Fancy Nanoparticles cleaning your blood?

Researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, are developing nanomagnets that could someday strip potentially harmful substances from the blood. The technology might be used to treat people suffering from drug intoxication, bloodstream infections, and certain cancers.

Tiny Magnets Could Clear Disease from the Blood

New Software for nanoscale designs target global industries

(Nanowerk News) Accelrys, Inc  has announced the release of Materials Studio® 6.0 a State-of-the-art modelling and simulation environment that combines the accuracy of quantum methods with the speed of atomistic methodologies. 

"Nanoscience will play a key role in the next generation of materials used in automobiles, aircraft, electronics and many other industries," said Professor Bjoern Winkler of the University of Frankfurt. "Materials Studio provides us with the computational science we need to help understand and develop these materials and this release is the most powerful yet."
Read the full article
Accelrys' Materials Studio Makes Big Impact with "Small" Science

For a wealth of information and resources, check out The Accerlys Website

Carbon nanotube forest camouflages 3-D objects

Carbon Nanotube Forest Camouflages 3-D Objects

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2011) — Carbon nanotubes, tiny cylinders composed of one-atom-thick carbon lattices, have gained fame as one of the strongest materials known to science. Now a group of researchers from the University of Michigan is taking advantage of another one of carbon nanotubes' unique properties, the low refractive index of low-density aligned nanotubes, to demonstrate a new application: making 3-D objects appear as nothing more than a flat, black sheet.

Aww, Real Little Cyborgs - or is that Cybugs?

Efforts to create an army of cyborg insects are being pursued by a team of US-based engineers.
The group is investigating ways to harvest energy from the creatures to power sensors and other equipment fastened to their bodies.
The team has created an energy scavenging device that is attached close to the insects' wings.

From the BBC News Website

LHC antimatter anomaly hints at new physics

LHC antimatter anomaly hints at new physics - physics-math - 23 November 2011 - New Scientist

"The Large Hadron Collider has turned up differences in how particles of matter and antimatter decay that the reigning standard model of physics may not be able to explain
WE ARE here thanks to a curious imbalance in the universe. To the best of our knowledge, the universe began with equal, or nearly equal, amounts of matter and antimatter. Because these particles annihilate on contact, they should have destroyed each other long ago in a blaze of radiation, leaving little if anything behind to form stars, planets and people. Clearly, that didn't happen.
The hunt for the special something that might have skewed the universe in favour of matter occupies the best minds in physics. Compelling signs of such lopsided physics have emerged at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva in Switzerland. It is the first sign of new physics at the LHC and could provide a boost for the theory of supersymmetry, which adds a zoo of new particles to the ones we already know. "We are getting excited," says Yuval Grossman of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York."

Can't get enough reality?

From the BBC

A new generation of contact lenses that project images in front of the eyes is a step closer after successful animal trials, say scientists.
The technology could allow wearers to read floating texts and emails or augment their sight with computer-generated images, Terminator-style.Initial safety tests in rabbits have gone well, with no obvious adverse effects, the researchers have renewed faith about the device's possibilities.
They envisage hundreds more pixels could be embedded in the flexible lens to produce complex holographic images. For example, drivers could wear them to see journey directions or their vehicle's speed projected onto the windscreen. Similarly, the lenses could take the virtual world of video gaming to a new level."

More from the BBC Article here

Illinois water system easily hacked

Hacker busts water supply by getting in via the 3 letter password.
Bet it was H2O!

Hackers 'attack' US water system

The Infinite Monkey Cage

Science and humour podcast.
An inspired and inspiring mix. Ideal brain food for scifi writers and readers.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/timc/rss.xml

More Extreme Weather On The Way

Brace yourself for more extreme weather. A group of more than 200 scientists convened by the United Nations says in a new report that climate change will bring more heat waves, more intense rainfall and more expensive natural disasters.
Have we gone beyond the tipping point or is there time to start cleaning up our act and save the planet?

Yes - Faster than speed of light!

Neutrino experiment repeat at Cern finds same result

The team which found that neutrinos may travel faster than light has carried out an improved version of their experiment - and confirmed the result.

If confirmed by other experiments, the find could undermine one of the basic principles of modern physics.

News from the BBC website

The Ultimate 'stand out from the crowd' accessory!

 Want a proper phone accessory for your smartphone?

Manufacturer's Description

Developed by renowned French designer David Turpin, the MoshiMoshi 01H Retro Handset combines high style with high functionality, uniting the comfort and safety of a handset telephone with the convenience of the mobile phone. The chic design combines classic style with modern elegance, resulting in a fashionable and comfortable handset finished with a soft luxurious texture.

