A step towards the future

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Sri Lanka as a leading nanotechnology destination:

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka had been talking of introducing nanotechnology for almost 15 years; ministers had promised to build nano parks and provide other benefits to get such projects off the ground. However, very little attention had been paid to the matter.

A model of the Nanotechnology Centre in Homagama

Last Thursday, the much talked about and long overdue foundation stone for the 54-acre nanotechnology Centre of Excellence (NCE) was finally laid on Government land at Homagama.

Chairman Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Mahesh Amalean said the investment for the initial stage of the project is Rs 830 million. The nanotechnology park, funded by the Government and a few private sector entities, would enable companies to invest and develop their research centres incubation facilities and pilot plants in the environment of an advanced technology park.

This would help Sri Lanka to be positioned as a leading destination for nanotechnology, taking the country closer towards becoming the Wonder of Asia.

The second phase of the park will focus on the expansion of research and business development for the public and private sector in Sri Lanka and potential foreign direct investment from multinational corporations as well as SMEs through attractive incentives, terms and conditions.

One of Asias leading nano-scientists Dr Lalin Samaranayake told the Sunday Observer that Sri Lanka is sitting on a nanotechnology goldmine. It has not used its potential in the world market, he said

He said while Sri Lanka has the technology to reap economic benefits from nanotechnology in the island itself, the country only exports raw materials, giving all the benefits to the world. Sri Lanka sells nano raw materials such as graphite, silica, titanium dioxide and clay for various industries in the world and imports the finished products spending a lot of foreign currency.

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A step towards the future

Genia Technologies Collaborates with Professors Jingyue Ju at Columbia and George Church at Harvard to Develop a …

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genia Technologies, Inc. today announced a collaboration with investigators at Columbia University and Harvard University to develop a nanopore-based sequencing system that will accelerate the use of DNA sequencing in the clinic. The three-way collaboration focuses on the development of a single molecule sequencing system combining Genia's standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit, Professor George Church's novel protein constructs with Columbia's unique Tag-based sequencing chemistry approach. Genia has recently entered into an exclusive license agreement with Columbia University for use of its Tag-based sequencing technology. By combining standard protein nanopores with the tag sequencing chemistry (NanoTag) and semiconductor technology, the Genia chip will be more accurate, faster, and affordable than current commercially available technologies. This integrated circuit platform is designed for decentralized deployment, ease of use, and less upfront sample preparation, at a size and price ideal for diagnostics in the clinical setting.

"We believe DNA sequencing will dominate molecular diagnostics in the future," said Stefan Roever, CEO of Genia. "We have been working to fully operationalize a nanopore-based sequencing approach, and this chemistry will be the catalyst that helps us finally bring affordable, easy-to-use genomic diagnostics into everyday medical care."

"The Genia platform combines the single molecule detection capabilities seen in nanopore-based platforms with true semiconductor scalability," Roever continued. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Professor Jingyue Ju, Professor George Church, and their teams to develop the NanoTag sequencing chemistry on our platform and believe this Tag-based approach overcomes the inherent accuracy issues you have with trying to pull native DNA through the pore. We believe this will be the winning chemistry for nanopore-based sequencing."

This transformational platform, based on the innovative electronic Nano-SBS system developed by Dr. Ju and his team at Columbia's Engineering School in an academic collaboration with Dr. John Kasianowicz and his group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, uses a robust sequencing-by-synthesis approach to determine DNA sequences electronically at the single molecule level, without requiring amplification or optical detection. The technology identifies DNA sequences not by detecting the nucleotides themselves with the nanopore, but by measuring the current changes caused by the passage of each of four different tags that are released from the incorporated nucleotide during the polymerase reaction. On September 21, 2012, Dr. Ju, Dr. Kasianowicz, and their groups published an article in the peer-reviewed journal, Scientific Reports (Nature Publication group), "PEG-Labeled Nucleotides and Nanopore Detection for Single Molecule DNA Sequencing by Synthesis" (2, 684;DOI:10.1038/srep00684), that successfully demonstrates proof of principle of the Nano-SBS system.

"We are very fortunate to have partnered with Genia Technologies. We are very impressed with their chip capabilities and are excited to work with them and take our novel tag sequencing chemistry to commercialization. Our published research with Dr. Kasianowicz represents the first step in further development of this novel sequencing technology. By scaling with a nanopore integrated circuit, the commercial implications and the impact on biomedical research and clinical diagnostics are very exciting," said Dr. Ju, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Pharmacology at Columbia University.

