Sharon Gaudin | Feb. 21, 2014

A U.S. soldier is on patrol with his squad when he kneels to check something out, unknowingly putting his knee into a puddle of contaminants.

A U.S. soldier is on patrol with his squad when he kneels to check something out, unknowingly putting his knee into a puddle of contaminants.

The soldier isn't harmed, though, because he or she is wearing a smart suit that immediately senses the threat and transforms the material covering his knee into a protective state that repels the potential deadly bacteria.

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a federal government research facility in Livermore, Calif., are using nanotechnology to create clothing designed to protect U.S. soldiers from chemical and biological attacks.

The researchers turned to nanotechnology to overcome the tough task of creating military-grade protective clothing that's breathable and isn't heavy to wear.

"The threat is nanoscale so we need to work in the nano realm, which helps to keep it light and breathable," said Francesco Fornasiero, a staff scientist at the lab. "If you have a nano-size threat, you need a nano-sized defense."

For a little more than a year, the team of scientists has focused on developing a proof of concept suit that's both tough and inexpensive to manufacture. The lab group is teaming up with scientists from MIT, Rutgers University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and other schools to get it done.

Fornasiero said the task is a difficult one, and the suits may not be ready for the field for another 10 to 20 years.

Ross Kozarsky, a senior analyst with Boston-based Lux Research, said the effort could also lead to a lot of other uses for smart nano-based clothing or devices.

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Gov't developing smart suits to protect U.S. troops from bio attacks

Glistening robots designed and put together by area students whirred around an area at Rackspace Hosting Inc. earlier this month in a regional robotics competition involving the area's top 62 teams.

The wireless machines scurried around the contest arena picking up plastic blocks and depositing them in baskets, grabbing a bar and pulling themselves off the ground and performing other tasks they had been designed to accomplish through months of preparation.

One San Antonio team that did advance from the Feb. 7-8 area competition has a hidden distinction.

It's name is the Bronc Botz Nano team. It is listed because of the division it is in and where it does its design and testing work as a Brandeis High School team. But the dozen or so boys and girls who make up the team are actually students at Garcia and Stinson middle schools, two schools that feed into Brandeis.

This was the first year that Brandeis opened its robotics program up to middle school students, as permitted by the organization that puts on the competition called FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a Brandeis assistant principal who sponsors the robotics team said.

It also was the first year that Bronc Botz Nano was in existence. So they had a tremendous season, said Assistant Principal Mike McKenna.

The team's coach, Gabriel Guerrero, explained some of his members had siblings who had built robots before and others found mentors from other robotic teams.

What may have set them apart from other teams is that they put in so much practice time close to 10 hours driving their robot in advance of the competition, said Guerrero, whose son Brian is part of the unit's drive team.

While they can get nervous about competing against older students, they've also gained confidence after beating high school teams at both a qualifying tournament that sent them to the area contest and at the area competition, the coach said.

They're ecstatic to be moving on, Guerrero said. But the teams from two other North East Independent School District high schools The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, Academy at Lee High School and the Engineering and Technologies Academy at Roosevelt High School and one middle school, Lopez, also failed to qualify for a super regional robotics competition later this month that will set the stage for a world championship put on by an organization called FIRST in April.

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Robots doubling as learning tools

Written by: Nolan Lister on September 26, 2011.

Importance of SEB recognized during official ceremony

University President Neal Smatresk spoke to university administrators, faculty and staff, as well as prominent donors, community leaders and state lawmakers for the official dedication of the campus Science and Engineering Building on Sept. 22.

It is, in short, a tangible symbol of our commitment to building a strong and robust economy, Smatresk said at his State of the University Address. I believe it will become the heartbeat in this state for economic diversification.

In his address, Smatresk said that UNLV must understand how to help diversify Nevadas economy and how to support regional private partners.

The SEB accomplishes these goals by transforming UNLV into a constituent of a diversified Las Vegas economy in the future, he said during the dedication.

