Center for Nanotechnology in Society
University of California, Santa Barbara
www.cns.ucsb.edu
WEEKLY CLIPS
May 14 – 21, 2007
New! Weekly Clips from CNS-UCSB are now available online:
http://www.cns.ucsb.edu/clips/
May 15, 2007
Nanotechnology Now Used in Nearly 500 Everyday
Products
Makers Claim Nanotech Can Help You Climb Mt. Everest & Stop the
Common Cold
WASHINGTON -- The number of consumer products using nanotechnology has more
than doubled, from 212 to 475, in the 14 months since the Project on Emerging
Nanotechnologies launched the world’s first online inventory of manufactureridentified nanotech goods in March 2006. Clothing and cosmetics top the inventory
at 77 and 75 products, respectively. A list of nanotechnology products that also
includes bedding, jewelry, sporting goods, nutritional and personal care items is
available free at www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view
&newsId=20070515005257&newsLang=en
May 16, 2007
Nanotechnology, nanoregulation
There's an increasing chance that the stuff you use to clean your face or shampoo
your hair contains submicroscopic particles. But while the list of consumer products
using nanomaterials is growing fast, regulation of them is not. Janet Babin reports.
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/05/16/AM200705168.html
May 15, 2007
NRDC Advances Regulation of Nanotechnology to
Protect Human Health
Washington, DC – A report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) accuses the U.S. government of gross failure to use its authority to protect
citizens from the potentially dangerous effects of nano-scale chemistry, according to
scientists and policy experts at NRDC.
… In the face of government failure to take action, the new NRDC report proposes an
immediate, three-part framework for regulating nanomaterials, based on already
established precautionary approaches to managing toxic chemicals that are broadly
agreed upon by environmental and worker protection groups.
http://www.nrdc.org/media/2007/070515.asp
May 17, 2007
Five Cities Lead as Nanotech Business, Research,
and Education Clusters
WASHINGTON — With nanotechnology poised to be the globe’s next big economic
driver, five U.S. cities have emerged as the country’s top “Nano Metro” locations—
areas with the nation’s highest concentration of nanotech companies, universities,
research laboratories, and organizations.
Three leading “Nano Metro” centers—San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland—are in
California, the state emerging as the domestic frontrunner in nanotechnology
competition. The other two—Boston and Middlesex-Essex—are in Massachusetts.
This information is on view as part of a new interactive map displaying the growing
“Nano Metro” landscape. The map and accompanying analysis—presented by the
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies—depicts and ranks cities and states by
numbers of companies, nanotechnology academic and government research centers,
organizations, business sectors, and much more. The mashup is powered by Google
Maps® and is available here.
http://www.nanotechproject.org/123
May 17, 2007
U.K. government issues report on nanotech for
environmental remediation
The U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published
the results of a study that explored how nanotechnologies could cut the use of nonrenewable energy sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study
investigated the opportunities and potential obstacles to adoption of a number of
environmentally beneficial nanotechnologies.
…DEFRA's Chief Scientific Adviser, Howard Dalton, said the report "indicates the key
areas where nanoscience may help lessen its effects and contribute to achieving
society's ambitions for a sustainable future. However, the report draws particular
attention to the need for government, industry and scientific communities to work
together in answering some of the fundamental questions regarding the behaviour
and toxicity of nanomaterials".
http://www.smalltimes.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ONART&C=Envir&A
RTICLE_ID=292958&p=109
May 21, 2007
Europeans weigh nanofood risks with benefits
Europeans are willing to buy foods produced, processed or packaged using
nanotechnology techniques, so long as they perceive the benefits, according to new
research.
Led by Michael Siegrist, a social psychologist, researchers in Switzerland concluded
that the perceived benefits of nanotechnology seem to be the most important
predictors for willingness to buy foods processed or packaged using the techniques.
The ETH Zurich survey indicates that processors will have to communicate the
benefits of nanotechnology when deciding to process or package foods using such
techniques. The danger is that such products may face a public reaction against the
science, as is occurring with genetically modified food products.
http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=76665-nano-kaiser-toxicity
May 18, 2007
Analysis: Cancer in nano’s crosshairs
BOSTON -- With medical advances not making as big a dent in cancer lethality as
scientists had hoped, researchers are increasingly turning to the nascent
nanotechnology arena as a last best hope, medical experts said at a recent
biotechnology conference.
"There is not much overall reduction in the death rate of cancer. It is an enormous
challenge facing the United States," said Shan Wang of Stanford University, who is
studying how to use nanotechnology to detect cancer. He spoke at the recent International
Biotechnology conference in Boston.
…Whether nanoparticles can cause harm remains an open debate, with few studies as yet
on the impact of the technology.
But scientists hope nano-medicine may help drugs penetrate skin and organs more
efficiently and be targeted more closely to the organ that needs it.
http://www.upi.com/Health_Business/Analysis/2007/05/18/analysis_cancer_in_nanos_cr
osshairs/2993/
May 19, 2007
Does Nanotechnology need Venture Capital to be
Successful?
