Technology Update

Physicists in Iran have created a spintronic device that is based on “armchair” graphene ribbons rather than the more expensive indium tin oxide – a development that could revolutionize handheld electronics, flat-panel displays, touch panels, electronic ink and solar cells – and reduce the manufacturing costs of these items.

The burgeoning field of nanotechnology is full of unknowns, with risks and dangers that are difficult to measure or control.

A draft European Commission strategy document states that the European Union will consider stockpiling raw materials and will confront any country that restricts supplies.

The EuroNanoForum 2011 will take place in Budapest, Hungary, from May 30 to June 1, 2011.

This article, by Dietram A. Scheufele, John E. Ross Chaired Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication in the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, explores the history of research concerning public attitudes toward nanotechnology.

This article explores the coming world of nanofoods, and what types of changes people can expect for the future. A report by the Helmut Kaiser Consultancy predicts that by 2040, nanotechnology will be incorporated into every aspect of food production.

A team of researchers in Japan has created a new film, suitable for mass production, which can cover solar cells and reduce the amount of reflected light – thereby capturing more power from the sun.

Researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, United States, are reporting promising findings from a new vaccine strategy for norovirus that uses nanoparticles as carriers.

Andrew Maynard, Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies and the Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center, and Tim Harper, Director of Cientifica Ltd., have released a new report, “Building a Sustainable Future: Rethinking the Role of Technology Innovation in an Increasingly Interdependent, Complex and Resource-constrained World”.

A new material, called “killer paper”, which helps preserve foods by fighting the bacteria that cause spoilage, has been developed for use as a new food packaging material.

China has tripled spending on developing nanotechnology over the past five years, according to a national nanotechnology coordination committee.

Today’s best magnets – needed for making more efficient car engines and wind turbines – rely on rare earth metals, whose supply is becoming unreliable even as demand grows.

The Nanotech Security Corporation, in conjunction with Simon Fraser University (SFU), Canada, is collaborating on unique anti-counterfeiting security features that use nanotechnology.

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, have shown that nanoscale gold particles are good for transferring heat and could be a promising tool for creating localized heating in a living cell.

A new European Commission-funded project, NANOCHANNELS, was launched last week, with a two-day kick-off meeting that led to the planning of a dynamic program of communication, dialogue and engagement in issues of nanotechnology aimed at European citizens.

New research from the Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, shows that carbon nanotubes may present health risks if inhaled, in the worst case leading to cancer.

University of Michigan, United States, researchers have developed a way to measure the growth and drug susceptibility of individual bacteria cells without the use of a microscope – a development that promises to speed treatment of bacterial infections.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF), United States, have developed a technique that uses sugar and iron oxide nanoparticles to test water sources that could be contaminated with the cholera toxin.

The ImagineNano Conference, one of the largest European events in nanoscience and nanotechnology, will be held from April 11-14, 2011 in Bilbao, Spain.

Researchers at Cardiff University, United Kingdom, have found a way to activate the primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene, a hydrocarbon widely used as an industrial material, at low temperatures.

Researchers from North Carolina State University, United States, have released a new study that highlights a major flaw in attempting to use a single survey question to assess public opinion on science issues.