Genia's technology combines a nanopore array integrated on a standard CMOS chip. Software on the chip controls the insertion of the nanopores into the lipid bilayers and allows for active control of individual sensors on the array. Genia has strong IP around their analog electronic circuitry, which at the heart, controls each sensor of the array and allows for operationalizing the overall nanopore-based platform. In addition, Genia's patented protein construct and methodology solve the diffusion, capture rate, and translocation speed issues faced by alternative exonuclease-based approaches.

To make NanoTag sequencing a reality, a fusion protein is needed to position the polymerase near the nanopore's vestibule, so that the tags can be easily captured and detected in the barrel of the pore. As part of the Genia collaboration, George Church and his group will provide the protein constructs which are integral to the overall Tag-based approach.

"DNA sequencing is the future of molecular diagnostics and finding a platform that can be deployed straight into the clinic and enable rapid, easy to interpret results will be the way to truly achieve personal genomes worthy of precision medicine," said George Church, Professor of Genetics, at Harvard University. "The Genia integrated circuit combined with the NanoTag sequencing chemistry, seems to have a winning formula that makes it ideal for clinical care and may be the platform that finally moves DNA sequencing into the doctor's office to ensure earlier diagnostics, treatment, and better patient outcomes.

The first version of Genia's CMOS chip is in-house and is currently being used to further develop and test the NanoTag sequencing chemistry. The company expects to ship its first devices to customers for beta testing by the end of 2013 and expects to have a commercial product, on the market in 2014.

About Genia Technologies:

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Scientists Invited To Submit Proposals For Biological Research In Space

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October 3, 2012

Image Caption: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, services the Nano Step payload in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA announced it is inviting scientists from all over the world to submit proposals to perform biological research aboard the International Space Station.

NASAs Research Opportunities in Space Biology opened up for proposals on Sunday, challenging scientists to submit their experiments that could provide answers to questions about how life adapts and responds to microgravity.

Investigators will have the opportunity to take advantage of new cell, plant and animal research facilities being developed for the space station.

NASA said proposals submitted by the scientists should demonstrate benefits to astronauts living and working in the harsh environment of space during long-duration missions. The space agency also said they should improve medicine and health care for humans on Earth as well.

NASAs Research Announcement (NRA) focuses on ground-based research designed to lead to new space biology investigations aboard the space station.

The space agency said the investigations should use microgravity and other characteristics of the space environment effectively to enhance our understanding of basic biological processes and develop the scientific and technological foundations for a safe, productive human presence in space.

The investigations should also be able to be applied to help improve the United States competitiveness, education and quality of life, according to NASA.

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Scientists Invited To Submit Proposals For Biological Research In Space

Today on New Scientist: 25 June 2012

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Corporate money men fill the political void at Rio+20

It may have been a damp squib politically, but business leaders at the Earth Summit in Rio were on hand to commit cash for UN green initiatives

In Why Does the World Exist? Jim Holt spans physics, philosophy and literature to examine the mystery of why there is something rather than nothing

Ferrofluids - a mix of oil and nano-sized iron particles - are normally used in computer hard drives, but their weird properties can make for great liquid art

Twisting individual beams of light in different ways allows more data to be transmitted in the same signal

A swallowable ultrasound device called uPill could end the need for painful daily injections

If life arises wherever conditions are right, why haven't we heard from aliens yet? Biochemist Nick Lane thinks he might have an answer

The Atlantic coast of North America is a hotspot of sea level rise, suggesting that a major Atlantic current is slowing down

Which is more likely to derail the decades-long battle to rid the world of polio? The Taliban, or the financial crisis?

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Today on New Scientist: 25 June 2012

A step toward minute factories that produce medicine inside the body

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Public release date: 27-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society

Scientists are reporting an advance toward treating disease with minute capsules containing not drugs but the DNA and other biological machinery for making the drug. In an article in ACS' journal Nano Letters, they describe engineering micro- and nano-sized capsules that contain the genetically coded instructions, plus the read-out gear and assembly line for protein synthesis that can be switched on with an external signal.

Daniel Anderson and colleagues explain that development of nanoscale production units for protein-based drugs in the human body may provide a new approach for treating disease. These production units could be turned on when needed, producing medicines that cannot be taken orally or are toxic and would harm other parts of the body. Until now, researchers have only done this with live bacteria that were designed to make proteins at disease sites. But unlike bacterial systems, artificial ones are modular, and it is easier to modify them. That's why Anderson's group developed an artificial, remotely activated nanoparticle system containing DNA and the other "parts" necessary to make proteins, which are the workhorses of the human cell and are often used as drugs.