Turn back the clock with the MoshiMoshi 01H Retro Handset. Click here for a larger image.
Key Features
Compatible with all 3.5mm jack mobile phones and computers, including iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, and the latest MacBooks.
One touch button for convenient pick-up/hang-up directly from the handset (not all mobile phone support function).
Noise-reducing technology for a crisp and polished sound.
Luxurious soft-touch finish for ultimate comfort and feel.
Eliminates up to 99 percent of the radiation absorbed compared to a direct use of mobile phones.

Using DNA To Shape Nanostructures

Using DNA To Shape Nanostructures
Chemists and materials scientists are trying to learn to build ultra-small, precisely ordered structures for use in optics, electronics, and other applications. Writing in the journal Science, Chad Mirkin and colleagues describe a way to use snippets of DNA to tailor the shape and size of crystal structures, tweaking them to fit specific uses.
"we can program DNA and building blocks to do that. So the idea here is to take tiny bits of matter, nanoparticles, and to attach strands of DNA that have a preconceived and designed code that then guides them through an assembly process based upon known DNA recognition properties to assemble into macroscopic structures that have properties that are defined by the arrangement of those particles within the extended structure."


Looking ahead
When I was writing the first 'Cloud' Book, I was just hypothesising that at some point DNA models could be used to create nanoparticles.I didn't think that the design of the Nanoparticles created by Alister's mother, modelled on the structure of adolescent neurons - fast learning and creative -was closer to reality that I'd imagine.  This opens up a whole new world of genetic and nanotechnology. Meanwhile other people are working on nanotechnology that mimics the way parts of the brain works.

The paths of DNA science, nanotechnology, computing, neuroscience are converging with greater frequency and variation at an increasing rate.
Why is all this possible?
Simply because if you go down far enough into the any science - biological or material and it's all chemistry, if you go down even further and it's all physics. And it's the knowledge about and ability to manipulate matter on such a nano and chemical scale, where you are down to the common ground of Stuff, that allows this convergence.

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) — Scientists
are reporting development and successful
initial testing of the first practical "smart"
material that may supply the missing link
in efforts to use in medicine a form of
light that can penetrate four inches into
the human body. Their report on the new
polymer or plastic-like material, which has
potential for use in diagnosing diseases
and engineer new human tissues in the
lab, appears in ACS' journal
Macromolecules .

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver

A.I as good as thought?

Scientists are getting closer to the dream of creating computer systems that can replicate the brain.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information More on the Jump here >.AI moves closer with brain chip

New material can enhance energy, computer, lighting technologies

(Nanowerk News 16 Nov 2011) Arizona State University researchers have created a new compound crystal material that promises to help produce advances in a range of scientific and technological pursuits.
ASU electrical engineering professor Cun-Zheng Ning says the material, called erbium chloride silicate, can be used to develop the next generations of computers, improve the capabilities of the Internet, increase the efficiency of silicon-based photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electrical energy, and enhance the quality of solid-state lighting and sensor technology.
Ning's research team of team of students and post-doctoral degree assistants help synthesize the new compound in ASU's Nanophotonics Lab in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, one of the university's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
The lab's erbium research is supported by the U.S. Army Research Office and U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Details about the new compound are reported in the Optical Materials Express on the website of the Optical Society of America ("Single-crystal erbium chloride silicate nanowires as a Si-compatible light emission material in communication wavelength").

Graphene the next generation of chips.

Graphene's 'Big Mac' creates next generation of chips
ScienceDaily (Oct. 9, 2011) — The world's thinnest, strongest and most conductive material, discovered in 2004 at the University of Manchester by Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov, has the potential to revolutionize material science.

By sandwiching two sheets of graphene with another two-dimensional material, boron nitrate, the team created the graphene 'Big Mac' -- a four-layered structure which could be the key to replacing the silicon chip in computers.

Janus is a liquid computer the size of the Michigan Wolverines stadium that works using a highly advanced hybrid of the phase estimation algorithm and Shor's factoring algorithm.

New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses

Mimicking the brain -- in silicon: New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2011) — For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain's talent for learning new tasks.
MIT researchers have now taken a major step toward that goal by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information. This phenomenon, known as plasticity, is believed to underlie many brain functions, including learning and memory.

DNA based nanomaterials get another boost

Controlled growth of DNA nanomaterials opens new applications in nanoelectronics

Nanowerk News) DNA-based nanomaterials are
key precursors for the bottom- up fabrication of
a range of high-performance nanoscale devices
such as biosensors and nanoelectronics because
of their ability to self-assemble into well-defined
structures. However, the lack of control
encountered during the deposition of these
nanostructures on surfaces has hampered their
application in practical devices.
Sung Ha Park, Yonghan Roh and colleagues
from Sungkyunkwan University and the
Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in
Korea have now developed a surface-promoted
method that allows for the precise control of
DNA crystal growth on silica substrates
("Coverage Control of DNA Crystals Grown by
Silica Assistance" ).

The ultimate all-in-one device.

