high on Congress' priority list (1/20/2009)

New House bill addresses need for more risk research, oversight ...> Full Article

Easy assembly of electronic biological chips (1/19/2009)

A handheld, ultra-portable device that can recognize and immediately report on a wide variety of environmental or medical compounds may eventually be possible, using a method that incorporates a mixture of biologically tagged nanowires onto integrated circuit chips, according to Penn State researchers. ...> Full Article

A fantastic voyage brought to life (1/18/2009)

Tel Aviv University scientists develop a medical "mini-submarine" to blast diseased cells in the body. ...> Full Article

Nanotech in your vitamins (1/17/2009)

The ability of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency's lack of statutory authority in certain critical areas, according to a new expert report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. ...> Full Article

'2-faced' bioacids put a new face on carbon nanotube self-assembly (1/16/2009)

Researchers from NIST and Rice University have demonstrated a simle, inexpensive way to induce carbon nanotubes to "self-assemble" in long, regular strands, a useful technique for studying nanotube properties and potentially a new way to assemble nanotube-based devices. ...> Full Article

Super sensitive gas detector goes down the nanotubes (1/15/2009)

NIST researchers have devised a new method to cast arrays of metal oxide nanotubes to create novel gas sensors that are 100 to 1,000 times more sensitive than current devices based on thin films. ...> Full Article

Tiny capsules deliver (1/13/2009)

A tiny particle syringe composed of polymer layers and nanoparticles may provide drug delivery that targets diseased cells without harming the rest of the body, according to a team of chemical engineers. This delivery system could be robust and flexible enough to deliver a variety of substances. ...> Full Article

Researchers control the assembly of nanobristles into helical clusters (1/9/2009)

Finding has potential use in energy and information storage, photonics, adhesion, capture and release systems, and chemical mixing ...> Full Article

The gold standard: Researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes (1/2/2009)

DNA nanotubes may soon find their way into a new generation of ultra-tiny electronic and biomedical innovations ...> Full Article