They describe the nanoscale production units, which are tiny spheres encapsulating protein-making machinery like that found in living cells. The resulting nanoparticles produced active proteins on demand when the researchers shined a laser light on them. The nanoparticles even worked when they were injected into mice, which are stand-ins for humans in the laboratory, producing proteins when a laser was shone onto the animals. This innovation "may find utility in the localized delivery of therapeutics," say the researchers.

###

The authors acknowledge funding from the Misrock Foundation, the Life Sciences Research Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health and the Marie D. & Pierre Casimir-Lambert Fund.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

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A step toward minute factories that produce medicine inside the body

Real Products, Different Results

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by Gwyneth K. Shaw | Jun 15, 2012 10:36 am

(NHI Nanoblog) Its become a rallying cry for some researchers who are scrutinizing the potential health and environmental effects of super-small particles: Test the products that use nanomaterials, not just the substances themselves.

A new study looking at the exposure risk of nano-enabled cosmetic powders offers a powerful validation of that argument. The researchers conclude that the hazards are different from what might be expected, given the size of the particles involved.

They also found that even the rudimentary labeling of nano-enabled products isnt always accurate: Five of the six powders contained nanoparticles, even though only three were marketed that way.

The researchers, from Rutgers University and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, predict that exposure to nanoparticles from cosmetic powders is more likely to be in the upper respiratory system, rather than in the deeper, smaller alveolar area. In other words, these products are mostly coming throughand maybe lodging inyour nose, throat and the bronchial area.

The study was published in Environmental Health Perspectives, an open-access journal put out by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Experimental studies using pure versions of nanomaterials suggested that they would migrate to the alveolar region, home of the tiny sacs that form the end of the smallest airways and where the exchange of air and carbon monoxide takes place.

Our findings on potential nanomaterial inhalation exposure due to the use of actual consumer products emphasize that properties and effects of the pure nanomaterial ingredients cannot be used to predict actual consumer exposures and resulting health effects, the authors write. Therefore, experimental techniques for toxicity studies of de facto nanotechnology-based consumer products must be developed. Results of such studies will provide guidance for the developing market of nanotechnology-based consumer products and help clarify the need and feasibility of its regulation.

Nanotechnology is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of uses of very small materials. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) These substances can make better batteries or lighter and stronger bike frames, as well as new medical instruments and medicines that can save lives. Theyre increasingly common in consumer products, from sunscreens to stain-repellent pants to boat paints that resist algae growth.

Nanomaterials are believed to hold great promise for a wide variety of applications. Their ultra-tiny size often gives them different properties, which is the basis of their appeal; scientists are struggling to figure out whether that can make them dangerous in the process, and how and why it happens.

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International Nanomedicine Conference bound for Sydney: July 2-4, 2012

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Public release date: 19-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Myles Gough myles.gough@unsw.edu.au 61-029-385-1933 University of New South Wales

With advances in nanotechnology, the future of medicine is taking shape on the nano-scale and making possible healthcare solutions once confined to the realm of science fiction.

From microscopic robots that could soon be swimming around our bloodstream repairing cells and diagnosing diseases, to drugs with improved therapeutic properties that can selectively target affected regions of the body with cellular precision without damaging surrounding tissue.

The Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at the University of New South Wales is at the forefront of this exciting new discipline and will host the third International Nanomedicine Conference from 2 4 July in Sydney.

The conference will bring together world-leading academics and clinicians to highlight important research into targeted drug delivery systems, diagnostics and imaging, and regenerative medicine, all enabled by nanomedicine.

One nanometre is equivalent to one-billionth of a metre and is roughly 60,000 times thinner than a human hair, or the size of a single strand of DNA.

By exploiting the novel biological, chemical and physical properties of materials at this scale, researchers can build devices and systems that improve disease detection and develop more effective therapies.

The Australian Centre for Nanomedicine at UNSW, which crosses medicine, science and engineering, is investigating strategies to better diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Keynote speakers include:

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International Nanomedicine Conference bound for Sydney: July 2-4, 2012

Taming light with graphene

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ScienceDaily (June 20, 2012) Scientists have visualized the trapping and confinement of light on graphene, making a sheet of carbon atoms the most promising candidate for optical information processing on the nano-scale, optical detection, and ultrafast optoelectronics.