As it came together, this building, which was designed to foster team research to attract high quality grants to our campus in core areas of science and engineering, is really a place that celebrates the high quality faculty and students that we have here, Smatresk said.

He added that the building serves as a model for why a research university like UNLV matters because of the knowledge generated, the intellectual output, grant income, and the student training in cutting-edge technology.

One of the chief goals that the president talked about today was providing a research experience for all of our students, said Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Michael Bowers. By having this kind of research space and the faculty working in that space, we can bring students into that as well. I actually think that this is not only a good recruitment tool for faculty but also for students.

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President dedicates building

I am delighted that Materials Today: Proceedings will be able to help share the work presented at ANM 2014.Stewart Bland, Editor, Materials Today

Materials Today is happy to announce that selected proceedings from the forthcoming 5th International Conference on Advanced Nano Materials will be published in Materials Today: Proceedings.

This international event will connect scientists from around the world, to exchange their experience and ideas in cutting edge nanomaterials for future applications, including nano-electronics, nano-mechanics, nano-medicine and nano-energy.

Serving as an interactive platform for researchers from academy and industry, the conference will allow peers to meet and discuss the possibilities of transfer of knowledge, commercialization and funding.

Materials Today: Proceedings is a new journal, launched in 2013, specializing in the publication of conference proceedings.The journal provides the materials science community with a fast and flexible route to the publication of research presented at leading scientific conferences spanning the field of materials science, technology and engineering.

"I am delighted that Materials Today: Proceedings will be able to help share the work presented at ANM 2014", said journal Editor Stewart Bland. "We launched the journal at the end of last year to help showcase and preserve research presented at significant conferences and meetings, and its great to see such a strong start to the publication.

Visit the conference website for more information, coming soon.

More information on Materials Today: Proceedings can be found online, where conference organizers are welcome to submit proposals.

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ANM2014 conference proceedings

BSME Concentration Area - Micro and Nano Engineering
Hear a presentation from Professor Asegun Henry about the ME undergraduate concentration area, Micro and Nano Engineering. Learn more about the BSME degree a...

By: MEGeorgiaTech

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BSME Concentration Area - Micro and Nano Engineering - Video

NanoEngineering Corporation develops innovative systems based on high resolution differential mobility analysis with applications in health diagnostics and homeland security. The company is presently developing a new Rapid Reagent-less Detection System. The lab quality system will identify the entire range of biologics including all viruses, known and unknown, proteins, blood gases, electrolytes, and metabolytes.

Thesystem RapidDX 3000 is based on proven technology developed by NanoEngineering, Yale University and the U.S. government. Iteliminates time consuming and costly sample preparation, is portable and has been shown to deliver results in less than an hour. Add to this a price of less than any instrument currently available, inexpensive disposables, and the fact is, there is nothing on the market or in development that can compare. For use in hospitals,first response and miitarytheRapidDX 3000 is the most powerful diagnostic instrument available.

What this means is that for the first time, a new all encompassing diagnostic will be used to detect virus and disease faster, cheaper and better. By collaborating with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical and Biologic Center (ECBC) a new age in molecular health research has emerged.

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Nano Engineering

anon329194 Post 8

"We should be fine." That's reassuring, until of course, with further research, they find that they can manipulate the very structure of an atom and then what'll happen? Now they'll be able to create "elements" which will then earn them a Nobel Prize. At what point will they learn that there are just certain things we as humans aren't supposed to mess with?

However, you can't tell a scientist who's spent his whole life on research to stop and "you're going too far". We as humans will always go too far, which happens to be the very reason we are in the political dilemma we are in.

We as humans are a threat to ourselves because we are humans, not computers and we make mistakes. I'll have to agree that the technology has its benefits but the risk of it getting into the wrong hands is too high. People are always looking to make that buck, and what if it gets into the hands of terrorists?

