SAN DIEGO From promising diagnostic tests to tomorrow's electronics, nanotechnology the science and technology of the ultra-small is getting bigger all the time. More than 60 presentations, in symposia ranging from medicine to the environment to business, highlight nanotechnology's progress and challenges during the 229th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, in San Diego, March 13-17. Highlights from selected symposia and research presentations are highlighted below:
Monday, March 14
How do you name a nanomaterial?When the field of molecular genetics emerged, scientists often found themselves calling a new gene by different names. Nanotechnology researchers now face a similar challenge. What's more, this name game has regulatory importance: Today, the government evaluates and regulates the toxicity of a named chemical entity without considering different-sized versions of it. But nanoparticles bear unique electronic and mechanical features. Now, to clear up these concerns and more, a researcher at Rice University is leading the call to build a nomenclature for nanotechnology. (IEC 116, Monday, March 14, 4:00 p.m., Hyatt Regency, Room Ford A, during the symposium "Nanotechnology and the Environment.")
Growing the business of nanotechnology Since nanotechnology emerged, dozens of businesses in California have launched big dreams for tiny tools. Illustrating this boom is Nanosys, launched in 2002 in Palo Alto, Calif. Nanosys has built early versions of nano-enabled solar cells, flexible electronics, and nano chips for drug discovery research. Along the way, the company has formed strategic relationships with industry giants such as Intel, Dupont, In-Q-Tel, SAIC, Sharp, and Matsushita. T
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17-Mar-2005