ScienceDaily (June 1, 2012) Computer-designed proteins are under construction to fight the flu. Researchers are demonstrating that proteins found in nature, but that do not normally bind the flu, can be engineered to act as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against a variety of flu virus strains, including H1N1 pandemic influenza.

"One of these engineered proteins has a flu-fighting potency that rivals that of several human monoclonal antibodies," said Dr. David Baker, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington, in a report in Nature Biotechnology.

Baker's research team is making major inroads in optimizing the function of computer-designed influenza inhibitors. These proteins are constructed via computer modeling to fit exquisitely into a specific nano-sized target on flu viruses. By binding the target region like a key into a lock, they keep the virus from changing shape, a tactic that the virus uses to infect living cells. The research efforts, akin to docking a space station but on a molecular level, are made possible by computers that can describe the landscapes of forces involved on the submicroscopic scale.

Baker heads the new Institute for Protein Design Center at the University of Washington. Biochemists, computer scientists, engineers and medical specialists at the center are engineering novel proteins with new functions for specific purposes in medicine, environmental protection and other fields. Proteins underlie all normal activities and structures of living cells, and also regulate disease actions of pathogens like viruses. Abnormal protein formation and interactions are also implicated in many inherited and later-life chronic disorders.

Because influenza is a serious worldwide public health concern due to its genetic shifts and drifts that periodically become more virulent, the flu is one of the key interests of the Institutes for Protein Design and its collaborators in the United States and abroad. Researchers are trying to meet the urgent need for better therapeutics to protect against this very adaptable and extremely infective virus. Vaccines for new strains of influenza take months to develop, test and manufacture, and are not helpful for those already sick. The long response time for vaccine creation and distribution is unnerving when a more deadly strain suddenly emerges and spreads quickly. The speed of transmission is accelerated by the lack of widespread immunity in the general population to the latest form of the virus.

Flu trackers refer to strains by their H and N subtypes. H stands for hemagglutinins, which are the molecules on the flu virus that enable it to invade the cells of respiratory passages. The virus's hemagglutinin molecules attach to the surface of cells lining the respiratory tract. When the cell tries to engulf the virus, it makes the mistake of drawing it into a more acidic location. The drop in pH changes the shape of the viral hemagglutinin, thereby allowing the virus to fuse to the cell and open an entry for the virus' RNA to come in and start making fresh viruses. It is hypothesized that the Baker Lab protein inhibits this shape change by binding the hemagglutinin in a very specific orientation and thus keeps the virus from invading cells.

Baker and his team wanted to create antivirals that could react against a wide variety of H subtypes, as this versatility could lead to a comprehensive therapy for influenza. Specifically, viruses that have hemagglutinins of the H2 subtype are responsible for the deadly pandemic of 1957 and continued to circulate until 1968. People born after that date haven't been exposed to H2 viruses. The recent avian flu has a new version of H1 hemagglutinin. Data suggests that Baker's proteins bind to all types of the Group I Hemagglutinin, a group that includes not just H1 but the pandemic H2 and avian H5 strains.

Recognizing the importance of new flu therapies to national and international security, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency funded this work, along with the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The researchers also used the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratories in Illinois, with support from the Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences.

The methods developed for the influenza inhibitor protein design, Baker said, could be "a powerful route to inhibitors or binders for any surface patch on any desired target of interest." For example, if a new disease pathogen arises, scientists could figure out how it interacts with human cells or other hosts on a molecular level. Scientists could then use protein interface design to generate a diversity of small proteins that they predict would block the pathogen's interaction surface.

Genes for large numbers of the most promising, computer-designed proteins could be tested using yeast cells. After further molecular chemistry studies to find the best binding among those proteins, those could be re-programmed in the lab to undergo mutations, and all the mutated forms could be stored in a "library" for an in-depth analysis of their amino acids, molecular architecture and energy bonds. Advanced technologies would allow the scientists to quickly thumb through the library to pick out those tiny proteins that clung to the pathogen surface target with pinpoint accuracy. The finalists would be selected from this pool for excelling at stopping the pathogen from attaching to, entering and infecting human or animal cells.

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Computer-designed proteins programmed to disarm variety of flu viruses

FORT PIERCE A new partnership at Indian River State College's Brown Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship between its nanotechnology lab and NanoProfessor will take the college to the cutting edge of tomorrow's technology.

So said Kevin Cooper, director of advanced technology at the newly named NanoProfessor Advanced Materials Lab, which officially will be teaching about new-age nano technology studies starting in the fall.

What is nano technology? Nano technology is extremely small scale, said Dean Hart, chief commercial officer of NanoInk Inc. and the NanoProfessor and Nano Science education program in Skokie, Ill.

