Nanotechnology

[Sadsack]

The Public Will Walk With Nanotech – For Now


By: Michael Todd | September 20, 2009 |

Could these be the camel's nose of nanotech?

A generally risk-averse population in the Western world has so far been surprisingly welcoming of nanotechnology, a new meta-study finds.
Like belching smokestacks in the 1800s, new technology once was something to be uncritically welcomed; now the public often keeps it at arm's length as a default position. Milk from an enhanced cow? No thanks. Transgenic corn for famine victims? We'll pass. Various helpful chemicals in our plastics? Pesticides that keep voracious insects off our produce? Irradiation to kill much smaller even nastier pests?
Whether you view such risk-averse opponents as Luddites, prophets or something in-between, they're still out there in abundance.
Nanotechnology, on the other hand has so far avoided much of the knee-jerk opposition that other technologies have faced, apart from the almost de rigueur swipe by the late Michael Crichton and the ubiquitous naked protester or two. It's not that no one's concerned, as our David Richardson pointed out in May, but rather that there's been no sustained popular outcry. Perhaps it's that the technology is still in the "gee-whiz" phase that Emilio Mordini at the Centre for Science, Society and Citizenship has described.
And a new meta-study by Canadian and U.S. academics finds that the public overall is rather well-disposed to nanotechnology just now. Well, it actually doesn't say that; it reads, "Overall participants across survey studies regard nanotechnology as resulting in more benefits than risks, and familiarity with this new technology does correspond to positive evaluations of its applications."
It's that malleability, and not the absence of pitchfork-waving opponents, that the authors of "Anticipating the perceived risk of nanotechnologies" (released online by the journal Nature Nanotechnology on Sunday) highlight. Their paper looked at 22 other studies conducted in Europe, North America and Japan since 2004, and found that lots of people didn't really know a lot about nanotech, and in their ignorance tended to not be bothered by it. Pros outnumbered cons three-to-one, the study found, with well-off white guys the most enthusiastic about nanotech and people of color the least.
It helps that even as the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies notes there are now 1,000 "nanotechnology-enabled products" available to consumers, there hasn't been a colossal screw-up to tarnish nanotech's reputation and galvanize opposition. (It's an open question whether less-smelly socks and spiffy tanning products are the best ambassadors for a largely untried new technology, but we'll let that one rest for now.)
As lead author Terre Satterfield of the University of British Columbia (and a collaborator with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara) was quoted in a release about the paper, "It's much easier to destroy trust than to gain it. ... The future is yet to be written. Judgments could go either way." That small-free socks haven't killed anyone likely won't be enough to continue these halcyon times, either. "It's not true that in a technology has benefits it will automatically get accepted by the public," added co-author Milind Kandlikar, also of UBC and CNS.
In fact, the first deaths linked to nanotech, however tangentially, were reported last month. A dispatch from Reuters noted that seven Chinese women - "working for months without proper protection in a paint factory using nanoparticles" - suffered permanent lung damage and two died. Whether that's more a commentary on nanotechnology or China's cavalier-at-best workplace safety regime can be argued, but nanotech particles were still the proximate cause of death. "These cases arouse concern that long term exposure to some nanoparticles without protective measures may be related to serious damage to human lungs," Chinese toxicologist Yuguo Song and two others wrote in the European Respiratory Journal.
One key concept the paper's authors pitch at nanotech regulators is to provide an unvarnished accounting of the technology's risks as well as its putative benefits. "If you only talk about benefits it doesn't mean the public will buy the product and everyone lives happily ever after. We know that is not a good scenario," the release quoted co-author Barbara Herr Harthorn, director of CNS and a noted researcher into risk perception. So leavening the gee-whiz with a solid -- and pre-meltdown -- accounting of the "oh crap!" may be the best medicine for all.

News Blog Articles | Public Mostly Supports Nanotechnology | Miller-McCune Online Magazine

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[Sadsack]

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/44065/181/

Humans will be immortal in 20 years
General Sciences
By Nigel Constantine
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 03:20

Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims humans could become immortal in as little as 20 years' time.