Spanish research groups have achieved the first ever visualizations of light guided with nanometric precision on graphene (a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms). This visualization demonstrates what theoretical physicists have long predicted; that it is possible to trap and manipulate light in a highly efficient way, using graphene as a novel platform for optical information processing and sensing. Synergies between theoretical proposals from IQFR-CSIC (Madrid), specializations in graphene nano-photonics and nano-optoelectonics at ICFO (Barcelona), and experimental expertise in optical nano-imaging at nanoGUNE (San Sebastian) give rise to these noteworthy results reported in Nature this week in a back-to-back publication alongside a similar study by the group of Dmitry Basov in UCSD in California.

Graphene is a material that, among many other fascinating properties, has an extraordinary optical behavior. Particularly interesting optical properties had been predicted for the case that light couples to so-called plasmons, wave-like excitations that were predicted to exist in the "sea" of conduction electrons of graphene. However, no direct experimental evidence of plasmons in graphene had been shown up to this work. This is because the wavelength of graphene plasmons is 10 to 100 times smaller than what can be seen with conventional light microscopes.

Now, the researchers show the first experimental images of graphene plasmons. They used a so called near-field microscope that uses a sharp tip to convert the illumination light into a nanoscale light spot that provides the extra push needed for the plasmons to be created. At the same time the tip probes the presence of plasmons. Rainer Hillenbrand, leader of the nanoGUNE group comments: "Seeing is believing! Our near-field optical images definitely proof the existence of propagating and localized graphene plasmons and allow for a direct measurement of their dramatically reduced wavelength."

As demonstrated by the researchers, graphene plasmons can be used to electrically control light in a similar fashion as is traditionally achieved with electrons in a transistor. These capabilities, which until now were impossible with other existing plasmonic materials, enable new highly efficient nano-scale optical switches which can perform calculations using light instead of electricity.

"With our work we show that graphene is an excellent choice for solving the long-standing and technologically important problem of modulating light at the speeds of today's microchips," says Javier Garca de Abajo, leader of the IQFR-CSIC group. In addition, the capability of trapping light in very small volumes could give rise to a new generation of nano-sensors with applications in diverse areas such as medicine and bio-detection, solar cells and light detectors, as well as quantum information processing. This result literally opens a new field of research and provides a first viable path towards ultrafast tuning of light, which was not possible until now. Frank Koppens, leader of the ICFO group, summarizes: "Graphene is a novel and unique material for plasmonics, truly bridging the fields of nano-electronics and nano-optics."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elhuyar Fundazioa, via AlphaGalileo.

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Taming light with graphene

How worms are pioneering remote control medicine

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Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

If you want to make the worm turn, try using magnets. By implanting nanoparticles in nerve cells in a nematode's head, Arnd Pralle and his team from the State University of New York in Buffalo can make a wriggling worm alter its course when exposed to a magnetic field.

In this video, you can see how both a single treated worm, as well as a whole group, can quickly be triggered to change direction. A third clip shows that in the same scenario, an untreated worm doesn't alter its behaviour.

These nematodes are just one example of how living cells can be controlled remotely. By using other hosts, and implanting nanoparticles in ion channels, DNA strands or antibodies, medical treatments could be activated instantly from afar, leading to a new generation of drugs that can be set off with a smartphone app.

To find out more about recent developments in wireless medicine, read our full-length feature, Wireless medicine: Turn on, tune in, control life.

If you enjoyed this post, see how a roundworm can be stunned by UV light or watch how (contrary to what you might think) obstacles can help worms speed through an obstacle course.

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How worms are pioneering remote control medicine

Golden Helix Establishes Direct Presence in Japan

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BOZEMAN, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Golden Helix has established a representative office in Japan and has selected Filgen Inc. as its exclusive distributor for the territory. Filgen will work directly with Golden Helix Japan to market and support its flagship product, SNP & Variation Suite (SVS). The software offers several packages to facilitate SNP, copy number, and next-generation sequencing data analyses.

We are excited to enter the Japanese life sciences market, as our products align with the high-quality genetic analysis work being done in Japan, said Andy Ferrin, Senior Vice-President of Business Development at Golden Helix. Having a local office supported by an experienced distributor like Filgen will enable us to better serve our customer base.

Japan has been a key area of opportunity for Golden Helix, constituting one of the countries most focused on advancing genomic studies. Having a local office will help Golden Helix take up a strong position in this important market by showing its commitment to this extremely demanding customer base, said David Leangen, the newly appointed Country Manager for Golden Helix Japan.