I don't trust another human with this type of responsibility. I hate to be so pessimistic but it's dangerous and we as humans always have to learn by trial and error,I'm just saying, I'd hate for that error to wipe out 90 percent of the planet!

@umbra21 - The technology scares me and it's not just because I read too many science fiction novels. It's the same kind of playing with fire that they do when they try to manipulate genetic material.

Nanomaterial is the same in that, once it gets out of our control it would be near impossible to regain it. And it's easy to say that they simply won't make the stuff self replicate and that solves the problem. In order for it to be effective it needs to either be very enduring or self replicating, because it's so small. But, because it's so small if it is let loose, say into a human body, or even into the atmosphere, then how can they ever account for it again?

It's a dangerous path and this isn't even mentioning the potential for people to deliberately misuse it.

@KoiwiGal - It's a shame that most people's introduction to nanotechnology is through those sorts of science fiction stories. It is very rarely portrayed in a positive light.

Although it's good in a way, because it means that scientists aren't going to take the technology lightly. It does have a huge potential for harm, but its potential for good is even bigger.

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What is Nanoengineering? - wiseGEEK

Nanotechnology is the Science and technology of materials and appliances that of the size of a billionthof a meter (precisely nanometer = 10 -9 meter, 10 Angstroms). This situation has been described by C.N. Rao, FRS, a distinguished world renowned Professor, as akin to having 1000 CDs in a wristwatch.

In other words, Nanotechnology is the creation and utilization of materials, devices, and systems through the control of matter on the nanometer-length scale. That is, at the level of atoms, molecules, and supermolecular structures. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as colloidal science, device physics and supramolecular chemistry. Nanotechnology is one of the emerging technology areas where Nigeria is lacking in expertise. It is classified in the same group as ICT and biotechnology. Already, the technology is being used in advanced economies of the WEST and SOUTH-EAST Asia, to create high technology industries in areas of electronics, medicine, development of new materials and space. Nanotechnology has been identified as one of the technologies of the technologies of the future for Nigeria. This is therefore the time to key into the global network of research and development efforts. NASENI has been charged with this responsibility.

The technology has potential applications in energy, medicine (diagnosis and treatment of diseases and environmental ills), nano-porous materials for water filtration, agriculture, electronics etc. Currently, a road map and business plan for the successful take off of Nigeria's Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Programme is being drawn whichare in the areas of Nanomedicine, Nanoelectronics and Nano Structured and Nanoporous materials. A National Centre for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials is being established to be located under NASENI. Under the Nigerian Nanotechnology Initiatives, the programmes currently running includes: *. NASENI's Nanoparticle Production Workshop and Training... [continues]

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FATE OF NANO-TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA - Term Papers - Juliustip

URBANA A University of Illinois graduate and engineering professor was recently elected into the National Academy of Engineering.

J. Gary Eden, the Gilmore Family Professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UI, is among 67 new members and 11 foreign associates announced by the academy this week.

Election to the academy is considered one of the highest professional honors for an engineer. Members there are 2,250 members and 214 foreign associates are distinguished by their contributions to the fields of technology and engineering.

Eden earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the UI in 1976. He worked at the Naval Research Laboratory before returning to Illinois as a faculty member in 1979.

Eden uses lasers to study how visible and ultraviolet light interact with matter. He was honored "for development and commercialization of micro-plasma technologies and excimer lasers," according to a news release.

His work has led to advances in multiple areas of application. For example, excimer lasers, a class of ultraviolet lasers Eden developed, are used in semiconductor manufacturing and clinically for eye surgeries. His work also has advanced such areas as ultrafast spectroscopy, which uses laser pulses to study the interactions between atoms and molecules, and photochemical vapor deposition, which uses lasers to deposit thin films of semiconductors and other materials on a surface.