"The 61 year old American said that this new immortality will be thanks to nanotechnology and an increased understanding of how the body works.

Kurzweil said that humanity is starting to understand genes and computer technology at an accelerating rate. He said that nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be in the shops in 20 years' time. He points out that artificial pancreases and neural implants are starting to become available.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Kurzweil says that in 20 years we will have the means to reprogram our bodies' stone-age software so we can halt, then reverse, ageing. Then nanotechnology will let us live for ever. Nanobots will replace blood cells and do their work thousands of times more effectively.

He said that within 25 years we will be able to do an Olympic sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or go scuba-diving for four hours without oxygen. This will be handy because with global warming you will not be able to breathe the air.

Apparently nanotechnology will improve our brains to such an extent we will be able to write books within minutes. Of course there is no guarantee that anyone will want to read them.

In virtual-reality mode, nanobots will shut down brain signals and take us wherever we want to go. Virtual sex will become commonplace. Hologram-like figures will pop in our brain to explain what is happening so we can make the right decisions.

Humans will effectively become cyborgs. Resistance is futile."

So how long have they been experimenting, and using what methods?

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[Sadsack]

9 Ways Carbon Nanotubes Just Might Rock the World | Nanotechnology | DISCOVER Magazine=

9 Ways Carbon Nanotubes Just Might Rock the World

Oh carbon nanotubes, is there anything you can't do?
Nanotubes can be envisioned as one-atom thick sheets of carbon that have been rolled into tubes. Researchers know that when things get that small, they act a little weird, and labs around the world are now racing to capitalize on nanotubes' strange properties. With their extraordinary strength and fascinating knack for conducting electricity and heat, nanotubes are finding applications in everything from cancer treatments to hydrogen cars. These structures of carbon may be tiny—a nanotube's diameter is about 10,000 times smaller than a human hair—but their impact on science and technology has been enormous.
Here, we count down nine of the most enticing possibilities for these giants on the Lilliputian stage. They probably won't all pan out, but if nanotubes fulfill just a few of these predictions, they'll be worth the buzz.
9. X-traordinary X-rays
A new nanotube-based imaging system could take sharper, faster pictures that trump today's X-rays and CT scans. Researchers from the University of North Carolina say their device will be especially useful for imaging organs that are perpetually in motion, like the heart and lungs.

In a traditional X-ray machine, a filament emits electrons when it is heated above a certain threshold, and those electrons fly through the body and hit a metal electrode on the other side, creating images; CT scans produce three-dimensional images by rotating the electron source. But the new system uses an array of carbon nanotubes that emit hundreds of electrons simultaneously as soon as voltage is applied to them. The system is faster than a regular X-ray machine because there are no filaments to warm up, and the multiple nanotube emitters can also take pictures from many different angles without moving.
8. Helping the Hydrogen Car
Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells have been a clean energy dream for years, but they've been held back largely by the expense of making fuel cells. The Department of Energy estimates that half of a fuel cell's price tag comes from the platinum catalyst used to speed up the reaction that produces energy. But in February a team of researchers found that bundles of carbon nanotubes doped with nitrogen form a more efficient and more compact catalyst.
While carbon nanotubes are currently fairly expensive to produce, researchers note that the price has been plummeting. Researchers from the University of Dayton, Ohio note that nanotube production costs have fallen 100-fold since 1990, while no such price reductions are likely with platinum, a limited natural resource.
7. Diagnosis Via Nanotube
Spanish researchers say nanotubes can even help with an embarrassing medical problem, and have created a biosensor that can diagnose yeast infections (the irritating fungal infections that can take hold on the genitals). The scientists say their gadget provides a quicker diagnosis that today's typical method, in which a cell sample is taken and cultured in the lab to look for the presence of the Candida albicans fungus.
The researchers built a transistor that contains carbon nanotubes and antibodies programmed to attack the Candida yeast cells. When a cell sample is put on the biosensor, the interaction between the yeast and the antibodies changes the electric current of the device. The extremely conductive nanotubes record the change and allow researchers to measure how much yeast is present.
6. The Smallest Chips in the Land
Nanotubes could even spell the end of a building block of our modern world: the silicon-based computer chip. Several research groups have found ways to "unzip" carbon nanotubes to produce atom-thick ribbons of graphene. Like silicon, graphene is a semiconductor, but the nano-sized ribbons could be used to pack much more processing power on every computer chip.
Researchers have made graphene ribbons before, but never as easily—previously the ribbons were cut from larger graphene sheets, which offered little control over their size and shape. In contrast, unzipping nanotubes is a precise process. One research group first stuck the nanotubes to a polymer film, then used argon gas to etch away a strip from each tube to produce the nanoribbons.
Nanotubes have been billed as the key to curing cancer, building space elevators, and creating real-world Spidermen. Whether they're totally tubular or just an overhyped pipe dream remains to be seen.
by Eliza Strickland published online August 6, 2009