Says Manabu Harada, Vice-President of Filgen: Our company is one of the leading providers of life science products and services in Japan. Our customers expect a high level of quality from our offerings, and SVS fits that bill. Filgen looks forward to working with Golden Helixs representative office and is thrilled to have found a partner in this arena with such an intuitive and powerful product.

About Golden Helix

Golden Helix is a leading bioinformatics organization, specializing in sequence and array-based SNP and copy number analysis, genetic association software, and analytic services. Our innovative technologies empower scientists to determine the genetic causes of disease, transform drug discovery, develop genetic diagnostics, and advance the quest for personalized medicine. Used by hundreds of researchers at the world's top pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic research organizations, Golden Helix products and services have been cited in over 600 peer-reviewed publications. Learn more at http://www.goldenhelix.com.

About Filgen Inc.

Filgen Inc. engages in the development, manufacturing, and sales of science research equipment and provides biotechnology analysis services to the life sciences market. The company offers nano-science products, such as ultraviolet radiation ozone cleaner, spectrum osmium, dipping device, plasma film manufacture device, simple dipping device, and electron microscope trust photographing service. Filgen Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Nagoya, Japan. Learn more at http://www.filgen.jp.

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Golden Helix Establishes Direct Presence in Japan

STDs blocked by nano gel, study suggests

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Women someday could protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections by using a gel that uses nanoparticles to deliver drugs to the vaginal walls, a new study in mice suggests.

Researchers used the gel to deliver an anti-herpes drug to the mice and found that the technology tripled the level of protection that the drug normally provides against aherpes infection.

It's possible the gel's protection could be made to be long-lasting, so it could be applied hours before sexual intercourse, according to the study, which appears today (June 13) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

If the gel is found fit for human use, the composition of the gel makes it likely that a woman could use it discreetly, without her partner noticing it, the researchers added.

To see just how much the nanoparticle delivery system improved a drug's effectiveness, the researchers purposefully chose an anti-herpes medication that was not particularly effective, and a strain of herpes virus that was remarkably infectious.

"We could protect animals fairly well, with a wimpy drug, against a strong herpes infection," said study researcher Justin Hanes, director of the Center for Nanomedicine at the John Hopkins School of Medicine.

The research has yet to be tried in people, and rodent studies often don't hold up in humans. Under ideal circumstances, clinical trials of the gel could be possible within a year or two, Hanes said.

The trick to developing the gel was making the particles small enough and slick enough to get through the mucus that coats the inside of the vagina. Hanes likened the problem to a bug trying to fly through a spider web.

"There could be a bug that's small enough to fit through a spider web, but that doesn't mean it will get through without getting stuck," he said. But with small, "non-sticky" nanoparticles, the drug was evenly applied across nearly 100 percent of the vaginal surface a feat given the vagina's complex, folding walls, Hanes said.

When they applied the anti-herpesdrug to mice, the researchers found that the drug's effectiveness in preventing herpes increased from 16 percent without the nanoparticles, to 53 percent with the nanoparticles.

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STDs blocked by nano gel, study suggests

Researchers develop a 'time bomb' to fight cardiovascular disease

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Public release date: 10-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andreas Zumbuehl andreas.zumbuehl@unige.ch 41-223-796-719 Universit de Genve

In Switzerland, more than 20,000 people (37% of all deaths) die of cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis each year. Treatment options are currently available to people who suffer from the disease but no drug can target solely the diseased areas, often leading to generalized side effects. Intravenous injection of a vasodilator (a substance that dilates blood vessels), such as nitroglycerin, dilates both the diseased vessels and the rest of our arteries. Blood pressure can thus drop, which would limit the desired increased blood flow generated by vasodilatation of diseased vessels and needed for example during a heart attack.

In order to increase the effectiveness of treatments against atherosclerosis and to reduce side effects, a team of researchers from UNIGE, HUG and the University of Basel have developed nanocontainers having the ability to release their vasodilator content exclusively to diseased areas.

Nanotechnology in medicine

Though no biomarker specific to atherosclerosis has been identified, there is a physical phenomenon inherent to stenosis (the narrowing of blood vessels) known as shear stress. This force results from fluctuations in blood flow induced by the narrowing of the artery and runs parallel to the flow of blood. It is by making use of this phenomenon that the team of researchers has developed a veritable time bomb, a nanocontainer which, under pressure from the shear stress in stenosed arteries, will release its vasodilator contents.

