Nanotechnology
Mon March 22, 2010 |
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Mon March 22, 2010
Mosquitoes Engineered Into Flying VaccinatorsAn interesting proof of principle that's unlikely to be put into practice. Researchers in Japan have transformed mosquitoes into vaccine-carrying syringes by genetically engineering the insects to express the vaccine for leishmaniasis--a parasitic disease transmitted by the sandfly--in their saliva. According to a study in Insect Molecular Biology, mice bitten by these mosquitoes produced antibodies against the parasite. It's not yet clear whether the immune response was strong enough to protect against infection.
Common Genetic Variants Have Little Effect on Breast Cancer Prediction
The types of genetic factors identified in direct to consumer genetic tests probably won't help most women. Incorporating common genetic risk factors into the models typically used to calculate a women's breast cancer risk has little impact on clinical decision-making, such as whether an individual should consider earlier or more frequent mammography or prophylactic drugs, according to a paper published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results follow similar studies for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, echoing what has now become a common criticism of genome-wide association studies; that this approach is unlikely to identify genetic risk factors of diagnostic value.
Google, Intel, and Sony Plan New TV System
Set-top boxes will offer easier Web surfing, and let developers create TV apps. A Google-Intel-Sony partnership will soon offer TVs and set-top boxes that make it easier to browse the Web on a TV, according to a report by The New York Times. The Google TV platform will be based on the Android operating system and will be open to developers, who will presumably be able to create downloadable TV apps, like games.
Google's Ranking Algorithm Wants to Organize Your Calendar
The search company hopes that a new scheduling feature will appeal to business clients.
SXSW Goes Solar
Sun-powered "SolarPumps" help concertgoers keep phones, laptops and even scooters charged up. SXSW is a marathon event, from the Interactive conference to the music festival--and it can be hard to keep all your gadgets charged and running.
GM Develops Augmented Reality Windshield
The display outlines the road, and pinpoints obstacles, people and signs, even in bad weather. A new "enhanced vision system" from General Motors could help drivers by highlighting landmarks, obstacles and road edges on the windshield in real-time. Such a system can point out to drivers potential hazards, such as a running animal, even in foggy or dark conditions, GM says.
Will Spotify Be Fair to Artists?
Daniel Ek dodged the question during a keynote interview at South By Southwest Interactive. Here at South By Southwest Interactive, the keynote interview of Daniel Ek, the 26-year-old founder of European music service Spotify, provided some satisfying insight into the major new music site.
The Chemistry of Hangovers
In time for St. Patrick's Day, an American Chemical Society video details why the morning after feels so bad. When your head is pounding and you can't stomach even a dry piece of toast, who among us has not asked why? Not, "Why did I drink so much?" but "Why is this happening to me?"
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Wed Nov 03, 2004
Products made from atoms - Nanotechnology
The properties of those products depend on how those atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the atoms in coal we can make diamond. If we rearrange the atoms in sand (and add a few other trace elements) we can make computer chips. If we rearrange the atoms in dirt, water and air we can make potatoes.
Todays manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level. Casting, grinding, milling and even lithography move atoms in great thundering statistical herds. It's like trying to make things out of LEGO blocks with boxing gloves on your hands. Yes, you can push the LEGO blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can't really snap them together the way you'd like.
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