"Nano-scale is one billionth of a meter, so when you talk about nano technology applications, it's looking at normal biology, physics and material science it's how those sciences work on a very, very small scale," Hart said.

That's 80,000 times smaller than a human hair, according to an IRSC brochure.

IRSC is the first college in the Southeastern United States to offer students access to a fully nano-instrumentation equipped laboratory with an expert-driven curriculum, and student-teacher support materials.

Cooper said IRSC will be offering technician certificates starting in the spring of 2013 that will qualify graduates to seek four-year degrees in fields such as materials science, biology, physics and medicine at large universities.

Cooper said there already is ongoing undergraduate nano research at the Fort Pierce lab where student researchers have been working in partnership with industry clients; they are expecting to have their first publication in the fall.

The new nano program will not only introduce new degrees, but provide real-world research opportunities for students while fostering partnerships with universities and industry. It will provide lab space for scientists and those promoting economic growth in the nano fields.

What is nano research at IRSC looking at now?

Originally posted here:
'Nano technology' [program can pay off big for IRSC students

June 1, 2012

Rewarding UC Daviss work at the forefront of humanities research and teaching, faculty and graduate students have received a round of more than $150,000 in grants for 2012-13 from the University of California. The grants will enrich studies and outreach in areas ranging from human rights to digital tools for education.

This recognition of the work of UC faculty and graduate students shows the range and vitality of the humanities at UC Davis, said Jessie Ann Owens, professor of musicology and dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at UC Davis.

The UC Presidents Faculty Research Fellowship in the Humanities, which comes with a $40,000 grant, went to Colin Milburn, an associate professor of English, for Mondo Nano: Fun and Games in the World of Digital Matter. Milburns research focuses on the cultural relations between literature, science, and technology.

Another grant, for $34,000, went to Keith Watenpaugh, an associate professor and director of the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative, for the creation of a UC multi-campus research group on human rights and the humanities. The grant was awarded by the UC Humanities Network. The new research group will be led by Watenpaugh and Alison Brysk, a professor of Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara. The project, titled Re-envisioning the Human: Human Rights and Humanitarianism across the Humanities and Social Sciences: The UC Human Rights Collaboration, will coordinate research on human rights among various UC campuses to enrich human rights research and study across disciplines, Watenpaugh said.

Christina Cogdell, associate professor of design at UC Davis, received renewed funding of $10,000 from the UC Humanities Network for a multicampus research group, the Consortium on California Architecture and Design. The research group is studying the influence of design on culture and the role of California as a site for innovative design. More information on the project is available at: http://www.californiadesign.ucdavis.edu

Social Media, Insecure Work and New Conceptions of Labor Solidarity will be the focus of another new UC Davis-led working group, funded by $25,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the UC Humanities Network on Humanities and [the Changing Conceptions of Work. This grant was awarded to two associate professors at UC Davis: Chris Benner, from the Department of Community & Human Development and Jesse Drew, from the technocultural studies program. Among other efforts, their working group will host a public forum and blog on the changing nature of work.More information on this grant is available at http://www.humanitiesandwork.org

The following UC Davis projects also received awards from the UC Humanities Research Institute:

These projects, led by UC Davis faculty and graduate students, received awards through the UC California Studies Consortium, which aims to bring together scholars to look at comprehensive critical mappings and re-mappings of California and its cultures. (www.californiastudies.org)

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $684 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.

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UC Davis work in humanities receives $150,000 in UC-wide grants

New ISO Technical Report Guides Characterization of Nanomaterials in Toxicology U.S. Leadership Supports Development of Newly Released International Guidelines New York May 29, 2012

ISO TR 13014:2012 was prepared by ISO TC 229, Nanotechnologies, Working Group (WG) 3, Health, Safety and Environment, under the project leadership of Dr. Richard Pleus of the United States. This group is U.S.-led, operating under the leadership of Dr. Laurie Locascio of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Dr. Vladimir Murashov of the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) serves as the WG 3 chair for the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO TC 229, which is accredited and administered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

By understanding the chemical and physical characteristics of nano-objects, we are working to decrease toxicity of materials and promote the development of safer alternatives, said Dr. Pleus. The work done in this document has a fundamental importance in toxicology, as it tells scientists the material being tested needs to be understood: What does it look like? What is it made of? How does it interact with the surrounding environment?

Nanotechnology, which refers to the manipulation and control of matter in the nanoscale (approximately 1 to 100 nm), is revolutionizing virtually all industry sectors, from information technology to medicine to clean energy production. The ANSI-administered U.S. TAG to ISO TC 229 is responsible for formulating all U.S. positions and proposals with regard to ISO standardization in the field of nanotechnology.

