IBM Earns Most U.S. Patents for 17th Consecutive Year

IBM today announced that it received 4,914 U.S. patents in 2009, marking the 17th consecutive year it has topped the list of the world's most inventive companies. IBM also announced that, for the first time, it will offer its invention know-how and patent portfolio management software to clients seeking to enhance their intellectual property (IP) management capabilities in support of innovation-based growth strategies.

Tegal Receives Follow-on Order for 981ACS Plasma Etch System from Leading Hard Disk Drive Manufacturer

Tegal Corporation, an innovator of specialized production solutions for the fabrication of advanced MEMS, power ICs and optoelectronic devices, today announced that it has received a repeat order for a 981ACS plasma etch system from a leading hard disk drive manufacturer to support a critical capacity expansion for magnetic data storage device fabrication.

Meta-Roadmap Nanomaterialien

Vorrangiges Ziel dieser Roadmap, die im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums fuer Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) erarbeitet wurde, ist die Unterstuetzung aller Akteure aus Forschung, Industrie und Politik bei der mittelfristigen strategischen Ausrichtung zukuenftiger Aktivitaeten zur Erforschung und Entwicklung innovativer Nanomaterialien zum Einsatz in verschiedenen Anwendungsfeldern.

Molecular capture with protein nanotechnology

In many biomedical applications, protein nanotubes present several advantages over nanospheres. The layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique for the preparation of protein nanotubes has attracted considerable attention because of their potential nanotechnology applications in enzymatic nanocatalysts, bioseparation nanofilters, and targeting nanocarriers. A drawback is that in template synthesis the extraction process often results in physical deformation of the nanotubes. Researchers in Japan have now developed a new procedure using specific solvent and freeze-drying technique. They describe for the first time molecular capturing properties of protein nanotubes with a controllable affinity and size selectivity.

Simple DNA nanomachine is capable of continuous rotation

A very promising field of nanomotor research are DNA nanomachines. These are synthetic DNA assemblies that switch between defined molecular shapes upon stimulation by external triggers. They can be controlled by a variety of methods that include pH changes and the addition of other molecular components, such as small molecule effectors, proteins and DNA strands. Researchers have now designed and built a simple DNA machine that is capable of continuous rotation with controlled speed and direction - a function that might be very useful for example for molecular transport. This machine is driven by an externally controlled electric field. When this field is oscillated between four directions, it continuously reorients a rotor DNA that is asymmetrically attached to a DNA axle.

New Energy Unveils Patent-Pending Technology to ‘Spray’ Solar Cells onto See-Thru Windows to Generate Electricity

New Energy Technologies, Inc., developer of MotionPower technologies for generating sustainable electricity from the kinetic energy of moving vehicles and SolarWindow technologies capable of generating electricity on see-thru glass windows, today announced that researchers have developed a novel, patent-pending process for spraying solar cells and their related components onto glass.