5. Turn It Up!
The next application could make for a noisier world: Chinese researchers have found a way to make flexible, paper-thin loudspeakers out of nanotube sheets. The scientists say the technology could be used to add an auditory dimension to anything from clothing to magazines—and to prove their point, they put one on a waving flag.
The nanospeakers don't generate sound like conventional speakers, which make noise by vibrating the surrounding air molecules. Instead, they harness a phenomenon called the thermoacoustic effect, which is how lightning produces thunder. When an electric current runs through the nanotube sheets, they heat and expand the air near them, creating sound waves.
4. Taking Lessons from the Gecko
Real-world Spidermen could one day scamper up walls thanks to an adhesive made of carbon nanotubes. The substance mimics the design of gecko feet, which are covered in millions of tiny hairs that each end in a profusion of spatula-shaped tips. The lizards can defy gravity and walk up sheer surfaces because when those tiny tips are close to a surface, they induce a strong attractive force that operates on the atomic scale, known as the van der Waals force.

The nanotech version of this system is a glue that is ten times stickier than the gecko's feet. Researchers made arrays of vertically aligned nanotubes that were topped with shorter nanotube bits, like branching treetops. The adhesive worked on a variety of surfaces, including slick glass and rough sandpaper, but its hold could easily be broken by those who knew the trick. Just like a gecko lifting its foot away from the wall, researchers pulled the glue pad away at a 90-degree angle so that only the tips of the branching nanotube bits were touching the surface, and it easily came away.
3. Flexible, Bendable Electronics
Imagine a computer screen that could be bent, folded in half, and even crumpled like a sheet of newspaper, without affecting its function in the slightest. Researchers at the University of Tokyo took a step in that direction in May when they constructed a display made of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) paired with a rubbery, nanotube-based conductor.
The organic compounds in an OLED system emit light when an electric current is passed through them, and they need no backlight, making them thinner than traditional displays. As nanotubes are natural semiconductors, they channel the electricity to the organic compounds. Researchers can envision enough technological applications to fill a World's Fair, including everything from food packages with interactive displays to artificial skin for robots and coatings for airplanes that would check the craft for wear and tear.
Low-cost, large-scale fabrication could be around the corner: The researchers used a cheap industrial printing process to deposit the nanotubes on a rubbery surface.

Continued on next page...

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[Sadsack]

2. Space Elevator, Going Up
Carbon nanotubes are renowned for their superior strength, and in March researchers from the University of Texas manipulated that property to create a material that is simultaneously strong, stretchy, and nearly as light as air. The researchers made an aerogel (a low-density solid) out of nanotubes, and found that in was as strong as steel. Meanwhile, applying voltage to the material made it stretchier than rubber.
What possible uses could the world find for such a material? One idea is to fashion nanotube ropes to act as cables for a space elevator, which could lift astronauts, cargo, or even tourists into orbit. The 62,000-mile-long cables would have to be strong and flexible so they wouldn't break when buffeted by atmospheric storms and space debris, but light enough so they wouldn't collapse under their own weight.
1. Tumor Blitz
The tiny tubes could even end up as must-haves in cancer hospitals one day. In a recent study, researchers injected carbon nanotubes into kidney tumors in mice, and then directed a near-infrared laser at the tumors. The tubes responded to the laser blast by vibrating, which created enough heat to kill surrounding tumor cells.
In the group that received the highest dose of nanotubes followed by a 30-second laser treatment, the tumors shrank and completely disappeared in 80 percent of the mice. The procedure didn't appear to damage the animals’ internal organs, and left only a slight burn on the skin. But researchers haven't yet proven that nanotubes are safe and non-toxic, and say that much more research must be done before such procedures are ready to be tested in humans.