The U.S. has been an active participant and effective leader within ISO TC 229 since the formation of the committee in 2005, playing a key role in influencing the strategic and technical direction of the committees standardization initiatives, said Fran Schrotter, senior vice president and chief operating officer at ANSI.

Participation on the U.S. TAG to ISO TC 229 is open to all materially affected U.S. national interested parties. For more information, visit http://www.ansi.org/isotc229tag or contact the TAG administrator, Heather Benko (hbenko@ansi.org).

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New ISO Technical Report Guides Characterization of Nanomaterials in Toxicology

Harvard University scientists on Wednesday said they had created Smileys, Chinese characters and card-game symbols at scales of billionths of a metre using strands of DNA.

The feat marks the next step in "DNA origami" in which the molecule that provides the genetic code for life is used as a building block at the nanoscale, with potential outlets in engineering and medicine.

DNA is like a twisted ladder with double "rungs" of chemicals which interlock.

By unzipping the ladder and cutting it lengthwise, researchers can create a stretch with a set of single rungs that can partner up with a matching strand.

This is the characteristic harnessed by a team led by Peng Yin of Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inpired Engineering.

Reporting in the British journal Nature, the team showed off short lengths of DNA, each 42 "rungs" long, that interlocked with complementary stretches of the molecule.

Like Lego tiles, the strands could be programmed to assemble themselves into specific shapes.

To demonstrate the method, the team made a molecular picture featuring 107 designs, from emoticons, Chinese characters, numbers and letters from the Latin alphabet.

The canvas is a rectangle measuring 64 nanometres by 103 nanometres, with 310 pixels.

Scientists have been interested in nanoscale shapes for more than 20 years, and have progressively moved from two dimensional to three dimensional successes.

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DNA strands create tiniest Smileys

An electric and elastic mechanism has an opportunity to revolutionize the world of cancer research.

Ankit Jain, a graduate student, and Muhammad Alam, an electrical and computer engineering professor, have discovered a way to detect cancer in its early stages and personalize medicine for each individual. This possibility comes from a more sensitive biosensor called Flexure-FET.

It has two parts, Jain said. The first word, Flexure, comes from the flexibility it has, like a diving board. The second, (FET), comes from the electrical part of it.

The new sensor is combined with two, less sensitive sensor techniques to make the super sensitive sensor. An idea to mix the two came from each sensors lack of cost efficiency.

The idea for it is, Can you do something that is highly sensitive, and at the same time will be inexpensive? Alam said. (We want to make it) like the glucose monitors sold at Walmart.

According to Jains research article, electrical biosensors identify particles based on their electrical charge. Nano cantilevers locate the diseased molecules under the skins surface by measuring the mass, stiffness and/or surface stress. With the Flexure-FET including both of these abilities, Alam said early cancer detection and personalized medicine will be available in the future.

The personalized medicine looks at the main composition of protein networks that you have and the DNA sequence, Alam said. (From knowing a persons body composition) one would be able to design medicine specifically tailored for one person.

Alam used a diving board metaphor to describe the flexibility of an early cancer detection technique in regards to each persons diseased molecules.

When people jump into a swimming pool, think about that as one class of sensors, he said. If a heavy person stands on the edge of a spring board, then it will bend more, if a lighter person stands on the edge, it will bend less. We can detect molecules like that.

Alam was surprised at how the two techniques came together better than he expected.

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Nano technology improves health field

(ISNS) -- No longer the stuff of science fiction, nanoparticles are becoming more and more common. The extremely tiny objects can do just about everything, from filtering pollution to delivering medicine in the body. However, no one is sure of the effects if they get loose in the environment.

A team of scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst thinks there may be something to worry about.

They have not proven the particles are dangerous, but have shown that some nanoparticles can be absorbed into plants and mutate the plant's DNA, and that, they say, is worth a further look.

Nanoparticles are so small that they act as a bridge between the size of atoms and something of tangible substance. The thickness of a human hair is measured in millionths of a meter; nanoparticles, in billionths of a meter.

And now, they are everywhere. Manufacturers put them in clothing such as socks to kill bacteria. They are in a type of house paint that cleans itself in sunlight and in the coating on eyeglasses. Clear sunscreen lotion now on the market contains zinc or titanium nanoparticles. Cars will soon have paint that heals itself from scratches.

Nanoparticles have become so common it is assumed inevitably they will end up in the environment.

To see what would happen to plants exposed to nanoparticles, the researchers took particles of copper oxide and exposed three kinds of plants to them: radishes and two types of rye, the researchers reported in Environmental Science & Technology.

They chose nanoparticles of copper because they are widely used for coloring glass, in ceramics, as a polish and in the manufacturing of rayon. They also are used in the electronics industry to manufacture semiconductors, said Bryant Nelson of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The research team also used particles of copper oxide larger than nano-size as a comparison as well as regular copper ions.