By rearranging the structure of certain molecules (phospholipids) in classic nanocontainers such as liposome, scientists were able to give them a lenticular shape as opposed to the normal spherical shape. In the form of a lens, the nanocontainer then moves through the healthy arteries without breaking. This new nanocontainer is perfectly stable, except when subjected to the shear stress of stenosed arteries. And that's exactly the intention of this technological advance. The vasodilator content is distributed only to the stenotic arteries, significantly increasing the efficacy of the treatment and reducing side effects. In brief, we exploited a previously unexplored aspect of an existing technology. This research offers new perspectives in the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease, explains Andreas Zumbuehl from the Department of Organic Chemistry at UNIGE.

Nanomedicine is a discipline stemming from general nanoscience but which orients itself towards medical research. The interdisciplinary collaboration between chemistry, physics, basic science and clinical medicine in a highly technical environment could lead to a new era of research, states Till Saxer of the Cardiology and General Internal Medicine Departments at HUG.

The nano component is present in all disciplines, but the most interesting aspect of nanomedicine is its overview allowing the development of clinical products that integrate this global medical point of view from the earliest onset of research projects, states Bert Mller, Director of the Biomaterials Science Centre (BMC) at Basel.

When chemistry gets involved

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Researchers develop a 'time bomb' to fight cardiovascular disease

Nanotechnologists develop a 'time bomb' to fight cardiovascular disease

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Atherosclerosis, resulting in a narrowing of the arteries and the development of cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Until now, no treatment could target diseased areas exclusively, in order to increase drug efficacy and reduce side effects. To help bridge this gap, a group of Swiss researchers from UNIGE, HUG and the University of Basel have developed a veritable 'time bomb,' a treatment that can recognize the diseased areas and treat only them.

In Switzerland, more than 20,000 people (37% of all deaths) die of cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis each year. Treatment options are currently available to people who suffer from the disease but no drug can target solely the diseased areas, often leading to generalized side effects. Intravenous injection of a vasodilator (a substance that dilates blood vessels), such as nitroglycerin, dilates both the diseased vessels and the rest of our arteries. Blood pressure can thus drop, which would limit the desired increased blood flow generated by vasodilatation of diseased vessels and needed for example during a heart attack.

In order to increase the effectiveness of treatments against atherosclerosis and to reduce side effects, a team of researchers from UNIGE, HUG and the University of Basel have developed nanocontainers having the ability to release their vasodilator content exclusively to diseased areas.

Nanotechnology in medicine

Though no biomarker specific to atherosclerosis has been identified, there is a physical phenomenon inherent to stenosis (the narrowing of blood vessels) known as shear stress. This force results from fluctuations in blood flow induced by the narrowing of the artery and runs parallel to the flow of blood. It is by making use of this phenomenon that the team of researchers has developed a veritable time bomb, a nanocontainer which, under pressure from the shear stress in stenosed arteries, will release its vasodilator contents.

By rearranging the structure of certain molecules (phospholipids) in classic nanocontainers such as liposome, scientists were able to give them a lenticular shape as opposed to the normal spherical shape. In the form of a lens, the nanocontainer then moves through the healthy arteries without breaking. This new nanocontainer is perfectly stable, except when subjected to the shear stress of stenosed arteries. And that's exactly the intention of this technological advance. The vasodilator content is distributed only to the stenotic arteries, significantly increasing the efficacy of the treatment and reducing side effects. "In brief, we exploited a previously unexplored aspect of an existing technology. This research offers new perspectives in the treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease," explains Andreas Zumbuehl from the Department of Organic Chemistry at UNIGE.

"Nanomedicine is a discipline stemming from general nanoscience but which orients itself towards medical research. The interdisciplinary collaboration between chemistry, physics, basic science and clinical medicine in a highly technical environment could lead to a new era of research," states Till Saxer of the Cardiology and General Internal Medicine Departments at HUG.

"The nano component is present in all disciplines, but the most interesting aspect of nanomedicine is its overview allowing the development of clinical products that integrate this global medical point of view from the earliest onset of research projects," states Bert Mller, Director of the Biomaterials Science Centre (BMC) at Basel.

When chemistry gets involved

How did scientists manage to change the shape of the nanocontainers so that they resemble a lens? By rearranging the structure of molecules, chemists at UNIGE replaced the ester bond that links the two parts of the phospholipid (head and tail), with an amide bond, an organic compound that promotes interaction among phospholipids. Once modified, the molecules are hydrated then heated to form a liquid sphere which will relax to solidify in the form of a lens upon cooling.

