MPEP Random

PatentNerd is a web-page that randomly selects a page out of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure.  A great study tool or to quiz yourself on the go on your cell phone.  Bookmark the automatically loading page at http://www.patentnerd.webs.com/autoload.html

Researchers study the possible use of carboranes

Researchers study the possible use of carboranes: "When protein plaque builds up in the blood, it can result in serious diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer's.

Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, a class of drugs under investigation for the treatment of one cause of plaque build-up, also exhibit negative side effects.

Researchers in the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia are studying the possible use of carboranes, which are clusters of boron and carbon atoms, to prevent such side effects. These boron-rich clusters are substituted for carbon-based benzene rings commonly found in pharmaceuticals of all types, including COX inhibitors, which give unwanted side effects.

COX activity is seen in common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen. However, prolonged use of COX inhibitors can result in a variety of negative side effects, such as possible digestive and liver problems. Some COX inhibitors have recently been pulled from the market due to an increased risk of heart complications."

UC Santa Cruz:

During 10 years of rapid progress, the Baskin School of Engineering has developed a unique interdisciplinary focus with programs in three strategic areas: information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

More here.

Regulating Nanotech

I don't think we should be as steadfast in regulation as we should be in studying nanotechnology.  Here's a piece on local regulation at Boston.com:

Two dollar amounts are often cited in the discussion on nanotechnology safety risks. One is the projected value globally of all applications of this technology by 2015: $1 trillion. The other is the estimated $200 billion in   death benefits, medical care, cleanup costs, and legal fees associated with another miracle material, asbestos. If industry had invested more in investigating the health threat that asbestos fibers posed , thousands of lives and billions of dollars could have been saved.

Regulating Nanotechnology and Designing the NGOs of the Future

Now, the Council has announced two fully-funded studies that it believes will blaze that path -- studies our friends at the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology believe are breakthroughs.

The first is to create a sort of artificial ribosome -- a mechanical DNA, if you will -- that can "synthesize linear chains of nanoscale building blocks in programmed sequence." In essence, the ability to forge synthetic chains of materials could soon (the team aims to complete the work in a few years for about $3 million) provide the fundamental spare parts for creating nano-scale machines.

If mechanical DNA can create the parts, though, an "actuator" will still be needed to serve as the conveyer belt through which a computer can assemble those parts into a working and useful whole. The Ideas Factory's second proposal is for the creation of exactly such an actuator.

As always the fear:

We need, as well, to start taking seriously the need for national regulations and international agreements on the use of nanotechnology. If nanotechnology proves less impressive than its proponents insist it will be, no harm will have been done, but if it in fact bears both the importance and the dangers many claim, we will need effective, enforceable treaties and laws to stave off disaster. ...

As Stewart Brand says about biotechnology, "The best way for doubters to control a questionable new technology is to embrace it, lest it remain wholly in the hands of enthusiasts who think there is nothing questionable about it."

That's very astute, and no doubt the paradigm applies to the prior paragraph in terms of government regulation and treaties. We cannot be at a technological disadvantage to those who cheat. I think the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty exemplifies this well. Imagine the NPT if we didn't have nuclear weapons and therefor the safety net of mutually assured destruction. I'm not saying MAD applies to nanotech. Bans and treaties are helpful but won't stop everyone.

More extensive thoughts here:

Our view is that advanced nanotechnology—molecular manufacturing—should be developed as fast as it can be done safely and responsibly. We’re promoting responsible rapid development of the technology—not because we believe it is safe, but because we believe it is risky—and because the only realistic alternative to responsible development is irresponsible development.

Sounds right to me.

Nano Funding

>From the Best of Biotech 06: 

Nanotechnology financing

I wrote about this earlier, as at least four Midwest nanotech companies raised over $110 million in venture capital financing in 2006, including: Nanosphere, $57 million; NanoBio, $30 million; NanoInk, $20 million; and Nanotope, $3.5 million. Interestingly, three of the four companies were spun out of Northwestern University's Institute of Nanotechnology.

This is truly amazing and yet these deals are not the only "nano" financings, as other companies such as Polyera, Advanced Diamond Technologies , Nanodisc, and Ohmx also raised money through government funding as well as investor financings. There seems to be a wave of new nano companies spinning out of Argonne, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, and the University of Michigan.

nano + singularity = ....

Nanularity!

"All things change at the scale of the very small, but while their differences become different, their ability to become one becomes possible. To describe that possibility, no, destiny, I have coined the phrase Nanularity."

We're jammin... I wanna jam it with you...