Copper oxide is an oxidizing agent, and some oxidizing agents from metals can cause cancer in humans, a reason for the concern.

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Nanoparticles may pose environmental threat

ILSAN, South Korea, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The 17thInternational Packaging Exhibition (KOREA PACK 2012) had an opening ceremony on 22nd at KINTEX, KOREA.

KOREA PACK (International Packaging Exhibition) is held with KOREA MAT (Materials Holding & Logistics exhibition), COPHEX (Cosmetic & Pharmaceutical Industry), KOREA PHARM (Pharmaceutical Ingredient Exhibition), KOREA CHEM (Chemical Plant Equipment & Processing),KOREA LAB (Laboratory & Analytical Equipment) and KOBEX (Bio & Environment Equipment) together.

650 companies from 23 countries as 2,000 booth-scale attend and over 2,000 packaging related buyersvisit this KOREA PACK 2012(International Packaging Exhibition). This trading special exhibition has been evolved from only packaging exhibition to packaging and logistics exhibition.

Packaging material and container, packaging equipment, packaging automation equipment, converting equipment, food processing equipment,packing inspection equipment, packaging design and services related companies, associations, groups, universities, magazine and others participate in KOREA PACK 2012.

People can see storage system & equipment,classification system & equipment, picking system, shipping system, Forklift/Truck/Special equipment car, Palette for shipping/container,distribution equipment components,distribution information system & software, andwarehouse facilities and system related products at KOREA MAT 2012 (Materials Holding & Logistics exhibition)

Pharmaceuticals producing equipment, cosmetic equipment,pharmaceuticals/cosmetic packaging machine,pharmaceuticals/cosmetic subsidiary materials, base material process facilities,production process and control technology,sterilization/clean room technology and related technology, Bio engineering,water industry/Environment management technology,analysis instrument and others are shown atCOPHEX 2012 (Cosmetic & Pharmaceutical Industry).

Also, there are base material ofmedicine and medical supplies/APIs, functional raw material, completedmedicine and medical supplies, Biomedicine and medical supplies, naturalextract,entrusting researching and others related companies, associations, groups and universities atKOREA PHARM (Pharmaceutical Ingredient Exhibition)

A heat exchanger,Evaporation Plants,a distiller,filter,a centrifuge,crusher machine, blending equipment, and others are displayed atKOREA CHEM (Chemical Plant Equipment & Processing).

In addition,pharmaceuticals / food, cosmetic/chemistry/biochemistry/polymer,biotechnology/medicine, and water industry/environment/medicine, related companies participate andNANO Tech,advanced materials,microscope,measuring equipment and others are displayedatKOREA LAB (Laboratory & Analytical Equipment).

Kyungyon exhibition, a host of KOREA PACK, expects that this exhibition will be a bridge for connected 7 industries and it will be a platform for the convergence & development of 7 industries by holding at once.

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'KOREA PACK 2012' for Packing process industry to be held at KINTEX

NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0181059/Global-Nanobiotechnology-Industry.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Nanotechn

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Nanobiotechnology in US$ Million by the following Technology Segments: Nanomaterials (Solid Inorganic Nanoparticles, Nanocomposites, Nanostructured Materials & Membranes, Nanotubes and Fullerenes, & Other Nanomaterials), and Nanodevices/Tools. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Japan, Europe, and Rest of World. Annual forecasts are provided for each region for the period of 2009 through 2017. Also, a six-year historic analysis is provided for these markets. The report profiles 117 companies including many key and niche players worldwide such as Aduro BioTech, Arrowhead Research Corporation, Calando Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc., Biosante Phosphate Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Celgene Corporation, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Elitech Group, Flamel Technologies, Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc., Life Technologies Corporation, NanoBio Corporation, Nanogen, Inc., Nanophase Technologies Corporation, pSivida Ltd., Sigma Aldrich Company, Starpharma Holdings Ltd., Dendritic Nanotechnologies, Inc., SkyePharma Pharmaceuticals, Unidym, Inc., and Zyvex Instruments LLC. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Company profiles are primarily based upon search engine sources in the public domain.