"It is wonderful to see such significant recognition of the advancements in micro-plasma and laser engineering that have come from Gary Eden's work," said Ilesanmi Adesida, the UI's provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "The strides that he has made in both furthering basic science and developing practical applications exemplify the research mission" of the university.

Eden is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and the SPIE (the international society for Optical Engineering). He also is affiliated with the Coordinated Science Laboratory and the Micro and Nano Technology Laboratory at the UI.

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UI professor named to national engineering academy

Albany

IBM, one of the state's largest high-tech employers, is expected to lay off hundreds of workers in the Hudson Valley by the end of the month, union officials said.

It's unlikely that any of the hundreds of IBM scientists and engineers that work at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany will be included in the layoffs.

IBM told analysts in January that it was planning a worldwide reorganization of its workforce that would cost $1 billion about the same magnitude as a reorganization last year that led to 3,300 U.S. workers being laid off, including 700 in Poughkeepsie and in East Fishkill, home to an IBM computer chip factory.

A main reason for the layoffs is the poor performance of IBM's Systems and Technology Group. IBM recently announced the sale of one of its low-end server units to China-based Lenovo as a way to stem the losses.

Alliance@IBM, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, said the latest round of layoffs are expected to be announced on Feb. 26 for employees in New York and Vermont, home to thousands of workers in the Systems and Technology Group unit. IBM, which does not speak about layoffs typically, did not return a call seeking comment.

Jobs at the NanoCollege are protected, according to a source close to IBM.

"There will not be any layoffs in Albany," the source said.

Many employees support IBM's most innovative computer chip program research that the company does in partnership with the state, such as the Global 450 Consortium, a five-year, $4.8 billion program to develop the next generation of computer chip factories.

The state has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the effort and other programs with IBM at the NanoCollege, which typically have job creation and retention requirements that IBM must meet.

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Source: Nano jobs in Albany protected from IBM layoff plans

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

6-Feb-2014

Contact: David Ruth david@rice.edu 713-348-6327 Rice University

Rice University Professor Naomi Halas today joined the elite rank of scientists who have been elected to both the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Halas is one of 67 new NAE members announced today and was elected to the NAS in 2013.

Less than 5 percent of NAS and NAE members have dual membership, and Halas is one of 12 women ever chosen for the dual honor. Election to these academies is one of the highest honors that can be conferred upon a U.S. scientist or engineer.

Halas is Rice's Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of biomedical engineering, chemistry, and physics and astronomy. She also is the founding director of Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics and director of the Rice Quantum Institute. She is the first person in the university's history to be elected to both the NAS and NAE for research done at Rice.

The national academies -- private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology and health policy advice under a congressional charter -- date to the formation of the NAS in 1863. Today, the academies include the NAS, NAE, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

"Election to a national academy is an honor bestowed by one's peers in the academy, and the fact that Naomi has earned the rare distinction of being elected to both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Science is a testament to her sustained, long-standing and fundamental contributions to cross-disciplinary science," said Ned Thomas, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering and professor in materials science and nanoengineering and in chemical and biomolecular engineering. "Rice is doubly honored because the contributions were all made right here over the course of her remarkable Rice career."

Halas' research crosses boundaries of applied physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, medicine and optics. She joined Rice in the first wave of researchers recruited by the late Richard Smalley to explore the frontiers of nanotechnology. Halas, who had trained at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center and at Bell Laboratories, was uniquely positioned for nanoscience because of her training in both chemistry and physics.

Halas said Rice's small size was attractive, largely because of the corresponding culture of interdepartmental collaboration made possible by the campus's various institutes.

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Rice's Naomi Halas elected to National Academy of Engineering

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Newswise One day, Union Colleges Aerogel Teams novel way of making frozen smoke could improve some of our favorite machines, including cars.

When you hold aerogel it feels like nothing like frozen smoke. Its about 95 to 97 percent air, said Ann Anderson, professor of mechanical engineering. Nano-porous, solid and very low density, aerogel is made by removing solvents from a wet-gel. Its used for many purposes, like thermal insulation (on the Mars Rover), in windows or in extreme-weather clothing and sensors.

