CHINESE LEADER MEETS NANOTECHNOLOGISTS
Chinese President Jiang Zemin praised those in his nation working in nanotechnology research and development, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Speaking at the 2001 forum on nanomaterials in Beijing, Jiang said experts have made great strides with the government’s full support, the report said.
The nation has made nanotechnology a priority, opening centers related to its research and development, and including it in its five-year plan for economic and social and economic development.
The goal of the conference, organizers said, was to help improve international cooperation in nanotechnology. More than 500 foreign and domestic experts attended, according to the report.
RESEARCHERS HAVE A LOT OF NERVE
Manipulating the growth patterns of individual nerve cells for development of biosensors, drug-screening devices, implants and prosthetics could come from research at Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill., according to e4engineering.com, a UK-based Web site for engineers.
The process is called microstamping, which researchers say is like using a rubber stamp, except the ink is polylysine, an artificial polymer commonly used for cell culture. The researchers produced patterned surfaces on glass surfaces that integrate biocompatible materials and live nerve cells.
The work could be particularly useful in building more sophisticated and longer-lasting implants, which lose electrical sensitivity after a while, the report said.
OPTIMIGHT LEADS PANEL ON OPTICAL NETWORKS
The economic viability of all-optical networks will be among the topics discussed July 12 during a panel that is part of the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference in Baltimore, Md.
OptiMight Communications, a San Jose, Calif.-based developer of core optical transport systems, will lead several industry experts in determining the strengths and weaknesses of creating an all-optical network. Karl Ma, OptiMight’s product development director will lead the panel.
Other topics of the panel include new components, technologies and deployment schemes, as well as market pressures to increase capacity and flexibility while reducing costs, the company said. The conference, which runs from July 8-12, is expected to draw more than 15,000 fiber-optic professionals.
HAS ANYONE SEEN MY MAP OF NEW ZEALAND?
It has no practical use or application, but a student at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, has created a “nanomap” of his homeland.
The smallest map of New Zealand – and perhaps of any nation – is 7 x 7 micrometers, and 10 of them could be fitted across the diameter of a human hair, according to the university.
Francis Chia, a member of the university’s Nanostructure Engineering Science and Technology group, came up with the idea for a class assignment. The map was drawn on a silicon chip using an electron beam lithography machine and imaged with an atomic force microscope.
Dr. Maan Alkaisi, the group’s supervisor, said he sees no use for the map, but it shows the complexity of information that can be scaled to nanometer size and demonstrates the capabilities of the university’s laboratories.