I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONSStudy Reliability and Reporting Limitations I-1Disclaimers I-2Data Interpretation & Reporting Level I-3Quantitative Techniques & Analytics I-3Product Definitions and Scope of Study I-31. Nanomaterials I-4Solid Inorganic Nanoparticles I-4Nanocomposites I-4Nanostructured Materials and Membranes I-4Nanotubes and Fullerenes I-4Other Nanomaterials I-4Nanoshells I-4Nanohorns I-5Nanocapsules I-52. Nanodevices/Tools I-5II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW II-1

A Curtain Raiser II-1

Nanobiotechnology - The Next Big Thing II-2

Nanotechnology & Biology Tie the Knot: "Two to Tango" II-4

Where Conventional Molecular Science Falls Short Nanobio

Steps In II-4

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Global Nanobiotechnology Industry

Newswise UALR - The University of Arkansas at Little Rock - has opened its new home for the Center for Integrative Nanotechnology Sciences. The five-story, $15 million building is a working symbol of Arkansas major stake in atomic-sized technology that will make a giant difference to the future of central Little Rock.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, and U.S. Congressman Tim Griffin were on hand for the May 2 opening ceremonies, citing the centers mission to take discoveries in the lab and turn them into new products, new businesses, and new jobs.

We no longer have to take a backseat to any state in the nation,Gov. Beebe said. The United States has invested more than any other nation in nanotechnology, and Arkansas has kept pace. We are one of the few states in the nation where it is really happening.

The new center combines three major roles of the university education, research, and economic development to recruit and inspire a generation of scientists, nurture their research, and apply it to create new marketable products that launch new businesses and create new jobs for Arkansas.

What we are doing here is quite unique. It is to combine education with research and economic development, said Dr. Alexandru Biris,director of the new center and the UALR Sturgis Chair inNanotechnology.Students from the high school to the post-doctoral level are already interacting with researchers and representatives of local companies to find answers and expand the understanding of how the properties of elements behave at the atomic scale and apply knowledge to development new products, enterprises, and jobs.

We are trying to grow the next generation of scientists in Arkansas,Biris said. We are taking students we have met and turning them into scientists, doctors, researchers highly educated individuals(without whom) it will be very difficult to advance economically.

Scientists and students at the new UALR center are wrapping a few atoms of gold in a graphite nanotube a few atoms thick to hunt and kill cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue. Working with colleagues at the cross-town sister school, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, they already have succeeded with rats.

Although she is only a freshman, Natasha Sra of Cherokee Village in northeast Arkansas, is learning and discovering along with doctors and post-docs on the project.

She never heard of nanotechnology before she enrolled in the ArkansasSchool for Science, Mathematics, and the Arts and her teacher pointed her to a summer program for high schoolers at the UALR nanotechnology center. Now a freshman at UALR, the chemistry and biology major is working on novel research on how low-levels frequency on nano particles affect breast cancer cells.

The center also offers its research assistance and lab facilities to local companies, making locating and expanding businesses in centralArkansas more attractive to high-tech firms.

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New Nanotechnology Center Opens in Little Rock

Category: Science & Technology Posted: May 8, 2012 08:02AM Author: Guest_Jim_*

When most people think of the potential uses for microsubmarines, which are one tenth the width of a human hair in length, they most likely envision the tiny vessel swimming through the human body, delivering medicine wherever it is needed. Scientists are not like most people though. As reported in the American Chemical Society's journal Nano, these technological marvels can be used to clean up oil spills.

Despite their incredibly small size, these submarines can travel with great speed through water. This allows them to quickly grab a droplet of oil and move it to where it can actually be recollected. To help with collecting the oil, the outside of the submarines have been coated in a superhydrophobic material that also absorbs oil.

Already the microsubs have proven effective at cleaning up olive oil and motor oils spills in a laboratory. Potentially we will find these machines in the oceans when a massive spill occurs, or in factories, to clean up contaminated water before it can leak out.

Link:
Cleaning Up Oil Spills with Microsubmarines

3 May 2012

A team of scientists has developed microsubmarines that could help clean up oil spills.

According to a statement, a team of scientists has reported the development and successful testing of the first self-propelled microsubmarines designed to pick up droplets of oil from contaminated waters and transport them to collection facilities.

The report published in the journal ACS Nano concludes that these tiny machines could play an important role in cleaning up oil spills such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

Joseph Wang and his team, from the University of California San Diegos nano-engineering department, developed so-called microsubmarines, which require very little fuel and move ultrafast, to see whether these small engines could help clean up oil.

Tests showed that the cone-shaped microsubmarines can collect droplets of olive oil and motor oil in water and transport them through the water.

The microsubs have a special surface coating, which makes them superhydrophobic or extremely water-repellent and oil-absorbent.

These results demonstrate the potential of the superhydrophobic-modified microsubmarines for facile, rapid and highly efficient collection of oils in oil-contaminated water samples, said the researchers.

Different versions of micro-engines have been developed, including devices that could transport medicine through the bloodstream to diseased parts of the body. But no one has ever shown that these devices which are about 10 times smaller than the width of a human hair could help clean up oil spills.

The project received funding from the National Science Foundation, NATO Science for Peace and Security Program, Spanish MICINN, Beatriu de Pins (Government of Catalonia) and University of Alcal (Madrid).