Together with Brad Bruno, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Mary Carroll, professor of chemistry and others, Anderson is studying the feasibility of commercializing their aerogel fabrication process. A time and money-saver, it could appeal to industries already using aerogel made in other ways.

During rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE), chemicals gel together (like Jell-O) in a hot press; the resulting wet-gel is dried by removing solvents (the wet part). The remaining aerogel (dried gel), is created in hours, rather than the days or weeks alternative methods take.

RSCE, Anderson said, is also approximately seven times cheaper, requiring one hour of labor for every 8 hours the other methods need.

A good place for such a process, and Union aerogel, is the automotive industry.

Our 3-way catalytic aerogels promote chemical reactions that convert the three major pollutants in automotive exhaust unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide into less harmful water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, Anderson said. Because aerogels have very high surface areas and good thermal properties, we think they could replace precious metals, like platinum, used in current catalytic converters.

Indeed, the surface area of one 0.5-gram bit of aerogel equals 250 square meters.

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Making "Frozen Smoke" the Fast Way

One day, Union College's Aerogel Team's novel way of making "frozen smoke" could improve some of our favorite machines, including cars.

"When you hold aerogel it feels like nothing -- like frozen smoke. It's about 95 to 97 percent air," said Ann Anderson, professor of mechanical engineering. "Nano-porous, solid and very low density, aerogel is made by removing solvents from a wet-gel. It's used for many purposes, like thermal insulation (on the Mars Rover), in windows or in extreme-weather clothing and sensors."

Together with Brad Bruno, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Mary Carroll, professor of chemistry and others, Anderson is studying the feasibility of commercializing their aerogel fabrication process. A time and money-saver, it could appeal to industries already using aerogel made in other ways.

During rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE), chemicals gel together (like Jell-O) in a hot press; the resulting wet-gel is dried by removing solvents (the wet part). The remaining aerogel (dried gel), is created in hours, rather than the days or weeks alternative methods take.

RSCE, Anderson said, is also approximately seven times cheaper, requiring one hour of labor for every 8 hours the other methods need.

A good place for such a process, and Union aerogel, is the automotive industry.

"Our 3-way catalytic aerogels promote chemical reactions that convert the three major pollutants in automotive exhaust -- unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide -- into less harmful water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide," Anderson said. "Because aerogels have very high surface areas and good thermal properties, we think they could replace precious metals, like platinum, used in current catalytic converters."

Indeed, the surface area of one 0.5-gram bit of aerogel equals 250 square meters.

"That's a lot of surface area for gases to come in contact with, facilitating very efficient pollution mitigation," Anderson said.

The team's work has received support from the National Science Foundation, the ACS Petroleum Research Fund and the Union College Faculty Research Fund.

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Making frozen smoke: Commercializing aerogel fabrication process

NEW DELHI: Four out of five popular small cars Volkswagen Polo, Tata Nano, Alto 800 and Hyundai i10 have failed crash tests based on UN standards, even as the manufacturers maintained they were complying with Indian norms.

The five vehicles which underwent tests account for around 20% of cars sold in the country. They were driven at 56kmph and 64kmph (NCAP standard) against a static object. India is one of the signatories to the UN standard for safe vehicles (R94), which prescribes the 56kmph crash test, although the government has not mandated the tests.

At present, all cars in India have to be checked for front and rear impact when they are being driven at 48kmph. A government official said the bar would be raised to 56kmph in 2015. Road transport secretary Vijay Chhibber said India would have its own NCAP norms and vehicles would undergo a full body test, instead of front and rear, at a facility coming up near Chennai.

Car manufacturers said they were complying with the current Indian standards. In addition, the companies said they had variants with airbags and additional safety features.

