MICRODEVICE COULD HELP FIGHT DISEASE
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratories have developed a micro-instrument that could aid in the detection and diagnosis of diseases, according to e4engineering.com, a UK-based Web site for engineers.
The device, which detects genetic mutations by identifying mismatches in DNA strands, is based on micro-machined silicon cantilevers one-tenth the width of a human hair, the report said.
It works by absorbing DNA molecules from a patient’s sample and binding on a micro-cantilever treated with a known DNA sequence. If the sample DNA binds to the known DNA sequence, the cantilever bends, indicating the presence of a specific DNA sequence in the patient, the report said.
Researchers said the technology also might be used in nanoscale applications for implants and timed releases of medications.
MEMS NOT SEEN ON AGERE’S CHOPPING BLOCK
Agere Systems is one of many optical switching firms announcing losses and cutting jobs in recent days, but small tech research and development won’t be on the chopping block, an analyst said.
Agere, based in Allentown, Pa., announced it would lay off 4,000 people, or 25 percent of its workforce. That follows an announced cut of 2,000 additional workers in April.
The cuts should not affect Agere’s work with MEMS-based optical switches, including news earlier this week that the company has created what it’s calling the industry’s first 16-channel high-voltage amplifier chip, said Lawrence Gasman of Communications Industry Researchers.
“I see MEMS … as one of their core technologies going forward,” he said. “This could have some implications, but they’re not about to drop MEMS.”
Agere, formerly the Microelectronics Group of Lucent Technologies, said its newest chip provides the voltages needed to position micromirrors that steer high-bandwidth optical signals between input and output ports in a switch. It replaces systems that require high-voltage transistors combined with lower voltage operational amplifiers, a company statement said.
RESEARCH SHINES LIGHT INTO SILICON
Cheaper lasers, computer monitors and TV screens could be the result of recent research by engineering professors at the University of Texas.
By mixing certain chemicals and solvents with pure silicon and heating them in a pressure chamber, researchers have created spherical silicon nanocrystals that emit light, something that has eluded scientists for more than a decade. The nanocrystals, or quantum dots, emit the colors blue and green, and researchers say red is not far down the road.
Silicon is a plentiful and inexpensive material used in transistors, but scientists have been unable to manipulate it to emit light. That has led to costly alternative semiconductors, such as gallium arsenide, for light-emitting diodes, lasers and sensors, the researchers said.
NANOTECH CENTER NAMED FOR EX-TAIWAN LEADER
Lee Teng-hui, former president of Taiwan and Cornell University alumnus, came back to campus this week for the groundbreaking of a nanotechnology center named after him.
The Lee Teng-hui Institute for Scientific Research will be part of a new $60 million high-tech research center. Completion is set for 2003.
Lee, who earned his Ph.D. in 1968 in agricultural economics from Cornell, gave a speech Thursday hailing the advent of what he dubbed “the nano age,” and its potential for solving problems such as pollution, natural resources depletion and food and energy shortages.
CHINA HOSTS NANOTECH CONFERENCE
The latest nanotechnology developments are expected to be discussed next week at the International Symposium on Nanomaterials and Technology in China, according to AsiaPort Daily News, an international wire service.
Topics at the conference, which is scheduled to be held July 2-5 at the Beijing International Conference Center, include nanotechnology applications in information materials, medicine, metal, energy and the environment, the report said. Related story: China opens new nanotech center