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Tiny submarines could help clean oil-contaminated waters

by Ananda KANNANGARA

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardane has focused attention on expanding children's knowledge on nano science since educationists are of the view that nano technology-based industries will be set up in the country within the next 15 years.

According to the Education Ministry, nano science was to be introduced as a subject at the GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level examinations several years ago, but due to lack of trained teachers the proposal was put off.

A senior Science and Technology Ministry official said, nano technology is taught to children from their younger days in many developed and developing countries, as this technology will be increasingly used in science, medicine, motor mechanism and associated fields during the next few decades.

Minister Gunawardane told the Sunday Observer that it would take a few years to introduce the subject of nano technology to the school curriculum due to the non-availability of trained instructors.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prabath Hewageegana of the Department of Physics, University of Kelaniya has proposed that nano science be taught in schools so that students acquire a basic knowledge of the subject as they have acquired sound knowledge in the field of Information Technology.

He said strengthening nano science education in schools from now on is crucial for sustainable development in the field and Sri Lanka could easily develop a pool of professionals and a workforce to meet future needs.

He said State intervention is important in this regard and more research funds should also be made available to research institutions such as universities.

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Nano science, focus of Education Ministry

Newswise FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. An interdisciplinary team of engineers at the University of Arkansas has developed a wireless health-monitoring system that gathers critical patient information, regardless of the patients location, and communicates that information in real time to a physician, hospital or the patient herself.

The system includes a series of nanostructured, textile sensors integrated into a conventional sports bra for women and vest for men. Via a lightweight and wireless module that snaps onto these garments, the sensors communicate with system software that relies on a smart phone to collect information, compress it and send it over a variety of wireless networks.

Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological changes, said Vijay Varadan, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering. It is a platform on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the fabric. The garment collects and transmits vital health signals to any desired location in the world.

The system monitors blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, some neural activity and all the readings provided by a conventional electrocardiograph (ECG), including the ability to display inverted T waves, which indicate the onset of cardiac arrest. The system does not require a cuff or any extra accessories to measure blood pressure and could therefore replace conventional blood-pressure monitors. It could also replace the cumbersome combination of ECG sensors and wires attached to patients while they walk on treadmills.

The sensors, which are smaller than a dime, include gold nanowires, as well as flexible, conducting textile nanosensors. The sensors are made of arrays of gold nano-electrodes fabricated on a flexible substrate. The textile sensors are woven into the bra material. These sensors do not require conventional sticky electrodes or the use of gel.

Electrical signals and other physiological data gathered by the sensors are sent to the snap-on wireless module, the contents of which are housed in a plastic box that is slightly smaller than a ring box. As the critical wireless component, the module is essentially a low-powered laptop computer that includes an amplifier, an antenna, a printed circuit board, a microprocessor, a Bluetooth module, a battery and various sensors. The size of the module depends heavily on power consumption and minimum battery size. Varadan said that anticipated battery and Bluetooth upgrades will allow the researchers to build a smaller 1.5 inches long, 0.75 inch wide and 0.25 inch deep lighter and flexible module that will replace the rigid box.

Data from the sensors then stream to commercially available cell phones and hand-held devices, which expand the use of the system beyond health care. By carrying a cell phone, athletes can monitor all signs mentioned above and other metrics, such as number of calories burned during a workout. To render clean data, the software includes filtering algorithms to mitigate problems due to motion of the hand-held device during exercise.

Whether on a computer or cell phone, the software is set up so that users can view all data on one screen or window, or they can view each measurement on its own unique window. The software also includes a global positioning system that tracks the exact latitude and longitude of the patient or athlete. The geographic information is transferred to a cloud cluster and stored in a secured database that doctors or other health-care personnel can access to view location of the patient as well as historic or real-time ECG data. The system can also be programmed to send emergency messages, via voice or text messaging, if it detects extreme or abnormal conditions.

Varadan has not yet published findings on the e-bra, but results on the system, which he calls an e-Nanoflex Sensor System, were published in the Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine. The research is supported by the Global Institute for Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine.

Varadan holds the College of Engineerings Twenty-First Century Endowed Chair in Nano- and Bio-Technologies and Medicine and the colleges Chair in Microelectronics and High Density Electronics. He is director of the High Density Electronics Center and the Center for Wireless Nano-, Bio- and Info-Tech Sensors and Systems, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Varadan is also a professor of neurosurgery in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Ark.

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Engineers Develop Textile Sensors that Monitor Cardiac Signs and Communicate with Smart Phones

A local medical company, working in coordination with Penn State, has earned a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Keystone Nano, based in the Zetachron building at 1981 Pine Hall Road in Ferguson Township, has been working on a possible new drug delivery method, using a product called NanoJackets, to treat a variety of cancers.

