Nanotube shrink-wrap: A small sample of the carbon-nanotube-coated plastic film that could be used as the see-through electrodes in touch screens, roll-up displays, and thin-film solar cells. Credit: Unidym The first electronic product using carbon nanotubes is slated to hit the market this year. Unidym , a startup based in Menlo Park, CA, plans to start selling rolls of its carbon-nanotube-coated plastic films in the second half of 2009. The transparent, conductive films could make... Read Full Story
Nanotube net: An atomic force micrograph shows metallic (red) and semiconducting (blue) carbon nanotubes (top image). After chemical processing, only semiconducting nanotubes are left (bottom image). Credit: DuPont Carbon nanotubes hold promise as a material for making thin, flexible electronics like displays and solar cells. But one stumbling block to making transistors out of them has been achieving the right combination of electrical properties in the nanotubes. Now a simple chemical... Read Full Story
Honda has been working on a new technology that could lead to a breakthrough in vehicle development. Initial research by the firm, joined with scientists at Purdue University and the University of Louisville, has shown that microscopic carbon nanotubes may be capable of distributing electricty quicker and more efficiently. The nanotubes may also be used to create a material that is at least as light as carbon fiber, but stronger than steel. Researchers currently grow the carbon nanotubes on... Read Full Story
Using tiny crystals called quantum dots, Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a highly sensitive test to look for DNA attachments that often are early warning signs of cancer. This test, which detects both the presence and the quantity of certain DNA changes, could alert people who are at risk of developing the disease and could tell doctors how well a particular cancer treatment is working. The new test was reported in a paper called “MS-qFRET: a quantum dot-based method for analysis of... Read Full Story
Pure power: Pure thin films of carbon nanotubes can store and carry large amounts of electrical charge, making them promising electrode materials. This scanning-electron-microscope image shows a film made up of 30 layers of the nanotubes on a silicone substrate. Credit: Journal of the American Chemical Society Researchers at MIT have made pure, dense, thin films of carbon nanotubes that show promise as electrodes for higher-capacity batteries and supercapacitors. Dispensing with the... Read Full Story
Congress has so many pressing issues before it -- a faltering economy, two international wars to manage, conflict in the Mid East. So it may seem as if lawmakers have veered into the realm of useless science fiction by moving toward greater understanding and regulation of the environmental and health effects of nanotechnology. But that's not so, according to a Washington think tank that tracks development of the emerging science and engineering of nanotechnology -- which involves... Read Full Story
In a previous life I worked on Wall Street. In the early 1990s when I worked on the Myriad Genetics deal genetic testing was a "new thing". At the time, there were major reservations about the viability and usefullness of the science. It was not understood and as a result many viewed it as "hogwash". Myriad's idea of testing women for predisposition to breast cancer was highly controversial at the time. There were reservations about the accuracy of the test and issues surrounding the... Read Full Story
Scientists have found a way of accelerating bone growth through nanotubes and stem cells, potentially leading to quicker and better recovery from orthopaedic surgery.
Stem cells have been in the news for the revolutionary medical benefits they confer because they can be converted into selected types of newly generated cells.
University of California at San Diego (UCSD) researchers used a nano-biotechnology method of placing mesenchymal stem cells on top of ultra-thin titanium... Read Full Story
By Daniel Webb Researchers have developed a computer model that shows that carbon nanotubes have the ability to be utilized for the creation of artificial brain cells. University of Southern California scientists have discovered that the unique electrical properties of carbon nanotubes could allow for the mimicry of real neurons. This could even allow for the development of an artificial brain that is composed of the synthetic artificial brain cells. Carbon nanotubes are in reality extremely... Read Full Story
Ever see the movie Fantastic Voyage ? Really, really miniaturized people floating around in the blood stream, sent on a mission to save some poohbah’s life. Great for a science fiction plot. Now it’s great for reality too, in the form of nanotechnology. Really, really tiny particles on an atomic and/or molecular scale are manufactured to create many new materials or add desired properties to already existing ones.
Applicable to a myriad of uses, from medicine to electronic, nanotechnology... Read Full Story