Nanoskin for your touchy, feely android (or exosuit)

A team at Stanford's Bao Research Group have developed artificial skin. This is a stretchable, transparent skin-like sensor that is elastic and can also sense touch and pressure like the real thing.

Cybercrime, a multibillion dollar business!

To stop cybercrime we need to think like the criminals http://gu.com/p/335bz
The Guardian has a pretty good artice on how the UK is progressing and working on tackling cybercrime

"Efforts to combat cybercrime concentrate on enhanced security, but intercepting the kids drawn into its web might prove better"


A multi-billion dollar business, a recession, thousands kicked from work every week, no jobs for kids. Hmm, The govt's got its work cut out!

Popularity of nanotechnology taking off

Community Day at UAlbany NanoCollege draws largest-ever crowd to explore nanotechnology

(Nanowerk News) A record crowd of more than 1,200 visitors of all ages from throughout New York State received an inside look at the exciting world of nanotechnology today when they participated in Community Day at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, one of the highlights of CNSE's one-of-a-kind community and educational outreach initiative known as "NANOvember."


Here's the link to Nanovember

No Hiding Place

Thinking of taking your computer or smartphone abroad? You can safely assume that at any point, a government 'cyber-crime or anti-terrorist team can hack into your computer to see what you are up to.
Just dont accidentally snap.a picture of a secret government building or agent, or email/chat/sms something disrespectful while you are out there.

Governments turn to hacking techniques for surveillance of citizens http://gu.com/p/33357

A "Small" History of Nanotechnology

For those of you flummoxed by all this nanotechnology stuff, here's one of the best sites around for a fascinating and very readable introduction to nanotechnology and how it all kicked off.

"The site explores and presents information on technological activities (and their associated social implications) that have the capacity to not only enhance our survival probability as a species, but to improve the quality of life as we move along the evolutionary path. We are non-partisan, and are neither anti nor pro-religious, preferring to remain open or at least tolerant regarding theories and beliefs which can be neither proven nor refuted scientifically. We are proponents of science and technology in the sense of being realists in recognizing that technology is coming whether we as a species or whether any one of us as an individual like it or not, and believe that the most effective action we can take is to learn more about technology in order to collectively guide its proper use toward a positive future. This site is intended primarily for the layperson, and is both factual and speculative in nature. It uses the interdisciplinary relationship of several main sciences to explore human advancement "

DNA synthesis and nanotechnology.

The nanoparticles inside Alister were readily absorbed by him because they contained elements of his DNA signature.
The possibility of creating nanoparticles with complex functionality such as interfacing with the human nervous system and able to network wirelessly, powered by the bodies own energy requires the convergence of several different technologies. nanotechnology obviously and manipulation of DNA.
Success in both these fields is progressing faster with each new discovery and innovation.
But convergence is always the rule.
Here we have news of DNA being synthesised and folded into unique nanoscale structures - another step in the  building blocks to complex nanoparticles operating within the nervous system
(Nanowerk News) In the emerging field of synthetic biology, engineers use biological building blocks, such as snippets of DNA, to construct novel technologies. One of the key challenges in the field is finding a way to quickly and economically synthesize the desired DNA strands. Now scientists from Duke University have fabricated a reusable DNA chip that may help address this problem by acting as a template from which multiple batches of DNA building blocks can be photocopied. The researchers have used the device to create strands of DNA which they then folded into unique nanoscale structures.

Add this development to my other blog post  and you begin to get the picture of how the convergence of nanotechnology, DNA creation and genetic manipulation is creating an environment for a revolutionary surge in human evolution.

In the Spring of 2008 Scripps College ran an excellent and inspiring series of events entitled:  Human Evolution 2.0: Biotechnology and the Future of Human Nature (Spring 2008)

Below is the full text from the web page. I recommend you check out the page here 

At the start of the 21st century, we find ourselves on the threshold of a new age in which rapidly converging biosciences and technologies (genomics, genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, artificial reproduction, neurotechnologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, information technology, and nanotechnology) have the potential to not only dramatically increase our understanding of human life, but also radically transform human nature itself. At stake in this biotech revolution is not simply the greater control we might gain over our biological limitations (by treating diseases, alleviating pain, slowing the aging process, etc.), but, beyond these therapeutic benefits, what is at stake is the power to determine the future of our species as humans. The potential development of "designer babies," synthetic genes, genetic interventions, augmented cognitive powers, cyborgs, and of all forms of human enhancement technologies raise both hopes and fears. Will these developments make us better humans? Will they inalterably change what it means to be human? Or will they make the very notion of human nature obsolete? To help us consider the promises and risks of emerging biotechnologies, we are inviting scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, bioethicists, and neuroethicists to discuss with us the moral, social, legal, economic and political implications of the new biosciences.
View Events, Lectures, and Series Information