The grant, supplied by the Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program, is intended to allow Keystone Nano to speed its potentially live-saving product to market, according to Thomas Hostetter, a spokesman for the state Department of Health.

A goal of this initiative is commercialization of innovations derived from prior research endeavors, he wrote in an email.

Six years ago, the patented NanoJacket technology was developed out of a partnership between two Penn State professors, one specializing in materials science and the other in medicine.

Dr. Mark Kester is director of the Penn State Center for Nanomedicine and Materials and the co-leader for experimental therapeutics at the Hershey Cancer

Institute, and professor James Adair is director of the Particulate Materials Center and a professor in the materials science and engineering department at Penn State.

Adair first looked into the science that scored the grant for Keystone Nano after a heart condition nearly killed him.

As a result of his condition and fortunate recovery from it, he said, I wonder if these nanomaterials can do something for health, Davidson said.

Adair reached out to Kester, a friend, and the two began collaborating on what eventually turned into Nano- Jackets.

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Nano firm gets $1 million grant to combat cancer

HOLLISTON, Mass., May 3, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (HBIO - News), a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, today reported unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter Reported Results

Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2012 were $28.3 million, an increase of $2.0 million, or 7.6%, compared to revenues of $26.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Currency exchange rates had a negative 1.0% effect on revenues in the first quarter of 2012 compared with the first quarter of 2011. The Company's acquisitions of CMA Microdialysis AB ("CMA") in July 2011 and AHN Biotechnologie GmbH ("AHN") in February 2012 had a positive 4.4% effect on revenues. Excluding the effects of currency changes and acquisitions, the Company's organic revenue growth for the first quarter of 2012 was 4.2% over the same period in the previous year.

Net income, as measured under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), was $0.5 million, or $0.02 per diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $1.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the same period in 2011. The unfavorable year-to-year quarterly GAAP earnings comparison was primarily due to increased spending in the Company's development-stage Regenerative Medicine Device ("RMD") business.

On a non-GAAP adjusted basis, earnings per share for our core Life Science Research Tools ("LSRT") business for the first quarter of 2012 were $0.09 per diluted share compared with $0.08 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share for our RMD business for the first quarter of 2012 was a loss of $0.03 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.01 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011, and reflected greater activities in developing this new initiative. The Company's total non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share, reflecting LSRT and RMD combined, were $0.06 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2012 compared with $0.07 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011.

Commenting on the Company's performance Chane Graziano, CEO, stated, "We are pleased with our first quarter 2012 performance. Overall our organic growth in orders was 6% and for revenues was 4% versus the first quarter of 2011, fueled by demand in each of our four major product groups. During the first quarter of 2012 we hired a new general manager at our Denville Scientific subsidiary and introduced an exciting new nano spectrophotometer product at our Biochrom subsidiary. We expect each to have a significant impact in the second half of 2012."

Mr. Graziano continued "In the second quarter of 2012, we expect revenues to be in the $28-$29 million range and we expect non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for our core LSRT business to be in the 9-10 cents per share range. In RMD, we expect second quarter operating expenses to be about 4 cents per diluted share. For the year, we are maintaining our guidance at $115-$120 million range for revenues and 39-42 cents non-GAAP diluted earnings per share range for our core LSRT business. We also continue to expect our RMD operating expenses to be about 13 cents per diluted share this year."

Our second quarter 2012 revenue and earnings guidance was calculated using exchange rates (USD 1.62/GBP and USD 1.32/Euro) approximating April 27, 2012 rates and assumes a continuation of the business conditions as we see them at this time. The non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share guidance excludes amortization of intangible assets, impact of future acquisitions, acquisition costs, any future restructuring actions, and stock-based compensation expense recognized under the provisions of FASB ASC Topic 718, "Compensation -- Stock Compensation." See the table below for a reconciliation of our estimated non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share to our estimated GAAP earnings per diluted share. See Exhibits 4, 5 and 6 for reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP adjusted operating income, GAAP to non-GAAP adjusted net income and GAAP diluted earnings per common share to non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Operating Results for Continuing Operations

Three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to three months ended March 31, 2011:

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HBIO Reports First Quarter 2012 Revenue Growth of 8% Over First Quarter 2011

By Gamini WARUSHAMANA

Sri Lanka should popularise Nano Science at school level to gain economic control in nano technology- based industries. Nano Science should be re-introduced in school syllabuses said Dr. Prabath Hewageegana of the Department of Physics of the University of Kelaniya. Nano Science should be taught at school level so that students have a basic knowledge and the foundation in Nano Science should be strong to enable applications in nano technology.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has recognised nano technology-based applications and potential industries and institutions have been set up. Strengthening Nano Science education is crucial for sustainable development in the field. Sri Lanka can easily develop a sufficient pool of professionals and a work force in the next 10-15 years.

