Technology Update
The European Union-funded NanoSustain project is investigating four different products containing nanomaterials in an effort to answer end-of-life questions – can they be recycled, or can they be safely disposed of? – regarding such products.
The 5th International Nano Authorities Dialogue was held from May 3 to 4, 2011 in Berlin, Germany.
While silicon-based solar cells are one of today’s most promising technologies for generating clean and renewable energy, the devices convert just a fraction of the sunlight that hits the earth into electricity.
Mining industry leaders and some lawmakers, speaking this week at a hearing of the United States House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, argued that high taxes, burdensome regulations, and litigation are limiting the U.S.’s ability to access the critical materials needed for economic development and a clean energy future.
A nano-complex dietary supplement taken before meals can result in substantial reduction of fat and sugar absorption in the body, according to researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and Harvard University, United States.
The ability to isolate, study and sequence DNA base pairs – the individual molecules that make up DNA – would allow scientists to tailor diagnostic testing, therapies and treatment based on a person’s individual genetic makeup.
Chemical engineers at the University of California Santa Barbara, United States, have achieved a new method of nanoscopic imaging that could lead to new experimental methods for the early detection and diagnosis – as well as possible treatments – for pathological tissues that are precursors to multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar diseases.
A producer of organic germinated rice is combining nanotechnology with local wisdom to create a healthier grain.
Researchers who study the impact of nanotechnology on people, animals and the environment struggle with many issues, as outlined in this article.
Richard Denison, a senior scientist at the United States-based Environmental Defense Fund, said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot get the information it needs to make science-based decisions about nanoscale chemicals and pesticides, largely due to the White House Office of Management and Budget not clearing proposals that would allow the agency to gather […]
Scientists at the United States Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have found that by linking platinum nanoparticles with algae proteins they can commandeer photosynthesis to produce hydrogen, and at a rate five times greater than the previous record-setting method.
Two recent developments in solar energy continue to advance the possibility that solar power will eventually become cost-competitive with other energy sources.
Farmers in Brazil are aggressively re-investing their profits this year, and looking to improve productivity rather than just expand acreage.
The Australian Education Union says sunscreen with nanoparticles pose unacceptable safety risks, and has passed a resolution that calls on teachers to only use sunscreen free of nanoparticles.
Inhaled carbon black nanoparticles create a double source of inflammation in the lungs, according to research conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa, United States.
Engineers at Brown University, United States, have created a nanopatch for the heart that could restore areas that have been damaged, such as from a heart attack.
Solar power use in Europe is only a very small portion of the overall use of renewable energy sources. Additionally, since solar energy is still more expensive than energy produced by coal or nuclear plants, until there is more parity between the sources, solar energy will not be the first choice.
The thermal stability of gate dielectric materials on silicon is a key issue when integrating them into complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices and is crucial to device minimization. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/45931
Researchers from the nanoelectronics research centre Imec in Belgium have successfully developed a methodology to map quantitatively the distribution of active dopants in confined 3D volumes.
Engineers in the US have fabricated 2D micropatterns and 3D suspended thin-film structures using carbon nanotubes as a building block via lithography-compatible layer-by-layer nano self-assembly.
Advances in nanotechnology have raised increasing concerns related to the production and handling of nanomaterials in the workplace, and the general safety of these substances when exposed to humans, animals and the environment.