"Safety is of paramount importance to Tata Motors. All our vehicles, including the Tata Nano, meet all Indian safety regulations, including the frontal barrier crash test at 48kmph, as mandated by the government. All our cars on Indian roads, including the Nano, are engineered for safety in view of Indian road and traffic conditions," said Tim Leverton, head of advanced and product engineering, engineering research centre of Tata Motors.

Similarly, a Hyundai spokesperson said, "Our vehicles consistently meet or exceed applicable industry safety standards. We are monitoring the progress of this review and will work with Indian authorities, GNCAP and the other relevant stake holders as appropriate."

Global NCAP chief David Ward countered this by saying that nothing prevents Indian car manufacturers from making cars with minimum safety standard, especially when India is emerging as a global hub for automobiles. "The same companies produce vehicles of very high standard when they export vehicles to other countries," he said.

IRTE president Rohit Baluja suggested that companies should be asked to disclose information about safety levels. "Let them get a shock but then they can make an informed decision," he said.

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4 of 5 popular small cars fail safety test

NEW DELHI: Some of the most popular small cars sold in India, including Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and Volkswagen Polo, have failed crash tests showing high risk of life-threatening injuries in road accidents, according to Global NCAP.

As per the tests done by Global NCAP, an independent charity based in UK focused on consumer orientated vehicle safety initiatives, these cars received zero for adult protection ratings in a frontal impact at 64km/hr.

The combined sales of these five cars account for around 20 per cent of all the new cars sold in India last year, Global NCAP said.

As per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, total car sales in India stood at 18,07,011 units in 2013.

Global NCAP Chairman Max Mosley said: "Poor structural integrity and the absence of airbags are putting the lives of Indian consumers at risk. They have a right to know how safe their vehicles are and to expect the same basic levels of safety as standard as customers in other part of the world."

India is now a major global market and production centre for small cars, so it's worrying to see levels of safety that are 20 years behind the five-star standards now common in Europe and North America, he added.

When contacted, spokespersons of the companies named said their products met Indian safety norms.

According to the findings, in Maruti Alto 800, Tata Nano and Hyundai i10, the vehicle structures proved inadequate and collapsed to varying degrees, resulting in high risks of life-threatening injuries to the occupants.

"The extent of the structural weaknesses in these models were such that fitting airbags would not be effective in reducing the risk of serious injury," it said.

Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo had structures that remained stable - and, therefore, with airbags fitted, protection for the driver and front passenger would be much improved, it added.

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Popular small cars Alto, i10, Nano fail crash test: Global NCAP

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Newswise MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A Kansas State University engineer has made a breakthrough in rechargeable battery applications.

Gurpreet Singh, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, and his student researchers are the first to demonstrate that a composite paper -- made of interleaved molybdenum disulfide and graphene nanosheets -- can be both an active material to efficiently store sodium atoms and a flexible current collector. The newly developed composite paper can be used as a negative electrode in sodium-ion batteries.

"Most negative electrodes for sodium-ion batteries use materials that undergo an 'alloying' reaction with sodium," Singh said. "These materials can swell as much as 400 to 500 percent as the battery is charged and discharged, which may result in mechanical damage and loss of electrical contact with the current collector."

"Molybdenum disulfide, the major constituent of the paper electrode, offers a new kind of chemistry with sodium ions, which is a combination of intercalation and a conversion-type reaction," Singh said. "The paper electrode offers stable charge capacity of 230 mAh.g-1, with respect to total electrode weight. Further, the interleaved and porous structure of the paper electrode offers smooth channels for sodium to diffuse in and out as the cell is charged and discharged quickly. This design also eliminates the polymeric binders and copper current collector foil used in a traditional battery electrode.

The research appears in the latest issue of the journal ACS-NANO in the article "MoS2/graphene composite paper for sodium-ion battery electrodes."

For the last two years the researchers have been developing new methods for quick and cost-effective synthesis of atomically thin two-dimensional materials graphene, molybdenum and tungsten disulfide in gram quantities, particularly for rechargeable battery applications.

