After two decades of evolution, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has established its strong existence in the material science research field with its nanoscale resolution. Of the systems out in the market, the innovative XE-AFMs have overcome the non-linearity and non-orthogonality problems associated with traditional piezoelectric tube based AFMs. Active in both research and industrial applications including hard-disk, microchip fabrication, and quality control, the XE series has been widely adopted in the nanometrology field. The most recent addition to the XE family, the XE-Bio, has integrated the high resolution of AFM imaging and non-invasiveness capabilities Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy with the versatility of advanced optical microscopy techniques such as scanning confocal microscopy, FRET and TIRF. Therefore, the XE-Bio is able to correlate the highest possible spatial resolution with dynamic functionality studies on live biological samples.

The 5th Int. NanoRegulation Conference took place from 25th to 26th of November in Rapperswil, Switzerland, and tackled the issue of 'No Data, no Market?' - Challenges to Nano-Information and Nano-Communication along the Value Chain. During the two-days Conference, a number of leading nanotechnology stakeholders presented their views and expectations regarding information and data exchange along the value chain, and discussed possible approaches to the problem in workshops. The Conference report which has been released now outlines the positions from the participating stakeholders from industry, authorities and various NGOs and international organisations.

Following vivid discussions during the NanoRegulation Conference, the Innovation Society (St.Gallen) proposes the model of a "Nano Information Pyramid" in order to debate the challenges and responsibilities of data and information exchange along the value chain. The model can help to address and analyse the critical parts in the value chain.

Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology announces a significant boost in the demand for its Ionfab Ion Beam Etch and Deposition tools, with 2009 being the best year ever for sales of these systems.

Molecular Imprints, Inc., a market and technology leader for nanopatterning systems and solutions, and The University of Texas at Austin today announced that Dr. S.V. Sreenivasan (co-founder and chief technology officer of Molecular Imprints, and professor and Thornton Centennial Faculty Fellow in mechanical engineering at the university) is the recipient of the 2010 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Technology Innovation.

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative nanotechnology company developing products and licensing opportunities in the solar energy production, medical diagnostics and sensors and biotechnology research and development tools businesses, today announced the formation of its Renewable Energy Team, which is comprised of two distinguished academic and industry collaborators, Drs. Sayantani Ghosh and Roland Winston

Applied Nanoscience Inc., a nanotechnology-based filtration company, today issued a progress update to its investors on a broad array of company efforts, including continued advances toward producing the disposable NanoFense Protective Face Mask, designed to offer superior protection against a broad spectrum of harmful virus, bacteria and fungi.

A new presentation on the Malvern Instruments website discusses how the company's Viscotek TDAmax multiple detection size exclusion chromatography (SEC) system enables protein scientists to determine the degree of oligomerisation, aggregation, conformation, and conjugation in protein samples.

Brandeis University announced today a $1 million, three-year award from the W.M. Keck Foundation to help support experimental research into a new category of materials known as active matter. The project seeks to elucidate the behavior of active matter at length scales ranging from the microscopic to the macroscopic.

Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie (HZB), in cooperation with colleagues from Oxford and Bristol Universities, as well as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, have for the first time observed a nanoscale symmetry hidden in solid state matter.

Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering (nBME) at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has been elected a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

An international team lead by scientists at the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, an Energy Frontier Research Center headquartered at Brookhaven National Laboratory, has discovered evidence for 'electronic liquid crystal' states within the parent compound of one type of iron-based, high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductor.

University of Michigan researchers have discovered the rules that dictate the three-dimensional shapes of RNA molecules, rules that are based not on complex chemical interactions but simply on geometry.

Aneeve Nanotechnologies LLC has been selected to work in the UCLA on-campus Technology Incubator Program at the California NanoSystems Institute. The startup company will conduct early-stage research for the development of a novel hormone sensor/meter for biomedical applications in the areas of infertility and menopause.

Incorporation of nanomaterials with dimensions of less than 10 nm into functional devices has been hindered by the disparity between their size and the 100 nm feature sizes that can be routinely generated by lithography. Biomolecules offer a bridge between the two size regimes, with sub-10 nm dimensions, synthetic flexibility and a capability for self-recognition.