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Nanotechnologists develop a 'time bomb' to fight cardiovascular disease

Asia's First Graphene Nano-Tech Facility Opens In Singapore

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June 13, 2012 11:53 AM

Asia's First Graphene Nano-Tech Facility Opens In Singapore

SINGAPORE, June 13 (Bernama) -- A S$15 million Micro and Nano-Fabrication facility has opened at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Graphene Research Centre, the first nano-science and nano-technology facility of its kind in Asia dedicated to graphene.

The Centre, set up in August 2010 as part of the NUS Faculty of Science, is involved in projects totalling over S$100 million, and aims to be a world leader in the emerging field of graphene research.

Helmed by Professor Antonio H. Castro Neto, who is one of the world leaders in graphene research, the Centre is set up under scientific advising by Professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, from Manchester University in the UK and winners of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of graphene.

NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said: "Graphene is one of the most interesting and promising materials of our time although its unique properties have yet to be fully explored.

"We look forward to seeing novel discoveries and innovative breakthroughs emerge from the Centre, putting Singapore in the forefront of research in revolutionary new materials."

There is an intense global drive towards graphene commercialisation. Graphene grown by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) could be a game changer in the industry of transparent conductive coatings (TCC) essential for the modern display, lighting touch panel, and photovoltaic industries. This market is expected to reach annually US$55 billion by 2020.

Solution-processed graphene is expected to have a major impact on batteries, catalysts and composite materials, reaching a projected market value of US$675 million in 2020.

Neto said: "Our research addresses immediate growth, synthesis, transfer and doping problems of existing approaches. We aim to break current technological bottlenecks for industry adoption by meeting the industrial benchmarks of conductivity and optical transparency for graphene and by improving size and conductivity of graphene flakes from solution at a low cost.

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Asia's First Graphene Nano-Tech Facility Opens In Singapore

Jugaad innovators don't plan – they improvise

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Jugaad innovators don't plan - they improvise By demonstrating agility, jugaad innovators can deal with unanticipated challenges faster and seize unexpected opportunities-such as changing customer needs-more swiftly than their competitors Jugaad Innovation / Jun 04, 2012, 00:45 IST

Emerging markets are characterized by high volatility. Economic circumstances are constantly changing. Growth rates are often in double digits, and the competitive landscape is often shifting. New laws and regulations are constantly being put into place, and policy is constantly evolving. So jugaad innovators need to experiment as they go along and be willing to try multiple options, rather than adopting one approach at the start and sticking to it thereafter. Unlike their counterparts in Silicon Valley, jugaad innovators do not attempt to work everything out in advance or rely on a business plan to determine the mid- to long-term roadmap for their new ventures. Instead, they improvise their next course of action as circumstances change, and they do so from within a framework of deep knowledge and passion. Their approach is in fact more akin to a jazz band than to an orchestra: everything is improvised, fluid, and dynamic. As such, their strategies are organic and emergent rather than predetermined. Jugaad innovators flexible thinkingtheir ability to improviseserves them especially well when confronted with adversity.

Given their propensity for improvisation, jugaad innovators dont rely on forecasting tools like scenario planning, as many companies do, to assess future risks. They believe in Murphys Lawanything that can go wrong will go wrongso whats the point of anticipating every single obstacle that might appear down the road? Jugaad innovators dont have a Plan B, let alone a Plan C. Rather, when confronted with an unexpected hindrance, they rely on their innate ability to improvise an effective solution to overcome it, given the circumstances at that time.

In 2007, however, local farmers began protesting against the acquisition of land for the factory. The dispute rapidly escalated into a political issue and caught Tata Motors off guard. As the protests intensified through 2008, Ravi Kant, then managing director of Tata Motors (and later its non-executive vice chairman) made a bold decision. He set aside his firms prior manufacturing plans and swiftly shifted the production of the Nano to Sanand, in the investor-friendly state of Gujarat, on the other side of the country. He didnt hire a management consultant to advise him on the move; he just trusted his instinct that this was the right thing to do, given the circumstances. In just fourteen months (compared to the expected twenty-eight months for the Singur plant), Tata Motors built a new factory in Sanand, Gujarat. The new factory began production of Nanos in June 2010.

One year later, Ravi Kant and his team had to demonstrate the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances yet again: the Nanos werent selling as well as expected. Monthly sales had fallen well below the optimistic forecast of twenty thousand units. Rather than being disappointed by the Nanos lackluster performance, Tata Motors leadership used this early market feedback to improvise a plan to shore up sales. Ratan Tata originally envisioned a distributed supply chain model whereby Tata Motors would dispatch flat packs to local entrepreneurs across the country, who would do the final assembly of Nanos close to customers thus creating gainful employment in local communities. With flagging sales, however, this original vision had to be revised: Tata Motors executives went back to the drawing board and quickly revamped Nanos logistics network to a more straightforward one, which involved manufacture and assembly at one site in Gujarat, and distribution through a traditional dealer network throughout the country. But again Tata Motors hit a snag: rural customers such as farmers were not venturing into Tata Motors showrooms in small towns. Among other things, they felt intimidated by dealers dressed in suits and ties.

