Nanotechnology News – Latest Headlines

FDA advisors declare 'FDA science and mission at risk'

The nation's public health is at risk, as are the regulatory systems that oversee the nation's drug and device supplies, according to an FDA Science Board report being presented at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing today. The committee attributed the deficiencies to soaring demands on the FDA; and resources that have not increased in proportion to those demands.

January 29, 2008 Read more

Lab on a chip developed for cheap, portable medical tests

University of Alberta researchers in Edmonton, Canada, have developed a portable unit for genetic testing about the size of a shoebox, which has the same capability as a lab full of expensive equipment.

January 29, 2008 Read more

New nanotube findings give boost to potential biomedical applications

Carbon nanotubes-cylinders are packed with the potential to be highly accurate vehicles for administering medicines and other therapeutic agents to patients. But a dearth of data about what happens to the tubes after they discharge their medical payloads has been a major stumbling block to progress. Now, Stanford researchers, who spent months tracking the tiny tubes inside mice, have found some answers.

January 29, 2008 Read more

What do orthodontics, private jets and car tires have in common?

MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) are being put to use in some very innovative ways; find out more during the Bourne Report, a new weekly talk radio show that discusses the latest MEMS-based products, news and trends.

January 29, 2008 Read more

Fuel-cell cars race to reality

For those who dream of a cleaner, greener future thanks to nonpolluting technologies, recent auto shows have showcased some ideas. The biggest conglomeration was at the December 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show, where green machines were a dominant theme. The January Detroit auto show was more low-key on the green front, but there were a couple of intriguing, well-developed concepts on display there as well.

January 28, 2008 Read more

New kind of transistor radios shows capability of nanotube technology

Carbon nanotubes have a sound future in the electronics industry, say researchers who built the world's first all-nanotube transistor radios to prove it.

January 28, 2008 Read more

New polymer could improve semiconductor manufacturing, packaging

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Polyset Company have developed a new inexpensive, quick-drying polymer that could lead to dramatic cost savings and efficiency gains in semiconductor manufacturing and computer chip packaging.

January 28, 2008 Read more

INBT offers valuable undergraduate nanobiotechnology research opportunity

Undergraduate research experience provides students with lasting benefits. The Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology is pleased to offer a 10-week summer NanoBio research experience for undergraduates funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

January 28, 2008 Read more

EPA seeks data about nanoscale materials

What are the human health and environmental risks and benefits of nanoscale chemical products? That's what EPA wants to find out with its just-announced Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP).

January 28, 2008 Read more

Molecular walker takes baby steps

Locomotion of two-legged DNA walker holds promise for molecular machines.

January 28, 2008 Read more

Call for scientific data on applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials used in food and feed

The European Commission has requested an initial scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) relating to the risks arising from nanoscience and nanotechnologies on food and feed safety and the environment. The request also asks to identify the nature of the possible hazards associated with actual and foreseen applications in the food and feed area and to provide general guidance on data needed for the risk assessment of such technologies and applications.

January 28, 2008 Read more

The world's lowest noise laser

Researchers in Hanover outsmart quantum physics by organising the photons of a laser beam in an orderly fashion.

January 28, 2008 Read more

Berkeley scientists bring MRI/NMR to microreactors

In a significant step towards improving the design of future catalysts and catalytic reactors, especially for microfluidic 'lab-on-a-chip' devices, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley, have successfully applied magnetic resonance imaging to the study of gas-phase reactions on the microscale.

January 28, 2008 Read more

Tiny avalanche photodiode detects single UV photons

In a significant breakthrough, researchers at Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Devices (CQD) have demonstrated visible-blind avalanche photodiodes (APDs) capable of detecting single photons in the ultraviolet region (360-200 nm).

January 28, 2008 Read more

Rice wins innovation award for NanoJapan program

NanoJapan, a unique, Rice University-based program that combines a traditional study abroad experience in Japan with a targeted undergraduate research internship in nanotechnology, has been awarded the Institute of International Education's (IIE) prestigious Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education.

January 28, 2008 Read more

EPA's voluntary program for nanomaterials still too little, too late

Environmental Defense says lax approach fails to deliver information needed to protect health.

January 28, 2008 Read more