How does a nanotechnology or any technology startup attract venture capital (VC)
money? The need to exit is the end goal of any venture capital firm. However, what
exactly does all this mean? We will look at some questions that should be asked
before embarking on the VC path.
http://www.nanotech-now.com/columns/?article=061
May 14, 2007
New nanotechnology database for societal and
ethical implications
The Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions (CSEP) at the Illinois Institute of
Technology has recently launched NanoEthicsBank. The NanoEthicsBank is a
database conceived as a resource for researchers, scholars, students, and the
general public who are interested in the social and ethical implications of
nanotechnology. Items in the database include normative documents, such as
guidelines for safety in the workplace, and descriptive materials, such as analysis of
the U.S. government’s capacity for oversight and studies of the media coverage of
nanotechnology.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1928.php
May 16, 2007
Big future described for nanotechnology
Chemistry professor Peidong Yang wins prestigious award, $500,000
grant
Experts said Tuesday that the early days of nanotechnology, when scientists created
new materials at the scale of billionths of a meter, is starting to evolve into a new era
of tiny yet complex machines.
These machines could pack their own power supply, sensors, a transmitter and
perhaps other components in a square centimeter and get smaller over time,
University of California, Berkeley, chemistry professor Peidong Yang said at the
National Science Foundation during a presentation in his honor.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5907840
May 17, 2007
Nanotechnology timelines and mapviews in Google
Experimental
Google Labs has put up a new test bed for their search service called Google
Experimental. It gives you an opportunity to try out some of the latest search
experiments happening inside Google. Two of the new features are Timeline and Map
Views. With the timeline and map views, Google’s technology extracts key dates and
locations from select search results so you can view the information in a different
dimension.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1949.php
May 17, 2007
Nanotechnology fingerprint analysis could replace
blood sample
To this day, fingerprints are just the thing when a perpetrator needs to be arrested or
a person needs to be identified. British scientists working with David A. Russell also
want to make it possible to use fingerprints to reveal drug and doping transgressions
and to diagnose diseases. As the team from the University of East Anglia in Norwich
and King’s College in London report in the journal Angewandte Chemie (“’Intelligent’
Fingerprinting: Simultaneous Identification of Drug Metabolites and Individuals by
Using Antibody-Functionalized Nanoparticles”), they have now been able to use
specific antibodies to differentiate between the fingerprints of smokers and
nonsmokers.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1946.php
May 15, 2007
Profit From Nanotechnology's Dream Material
Carbon nanotubes, nanotechnology's dream material and the posterchild of
nanotech evangelists, may become the first application to truly transform
nanotechnology from an exciting science with great potential to a real commercial
force.
…It therefore should not be surprising that serious scientists and starry-eyed
investors alike have been pouring time and money into nanotube research. However,
manufacturing nanotubes has proved difficult technically and economically. There
are significant issues relating to obtaining nanotubes having uniform diameter and
structure, but of late there have been major breakthroughs, as documented in the
November 2006 issue of this report. Among the multitudes of nanotube
manufacturers, CNI stands out mostly due to its high profile founder.
http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/2007/05/15/nanotech-arrowhead-intel-pfguru-in_jw_0515soapbox_inl.html
June 1, 2007
Try Out Your Nanotechnology
Demo facility opens for polymer nanocomposites
Does nanotechnology make sense for use in your composite products? If you'd like to
find out without the expense and risk of major investment dollars, the University of
Dayton (Ohio) Research Institute (UDRI) may be able to help.
The research center has opened a manufacturing center in collaboration with the
National Composites Center in Dayton for demonstrating nano-enhanced polymer
composites.
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=14156
May 16, 2007
Scientists Demonstrate First Use Of
Nanotechnology To Enter Plant Cells
A team of Iowa State University plant scientists and materials chemists have
successfully used nanotechnology to penetrate plant cell walls and simultaneously
deliver a gene and a chemical that triggers its expression with controlled precision.
Their breakthrough brings nanotechnology to plant biology and agricultural
biotechnology, creating a powerful new tool for targeted delivery into plant cells.
…The controlled release will improve the ability to study gene function in plants. And
in the future, scientists could use the new technology to deliver imaging agents or
chemicals inside cell walls. This would provide plant biologists with a window into
intracellular events.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516133000.htm
May 19, 2007
Nanotechnology water desalination for Australia
The delivery of energy efficient desalination in Australia received a boost with the
establishment of a major new research collaboration between CSIRO and nine of
Australia’s leading universities. The research aims to dramatically increase efficiency,
and reduce the financial and environmental costs of producing desalinated water.
The research will help advance water desalination as an alternative water supply
option for Australia.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1957.php
May 15, 2007
Nanotechnology restores art masterpieces
FLORENCE, Italy -- Italian scientists are developing nanotechnologies to simply and
less expensively restore paintings and other works of art.
… The researchers say tiny droplets of cleaning agents are suspended in water to
form micro-emulsions that have advantages over traditional methods, which may
involve the use of pure organic solvents. The micro-emulsions have a milder cleaning
action that's less likely to damage fragile surfaces. In addition, they use up to 95
percent less organic solvent and have less of an environmental impact than
traditional cleaning methods.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-120070515-09191200-bc-italy-nanoart .xml
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