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[rocklady]

As you have surmised...they are SWCN (single walled carbon nanotubes)

Found more description of the image after clicking "about". Interesting ref to "bundles" and iron.

About 2020 Science

ABOUT THE IMAGES:
The images forming the header backdrop is of single walled carbon nanotubes. It was taken some years back while I was working on carbon nanotube aerosolization, characterization and exposure.

The material was formed using the High Pressure Carbon Monoxide (HiPCO) process, and is in its unprocessed state. The image is dominated by self-aligned bundles of carbon nanotubes (green), with some small-diameter bundles. The red dots are iron particles that act as the catalyst for nanotube growth in the HiPCO process – they are around 5 nm in diameter.

For the technically minded, the image was taken on an aging Philips EM 420 TEM, using a Gatan CCD. It was processed in ImageJ and Adobe Photoshop.
The panel displays currently shows a second TEM image of the same HiPCo material.

Andrew Maynard. September 2009

Where this technology is headed & it's implications is really hard to fathom..for me anyway.

rl

[Sadsack]

Germany warns over dangers of nanotechnology | Science & Technology | Deutsche Welle | 21.10.2009

Health | 21.10.2009

Germany warns over dangers of nanotechnology



Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Nanotechnology is often hailed as the future of technology

German authorities have warned of the risks posed by nanotechnology when used in food, clothing, cosmetics and other products. The promising potential of the technology comes with a risk for health and environment.





Germany's Federal Environment Agency has advised consumers against using such products until their long-term effects on people's health has been carefully studied.
Nanoscience deals with matter on an ultra-small scale. A nano particle is 40,000 smaller than the width of the average human hair.
Nanotechnology has often been hailed as a technology of the future. But it's already used in a wide array of products. Paints with nano particles allows graffiti to be washed off more easily. Tooth fillings with nano particles are less likely to fall out.. Nanotechnology is also used in a variety of food products, such as sugar where the particles make the sugar crystals sprinkle better.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Nanotechnology can make sugar crystals sprinkle better
Professor Dieter Stuermer from the Bonn-based Institute for Science and Ethics says people should be especially aware of the danger that nano particles can damage lungs and cause inflammation. In particular, he criticizes nanotechnology companies for not taking enough account of the possible negative side-effects of their products.
No studies of long term risks
"In my opinion, this is the wrong strategyaltogether," Stuermer told Deutsche Welle. "There's no sense in working solely towards a desired result and neglecting any side-effects that may show up in the process. We need more research on the risks involved. And most of all, there has to be an open public debate about it."
This open debate however, has not taken place, critics warn. Not only because there are no long-term studies available on the impact of nano particles on human health. But also because consumers don't even know what products include nanotechnology due to a lack of any kind of labeling system.
The Federal Environment Agency has called for a clear legal framework to provide a safe way to use the new technology. All products using nanotechnology should be listed, the agency suggests.
The technology of the future?
Yet there are others that warn against demonizing the new products merely because of unproven side-effects. Urban Wiesing from Tuebingen University in southern Germany agrees that more research must be done on possible health hazards. So far, only about three percent of publicly allocated research funds in Germany go towards risk assessment schemes. But Wiesing doesn't see any insurmountable problems.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Nanotechnology can make planes lighter and more fuel efficient
"I strongly believe that many of the risks associated with nanotechnology have at least in part been encountered in other technologies as well," he told Deutsche Welle. "That's why I'm confident that regulations can be found to ensure that these risks can be minimized in the interests of the users of nano products."
The Federal Environment Agency in its report admits that the new technology does not only pose risks but also offers vital chances for the environment. For instance, plastic with nanotechnology can help to reduce the weight of cars and planes and thereby help to save fuel. Also in the research on energy friendly light bulbs nanotechnology was of crucial help.
The German ministry for education and research is convinced that nanotechnology will be a major factor in boosting the German economy as the country fights its way out of the current recession. It believes that sales of nano products globally could be worth three trillion US dollars over the next six years.
Author: Hardy Graupner/ai
Editor: Michael Lawton




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[Katinka]

Thanks for the great post, Sadsack!