For the latest research, the engineers created a large-area composite paper that consisted of acid-treated layered molybdenum disulfide and chemically modified graphene in an interleaved structured. The research marks the first time that such a flexible paper electrode was used in a sodium-ion battery as an anode that operates at room temperature. Most commercial sodium-sulfur batteries operate close to 300 degrees Celsius, Singh said.

Singh said the research is important for two reasons:

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Engineer Brings New Twist to Sodium-Ion Battery Technology with Discovery of Flexible Molybdenum Disulfide Electrodes

By Cyndi Root

Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA) announced the release of a report on nanotechnology in drug discovery. Entitled Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery: A Global Strategic Market Report, the report is global in scope and comprehensive. GIA addresses the 53.3 billion dollar U.S. market projected for 2018. Included are the forces driving the pharmaceutical industry such as the aging population, increasing chronic diseases, unmet needs, and nanotechnology. GIA is an independent publisher of market research. It serves 10,000 companies in 36 countries. Founded in 1987, it specialized in the medical industry but now reports on 180 industries.

GIA states that the pharmaceutical industry was one of the first beneficiaries of nano drug technology. It holds promise in diagnostics, drug discovery, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. Drug delivery has been the primary focus in research medicine using the technology, as nano-delivery offers better targeting and reduction in side effects. Researchers can now revisit prior experiments and drugs to investigate nanotechnology possibilities. Shelved molecules and abandoned studies may be revived for further studies with nanotechnology. The interest and activity in the technology is rising due to growing demand for novel techniques. Competition is increasing as companies seek to reduce costs of drug components and differentiate products from competitors.

Nano Products

Nano products are described as intelligent drug-delivery systems. They are novel techniques and products, and require different administration than conventional treatments. These tiny molecules are active or passive depending on the application. They can be nanoparticles, micro-injectors, and/or have micro-electrical properties. Controlled release and target specificity allow for custom therapies based on the condition or disease and the patient. Nanotechnology offers on-demand dosing and a more sophisticated drug delivery system. For the patient, it means better quality treatment and improvement in the quality of life. Researchers are interested in biomolecules like DNA and siRNA, chemotherapeutic agents that target cancer better, and oral drug delivery.

The GIA report states the U.S. is the largest market in the world, driven by a strong pharmaceutical industry. U.S. firms have a strong focus on R&D and companies are moving to improve their pipelines. The Asian-Pacific market is the fastest growing, led by China. China has prioritized healthcare and is committed to advanced medical technology. Nanocrystals and nanocarriers like liposomes are expected to see strong growth. The report lists some of the major players in nanotechnology and forecasts revenues.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates nanotechnology and interested parties can visit the FDA site for more information on nanomedicine, its uses, and trends.

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Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Reports Unmet Needs Driving Nanotechnology In Drug Discovery

7 hours ago by Linda Fulps Yue-Wern Huang, professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T.

(Phys.org) Nanoparticles are used in all kinds of applicationselectronics, medicine, cosmetics, even environmental clean-ups. More than 2,800 commercially available applications are now based on nanoparticles, and by 2017, the field is expected to bring in nearly $50 billion worldwide.

But this influx of nanotechnology is not without risks, say researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

"There is an urgent need to investigate the potential impact of nanoparticles on health and the environment," says Yue-Wern Huang, professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T.

Huang and his colleagues have been systematically studying the effects of transition metal oxide nanoparticles on human lung cells. These nanoparticles are used extensively in optical and recording devices, water purification systems, cosmetics and skin care products, and targeted drug delivery, among other applications.

"In their typical coarse powder form, the toxicity of these substances is not dramatic," says Huang. "But as nanoparticles with diameters of only 16-80 nanometers, the situation changes significantly."

