Source physorg.com

Many medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and chronic pain, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. A few delivery techniques have been developed, using an implanted heat source, an implanted electronic chip or other stimuli as an "on-off" switch to release the drugs into the body. But thus far, none of these methods can reliably do all that's needed: repeatedly turn dosing on and off, deliver consistent doses and adjust doses according to the patient's need. But now, a research team led by Daniel Kohane of Children's Hospital Boston has devised a solution that combines magnetism with nanotechnology.

Posted by Edyta Zielinska, TheScientist.com

Experts in nanomedicine are questioning the credentials of a researcher who has portrayed himself as an expert in the fledgling field, even starting a professional society and procuring a post as editor of the journal Nanomedicine.

Indeed, an investigation of his credentials reveals that he claimed to hold a directorship of a non-existent program, co-authored only two original papers in nanomedicine (one of which, a co-author says, he contributed to only editorially), and was accused of mismanaging the professional society to the point that some board members resigned and began a new professional group.

The algae! Yes - the same slimy brown-green 'plant' that makes a pond or a lake look yucky - is the creating a great buzz as the most promising source of alternative energy. And now nanotechnology is being leveraged to add some more zing to the promise!

Algae are some of the simplest of the living organisms and can't even be classified as plants as they lack any differentiation into various structures such as leaves, roots or other organs that characterize a plant. Yet this simple structure is the very reason for the alarming growth rate of the algae: Under optimal conditions, it can double its mass overnight.

Balancing medicine and media careers

Some are calling it a revolution in manufacturing technology, but, will nanotechnology be a green industry? it's a question that some scientists are saying needs to be answered now, before nanotech goes big-time.

Nanotechnology, shortened to "Nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size. Nanotechnology is very diverse, ranging from novel extensions of conventional device physics, to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly, to developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale, even to speculation on whether we can directly control matter on the atomic scale.

By Michael Berger. Nanowerk.com

One of the key issues in building implantable neural interfaces is the guidance of axons, the individual nerve fibers that act as the primary transmission lines of the nervous system. "The ability to control the connections between neurons by guiding their axons on a chip surface offers several advantages," Christelle Prinz, a postdoc researcher in the Division of Solid State Physics at Lund University in Sweden, tells Nanowerk. "Among them is the possibility to address axons from different types of neurons, e.g., motor neurons from sensory neurons. This is a prerequisite condition for bidirectional neural implants such as brain machine interfaces."

Approximately 99 per cent of medicinal molecules don't reach their targets and subsequently, stay in the body of the patient. As these molecules can sometimes be very toxic - particularly in the case of those designed to target cancers - research is being undertaken into more effective ways of safely transporting and delivering drugs.

A challenge for nanotechnology in this research is to create a device which can carry a drug payload to it's target, be monitored throughout it's journey and deliver, without being attacked and destroyed by the body's natural defences. This calls for something which possesses stealth design characteristics and a plausible device is described here in this movie.

Official Website

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This conference will focus on themes for exploiting nanoscale tools to interrogate cellular and molecular interactions. The conference will also include speakers from industry who will discuss commercialization of BioNanotechnology products, including diagnostics, imaging, medical devices, and biotechnology.

By Jacob Franek, Entertainment Correspondent, AskMen.com

Tiny robots that fight cancer? Shock-resistant and energy-absorbing body armor? Invisible disinfectants? Is this all science fiction or impending reality? The hype surrounding nanotechnology has waned since the early ‘80s when American engineer Dr. K. Eric Drexler brought the concept to the forefront, but what began as a simple topic of conversation at physicists’ cocktail parties is now being realized in a sweeping movement that is going largely unnoticed.

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating matter at this length scale.

By: Garry Golden

MIT Technology Review is reporting on a breakthrough in manufacturing thin, dense films of carbon nanotubes that could improve electrodes used in 'super' batteries and capacitors used in portable devices, 'smart grids' and electric vehicles.

Using a high-speed camera setup in the lab, GE scientists captured details of water droplets dancing on amazing superhydrophobic surfaces developed in GE Global Research's Nanotechnology lab.

GE Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE’s progress for more than 100 years, and our researchers have been at the center of exciting breakthroughs in everything from medical imaging and energy generation to jet engines and lighting.

Source: Nanotechwire.com

Researchers have developed a new generation of microscopic particles for molecular imaging, constituting one of the first promising nanoparticle platforms that may be readily adapted for tumor targeting and treatment in the clinic.

Two materials, the cuprates, discovered in the mid-1980s, and the iron-based pnictides, discovered in 2008, have been classified as unconventional superconductors. In these materials, the mechanism for superconductivity is believed to be different to that of conventional superconductors, such as aluminum, in which lattice vibrations bind electrons into the so-called Cooper pairs that carry the supercurrent. Rather, in unconventional superconductors, many theorists believe that magnetic fluctuations are needed to pair electrons into Cooper pairs.

( Image: right) Structure of the iron-based superconductor SmFeAsO1-xFx: Fe (yellow), As (green), Sm (purple), O (red). The excess fluorine (F) substitutes for the oxygen sites.

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. The approaches to nanomedicine range from the medical use of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials.

Nanomedicine research is directly funded, with the US National Institutes of Health in 2005 funding a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers. In April 2006, the journal Nature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide.

Nanotechnology, which is sometimes shortened to "Nanotech", refers to a field whose theme is the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.

Nanotechnology is extremely diverse, ranging from novel extensions of conventional device physics, to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly, to developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale, even to speculation on whether we can directly control matter on the atomic scale.

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Rome, October 28 - A leading oncologist and former minister has provoked anger in Italy after praising the cancer-fighting potential of some genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Addressing an oncology conference in London, Umberto Veronesi cited a genetically engineered purple tomato unveiled last week by British researchers that has been shown to extend the lives of mice susceptible to cancer. ''There is a great deal of resistance to this fantastic projection into the future and I've never understood why,'' said Veronesi.

A nanofactory is a proposed system in which nanomachines (resembling molecular assemblers, or industrial robot arms) would combine molecules to build larger atomically precise parts. These, in turn, would be assembled by positioning mechanisms of assorted sizes to build macroscopic (visible) but still atomically-precise products.

A functioning nanofactory could create virtually any product at the cost of only the input raw material and energy.

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Today, I am very excited to announce that the NanoBusiness Alliance and I will be participating in the Nanotechnology Institute Conference to be held on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 in Philadelphia. Anthony Green, Ph.D., Ben Franklin Director, NTI and his team have programmed a tremendous one day Nanotechnology Conference with four fabulous keynote speakers. They are the following:

Source: Drug Delivery Technology Magazine, September 2008
By: G.M. Patel (PhD student) and M.M. Patel, PhD

ABSTRACT

Cancer is the leading cause of death, and this fact accentuates the need for a new generation of more effective therapies for cancer. Recent research in nanotechnology has developed new ideas that could lead to the future cure for cancer. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the usual treatments for cancer, but each causes problems for the body. Radiation damages the skin, mouth, throat, and bowel cells. Chemotherapy can produce hearing loss and damage to a number of organs, including the heart and kidneys. It is hoped that nanotechnology can reduce the side effects produced by the present treatment for cancer.