I was talking to a friend about how many restrictions the German government has when it comes to food. Some seem to be extreme at the first thought, but many, many have a good reason.

Let me tell you guys about organic food sold in Germany. People are becoming more and more aware of the possible risks of GM food, food additives and such and often refuse to buy it. Therefore the amount of organic food offered at the supermarket is increasing on a daily basis. The shelves are full. From vegetables, fruits, meats, milk over to coffee, potato chips and even chocolate.

A specific label, logo ‘BIO’ makes it easy for consumers to identify if whether organic or not. Farmers and food producers can only achieve this logo if the food is 100% organic with no other pollutants and they are checked regularly. If any pollutants are found, they lose this logo and are not allowed to sell with this label. Their products are pulled off the market for organic food.

Since Bavaria is a farmers state, many people refuse to buy their fruits or vegetables at the supermarket and grow it in their own garden. Of course they have their own meat supply such as pigs and chickens. They say they want their food totally natural without any use of pesticides or any other contaminates.

Our previous minister for agriculture denied Monsanto’s attempted access to Bavaria which is good, I thanked her for that. Bavaria is now the only state in Germany GM free!

Before that, about 2 years ago, there was a GM test field with Mon810 10 miles away from where I live, brought out by Bayer. Who knows what all happened there...

Anyway...and about Nano. Well...I truly hope that the German government will not follow the ‘main nano stream’ and attempt to put this in our food or cosmetics, but according the citizens awareness, not to mention the media, there could be a very good chance we can prevent it.

Using nano techniques for other technologies should be the first course in order to strengthen our weak economical situation at this point.

Kat

[Sadsack]

Katinka -

It seems a lot of European countries are far more on top of the potential harm from these new technologies. It is mind blowing that any public policy would rush into using using them without thorough consideration and testing.

Is it naivete? Failure to learn from past mistakes? Or is there a true malignancy in these decisions? I guess only time will tell.

SS

[Sadsack]

The 50th anniversary of Richard Feynman's famous speech "Plenty of Room at the bottom" will be in December.

Feynman, considered the "father of nanotechnology, revisited this ground-breaking speech in 1983 with a speech called "Infinitesimal Machinery".

Both speeches have been published multiple times.

The questions for many who suspect or believe that nanotechnology is responsible for Morgellons (Jan Smith, Dr. Staninger, etc), is "How much were they already doing when these speeches were made? How much experimentation has taken place over these 50 years?"

With the Singularity movement, it appears that this technology is far more advanced than is generally known.

Here's a summary of these speeches and their impact:

Feynman and nanotechnology – anniversary reflections

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[Sadsack]

Be sure to read the letter written by the legislators at the end of this post.

http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=15196

Three members of the Wisconsin State Legislature have requested a Legislative Council study to be conducted on the feasibility of creating a nanotechnology registry and the development of subsequent legislation, to monitor the use, manufacture and disposal of nanomaterials in Wisconsin. If granted, this will join a select number of other State initiatives addressing the safe use of engineered nanomaterials.

The request comes in the wake of an Assembly Public Health Committee informational hearing on nanotechnology held in October, at which Project on Emerging Technologies Chief Science Dr. Advisor Andrew Maynard testified. Maynard outlined the promise of nanotechnology, but cautioned that proactive steps to avoid possible harm are needed if that promise is to be realized.
In 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) published the report “Room at the Bottom?” by Suellen Keiner, which identified possible options for state and local governments for overseeing of the potential negative impacts of nanotechnology in the absence of clear federal regulations or guidelines.
To read the letter sent to the co-chairs of the Legislative Council Committee, requesting a Legislative Council study be conducted on the feasibility of creating a nanotechnology registry in Wisconsin click here.
Posted December 17th, 2009

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