Nano News

To treat severe cases of Parkinson's disease, surgeons implant electrodes deep in the brain, where they deliver high-frequency electrical pulses that shut down neural systems responsible for the disease's characteristic tremors. But this expensive treatment, called deep brain stimulation, is risky: the patient's skull must be opened, and the electrodes can damage blood vessels in the brain.

A project that could remove the electrical wiring in microchips, allowing denser circuitry, could result in computers with 500 times the power of present day technology. The University of Bath is to lead an international £555,000 three-year project to develop the wireless silicon chip system.

The UK government has launched a review of its nanotechnology policy, part of a move to assess the implications of current developments in the emerging science of tiny dimensions.

You might think that with all the buzz that nanotechnology creates among insiders (mostly scientists) there would be a rising awareness and interest among the general public. Apparently not so.

Arrowhead Research Corporation (Nasdaq:ARWR), announcedtoday that its Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, R. Bruce Stewart,will present at the NanoEquity 2006 conference in Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday, July 11. The presentation will cover the company's business model and investment strategies.

Water instead of gas? It seems the somewhat far-fetched concept might be possible after all. Israeli company NANO-EM, a product of the Yozmot HaEmek Technological Incubator, has come up with nano-diesel, a blend of water and diesel at a concentration of 15 percent, which reduces diesel consumption and cuts down on the pollution emitted by the engine.

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) has been asked by Government to review progress of its commitments on nanotechnology policy, and has issued an invitation for written evidence.

The Council for Science and Technology (CST) has been asked by Government to review progress of its commitments on nanotechnology policy, and has issued an invitation for written evidence. The independent review will cover the Government's actions in the two years since their response to the Royal Society/Royal Academy of Engineering report "Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties".

Tweaking a standard chemical method to make nanotubes has provided researchers with a structure that looks just like a miniature sea urchin. The nano-urchin’s spines could prove useful as scaffolding for further molecular construction, the scientists say.

A little bad PR can go a long way toward destroying the public's confidence in a product, especially when it comes to potential damage to human health -- just ask Monsanto. Whether it was fair, GMO became a dirty word, and if the nanotech industry isn't careful its products could suffer the same fate.