The Government's motivation and support is important and more research funds should be made available to universities and other research institutions, he said.

Dr.Hewageegana published a book in Sinhala last week to disseminate knowledge of Nano Science to teachers, students and those interested in this new subject.

The book is written in simple language to introduce key elements of the subject.

Nano Science was in the syllabus for the GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level but was later removed because there were no teachers who had the knowledge of the subject.

Another complaint from teachers was that there were no text books in Sinhala for reference.

My objective is to fulfill this requirement and if the authorities want to develop this sector they should re-introduce Nano Science in the school syllabus Dr.Hewageegana said. Senior Prof. of Physics, W.P. Siripala said that the importance of Nano Science is that it can be applied in every field.

Today it is applied in medicine,agriculture, and many other industries. This new science will generate the next revolution in science and therefore expansion of the knowledge in Nano Science was essential.

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Call to reintroduce Nano Science in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators are proposing that food companies that want to use tiny engineered particles in their packaging may have to provide extra testing data to show the products are safe.

The Food and Drug Administration issued tentative guidelines Friday for food and cosmetic companies interested in using nanoparticles, which are measured in billionths of a meter. Nanoscale materials are generally less than 100 nanometers in diameter. A sheet of paper, in comparison, is 100,000 nanometers thick. A human hair is 80,000 nanometers thick.

The submicroscopic particles are increasingly showing up in FDA-regulated products like sunscreens, skin lotions and glare-reducing eyeglass coatings. Some scientists believe the technology will one day be used in medicine, but the FDA's announcement did not address that use.

The draft guidance suggests the FDA may require food companies to provide data establishing the safety of any packaging using nanotechnology.

Under longstanding regulations, companies aren't required to seek regulatory approval before launching products containing established ingredients and materials, such as caffeine, spices and various preservatives.

But FDA officials said Friday that foods and packaging containing nanoparticles may require more scrutiny.

"At this point, in terms of the science, we think it's likely the exemption does not apply and we would encourage folks to come in and talk to us," said Dennis Keefe, director of FDA's office of food additive safety.

Keefe said companies are studying whether nanoparticles can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination in certain foods. He said the agency is aware of just one food package currently on the market that uses nanoparticles but did not identify it. He said more are expected in coming years.

The FDA has previously stated its position that nanotechnology is not inherently unsafe; however, materials at the nano scale can pose different safety issues than do things that are far larger.

"This is an emerging, evolving technology and we're trying to get ahead of the curb to ensure the ingredients and substances are safe," Keefe said.

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FDA proposes rules for nanotechnology in food

Featured Article Main Category: Medical Devices / Diagnostics Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 30 Mar 2012 - 12:00 PDT

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This week, at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Diego, Dr David H Gracias, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, gave an account of the progress he and his team are making in this area.

Gracias told the press:

"Cargo-carrying bacteria may be an answer to a major roadblock in using nano-medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat disease."

Nano-technology concerns itself with making ultra-tiny devices, small enough to fit a million or so on the head of a pin. In medicine the idea is to use them to transport particles of medication, sensors and other materials to precise locations in the human body.

But it is not easy to devise self-sustaining motors and propulsion mechanisms at this scale: so scientists are increasingly turning to nature, where organisms like bacteria are already of the right scale and capable of moving on their own.

As Gracias explained:

"Currently, it is hard to engineer microparticles or nanoparticles capable of self-propelled motion in well-defined trajectories under biologically relevant conditions."

Continued here:
"Backpacking" Bacteria Ferry Nano-Medicines

By John Hutchinson

PUBLISHED: 19:31 EST, 30 March 2012 | UPDATED: 19:36 EST, 30 March 2012

Making complex, large 3D structures would normally take hours or even days to perfect.

But researchers from the Vienna University of Technology have speeded that up - considerably - and produced grain-of-sand sized objects such as bridges, cathedrals and Formula 1 cars.

It is thought that the world record for producing the nano-objects in the quickest time has been smashed.

London calling: Here is nano-scale model of London's Tower Bridge created by a newly developed 3D printing technique for nano structures

Great work: The attention detail for such a speeded-up process is incredible, with the making of the roofing clear

The attention to detail is exquisite - and the craftsmanship is even more impressive when you appreciate the scale of the endeavour.

In the design of London's Tower Bridge, for example, you can make out details in the roof-work of the tower, as well as the railings on the actual bridge.

The little Formula 1 car is just 0.028cm across - or to put it another way, less than a third of a millimetre.

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Scientists use world's fastest 3D printer to create amazingly detailed F1 car