The researchers exposed both healthy and cancerous human lung cells to nanoparticles composed of titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper and zinc compoundstransition metal oxides that are on the fourth row of the periodic table. The researchers discovered that the nanoparticles' toxicity to the cells, or cytotoxicity, increased as they moved right on the periodic table.

"About 80 percent of the cells died in the presence of nanoparticles of copper oxide and zinc oxide," says Huang. "These nanoparticles penetrated the cells and destroyed their membranes. The toxic effects are related to the nanoparticles' surface electrical charge and available docking sites."

Huang says that certain nanoparticles released metal ionscalled ion dissolutionwhich also played a significant role in cell death.

Huang is now working on new research that may help reduce nanoparticles' toxicity and shed light on how nanoparticles interact with cells.

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Lungs may suffer when certain elements go nano

A UT Arlington engineering professor has proven that the effect of mass is important, can be measured and has a significant impact on any calculations and measurements at the sub-micrometer scale.

The findings help to better understand movement of nano-sized objects in fluid environments that can be characterized by a low Reynolds number, which often occurs in biological systems. The unconventional results are consistent with Newton's Second Law of Motion, a well-established law of physics, and imply that mass should be included in the dynamic model of these nano-systems. The most widely accepted models omit mass at that scale.

Alan Bowling, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, collaborated with Samarendra Mohanty, an assistant physics professor, and doctoral students Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani, Bryan Black and Sarvenaz Ghaffari, as well as graduate student James Drake to make the discovery.

A key advantage of the new model is that it can be used to build computer simulations of nano-sized objects that have drastically reduced run times as compared to a conventional model based on Newton's second law. These conventional models have run times of days, weeks, months and years while the new model requires only seconds or minutes to run.

In the past, researchers attempted to address the long run time by omitting the mass terms in the model. This resulted in faster run times but, paradoxically, violated Newton's second law upon which the conventional model was based. The remedy for this paradox was to argue that mass was unimportant at the nano-scale.

However, the new model retains mass, and predicts unexpected motion of nano-sized objects in a fluid that has been experimentally observed. The new model also runs much faster than both the conventional and massless models.

It is expected that this new model will significantly accelerate research involving small-scale phenomena.

Research areas that Bowling and collaborators at UT Arlington are currently investigating include cell migration, protein function, bionic medical devices and nanoparticle suspensions for storing thermal energy. However, the applications for the computer simulation in medicine, biology, and other fields are endless.

The research is detailed in the paper "Dynamics of Microscopic Objects in Optical Tweezers: Experimental Determination of Underdamped Regime and Numerical Simulation using Multiscale Analysis" and published online by the Journal of Non-Linear Dynamics. The paper is scheduled for publication in the journal's print version later this year.

Khosrow Behbehani, dean of the College of Engineering, said the team's findings may alter ways of thinking throughout the engineering and scientific worlds.

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Mass is critical at nano-scale; matters in calculations and measurements

Researchers at the University of Queensland are using nano-engineered oil droplets to target infectious diseases and cancer cells.

The UQ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology researchers say the droplets, called nanoemulsions, can effectively target diseased cells and provoke specific immune responses.

The nanoemulsions carry antibodies and protein and can generate an immune response against infectious diseases such as influenza, HIV and malaria.

A paper on the development has been published in the international journal SMALL

Researcher Dr Frank Sainbury said the journal paper provided proof of the precise targeting that could be achieved by nanoemulsions.

He said it addressed challenges with existing targeted therapies, such as limited drug-carrying capacity and difficulty of manufacture.

An ability to target specific cells gives the emulsion the potential to overcome side-effects of broad-spectrum treatments such as chemotherapy, which attacks healthy cells as well as cancerous ones.

Dr Sainsbury said the nanoemulsion could hold antibodies, releasing them only when targeted cells were found.

This is about efficient targeting, he said.

Nanoemulsions have a long, safe history in pharmaceutical formulations.

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Researchers' precision engineering to target disease