This setback led Tata Motors management to redesign their rural showrooms to make them more informal-for example by staffing them with casually attired salesmen who could pitch the Nano to Indian farmers over a cup of chai. Tata Motors also launched a nationwide TV campaign and began offering consumer financing at highly attractive rates to lure frugal Indian consumers. By constantly adapting and refining its business modeland implementing changes within weeks, not monthsTata Motors invigorated sales of the Nano, which, although still lower than expected, are gradually beginning to pick up. Indeed, it is very likely that the future success of the car will depend on more such quick adaptation and flexible thinking by the managers of Tata Motors.

Jugaad innovators experiment with multiple ways to reach a goal Unpredictability is the norm in emerging markets. Because of diversity and rapid change, it is hard to predict how consumers will respond to new products and services-and how new business strategies will perform in, say, rural markets. Jugaad innovators may have a single-minded vision of where they want to get to, but they must be willing to try different paths to get there. Specifically, they must be willing to keep experimenting in order to attain their goalsand they must be flexible enough to quickly switch from one path to another along the way.

Dr Mohan, for instance, experimented with a number of different ways to frugally yet effectively engage rural communities both as consumers (patients) and employees. When he first sent his expensive technicians from his city hospital to work in remote villages, he found that these techniciansalthough highly competentwould soon leave, wanting to return to city life. Learning this, he developed a training curriculum in his city hospital to impart to young men and women from villages the basic skills they need as healthcare workers. After about three months, these newly trained healthcare professionals would return to their rural homes, where they were more likely to want to remain. This in turn helped reduce costs and turnover in Dr Mohans model. Dr Mohan had a similar experience with his attempts to work with non-traditional partners to develop a cost-effective tele-medicine platform. Although he initially contemplated partnering with more typicaland expensivetechnology providers, Dr Mohan eventually linked up with ISRO, which provides his roaming tele-medicine van with a free satellite uplink to his clinic in the city of Chennai.

Jugaad innovators act with speed and agility In emerging markets, new threats and opportunities can emerge from out of the blue. This forces jugaad innovators to not only think but also act flexibly. By demonstrating agility, jugaad innovators can deal with unanticipated challenges faster and seize unexpected opportunitiessuch as changing customer needsmore swiftly than their competitors. Zhang Ruimin is one such jugaad innovator who thinks and acts quickly.

Zhang, is the CEO of Haier, a Chinese consumer goods company that is making appliance makers like GE and Whirlpool nervous. Under Zhangs leadership, Haier has, in the space of a decade, made huge inroads into North American and European markets by selling quality appliances at lower prices than those of Western suppliers like Whirlpool and GE. Armed with its value for money strategy, Haier is disrupting the consumer goods market not only in mainstream segments like air-conditioners and washing machines, but also in niche segments like wine coolers. For instance, Haier launched a $704 (Rs 35,200) wine cooler that is less than half the cost of industry leader La Sommelires product. Within two years of this launch, Haier has grown the market by a whopping 10,000 percent and now controls 60 percent of the US market by value. By leveraging its value for money strategy, Haier has also rapidly established a strong presence in the Indian home appliances market, where it commands 8 percent of market share. In coming years, Haier aims to grow its Indian market share to at least 10 percent and achieve Rs 4,500 crore in revenue and become one of the top five brands in India by 2014.

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Jugaad innovators don't plan - they improvise

OMICS Group :: Journal of Nanomedicine

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07-06-2012 10:44 Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology.Nanomedicine desires to deliver a set of research tools and clinically reformative devices in the near future. The Journal of Nanomedicine & Biotherapeutic Discovery provieds an open access gives the overview of basic, clinical and engineering research in the field of nano medicine and the related biotherapeutic discovery.

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OMICS Group :: Journal of Nanomedicine

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

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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

'Nano technology' [program can pay off big for IRSC students

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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?

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'Nano technology' [program can pay off big for IRSC students

Computer-designed proteins programmed to disarm variety of flu viruses

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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

New ISO Technical Report Guides Characterization of Nanomaterials in Toxicology

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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