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. Toward molecular level data storage with nanotechnology
British scientists are investigating telescoping carbon nanotubes as a nanotech replacement for current computer memory technologies.

. Public approval for using nanotechnology for human enhancement limited to improving health
Recently announced results of a US national survey on nanotech applications for "human enhancement" show widespread public support for enhancements seen as promising an improvement in human health, but little support for other uses.

. Follow Convergence 08 on FastForward Radio
If you are unable to attend the Convergence08 Unconference this weekend, you can follow some of the developments on FastForward Radio. Christine Peterson and Stephen Gordon pass along this information: This weekend The Speculist will be presenting not one, but two editions of FastForward Radio, both coming to you live from the Convergence 08 Unconference at [...]

. UK report urges more tests of health and environmental effects of nanotechnology products
The report concludes that nanotech products are coming to market without adequate tests for safety based upon the unique properties of the nanomaterials.

. Nanotechnology art honors President-Elect Obama
Today we have a nanotech nod to last week's historic election for US President and an example of the artistic possibilities of nanotechnology.

. Nanotechnology minimizes problems with medical implants
Nanotech membranes made of nanoporous alumina coated with diamond-like carbon films promise to minimize problems with medical implants.

. Mass production method for nanotechnology wonder material
The publication of a method to mass produce graphene has opened the way to further study of this remarkable nanomaterial.

. Using nanotechnology to build backpacks for cells
A patch consisting of three layers of polymers can be loaded with nanoparticles and attached to living cells to give them nanotech backpacks.

. DNA nanotechnology provides an improved tweezers
Re-engineering a simple nanotech device to make it more functional, Chinese scientists have developed an improved DNA tweezers that is able to capture, hold, and release a target molecule in a controlled manner.

. Mechanosynthesis with AFM as a step toward advanced nanotechnology
Robert A. Freitas Jr. brings to our attention a major step on the road to advanced nanotech, published a couple weeks ago in Science (abstract). He writes: This paper reports purely mechanical-based covalent bond-making and bond-breaking (true mechanosynthesis) involving atom by atom substitution of silicon (Si) atoms for tin (Sn) atoms in an Sn monolayer surface [...]

. Nanotechnology provides antireflective coating to boost solar cell efficiency
By nearly eliminating the light lost to solar cells by reflection, a nanotech coating promises to increase solar cell efficiency.

. Biomineralization may show nanotechnology how to align atoms in regular arrays with unusual morphologies
A better understanding of how biomineralization converts ordinary minerals to biological mineral structures with extraordinary hardness and fracture resistance may lead to superhard materials for nanotech applications.

. Defining international standards for nanotechnology
You might think that by now the definitions of terms like “nanotechnology" and “nanosystems" would be firmly established. In fact the process of arriving at an international consensus is more difficult than you might expect. Representing Foresight in the effort to define these and other terms is David R. Forrest, Ph.D., President of the Institute [...]

. Nanotechnology shrinks tumors by targeting two genes
Nanoparticles can introduce two very promising, but easily degraded, therapeutic molecules into a laboratory model of human skin, and together they are much more effective than either is alone is slowing the development of deadly melanoma skin cancer.

. Building blocks for nanotechnology from volcanic springs
Organisms that live in extreme environments may provide building blocks for nanotech applications that need to withstand extreme environments.

. Research challenges for the diamondoid mechanosynthesis path to advanced nanotechnology
On 5 June 2008, Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) submitted to IEEE Spectrum the following response to the article “Rupturing the Nanotech Rapture" by Richard A.L. Jones (IEEE Spectrum, June 2008 issue). Their brief letter is reproduced below because Spectrum has chosen to publish only one of [...]

. New microscope follows nanotechnology cancer treatment in living mice
A noninvasive Raman microscope has allowed scientists to track carbon nanotubes injected into living mice.

. Assembling 3D arrays of nanotubes to integrate nanotechnology and microtechnology
A practical nanotech method for integrating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) with existing silicon microtechnology could lead to uses in microelectronics, field emission displays, electronic memory devices and solar cells.

. Nanotechnology to soon provide paper stronger than steel for commercial uses
A nanotech material that consists of about 50% carbon nanotubes may soon find wide commercial applications in aerospace and other industries.

. Programming cell behavior with RNA nanotechnology
Nanotech applications based upon modules of RNA that bind small molecules to control the catalytic activity of other RNA modules may form the basis for a wide variety of synthetic molecular machines.

. Computational nanotechnology designs more efficient material for solar cells
Combining electrically conductive polymers, transition metal atoms, and spin-coating to form thin films could lead to solar cells with two major advantages that would make them more efficient at converting light to electricity.

. Functionally connecting protein domains adds to nanotechnology toolbox
Scientists were able to engineer functional communication between two unrelated proteins by taking advantage of the fact that each protein exhibits allosteric regulation.

. Structural DNA nanotechnology in living cells
Two basic structural motifs of DNA nanotechnology have been efficiently and inexpensively replicated in bacterial cells.

. Cut-and-paste single molecule nanotechnology using DNA
A group of German scientists have developed a new slant on DNA nanotechnology by using atomic force microscopy to assemble a DNA scaffold on a surface to which molecular building blocks can then bind.

. Nanotechnology delivers suicide gene to pancreatic cancer cells
Combining a nanotech method of getting genes inside cancer cells with genetic engineering of a potent suicide gene driven by control signals that are very active only in cancer cells effectively killed cell lines derived from pancreatic cancer.

. European conference focuses on nanotechnology as alternative to fossil fuels
Nanotech pathways to a sustainable energy economy are generating a great deal of interest in Europe.

. Is the patent system stifling nanotechnology?
Will "blocking patents" delay nanotech advances, as has happened with biotechmedical advances?

. Flipping a pair of atoms back and forth using nanotechnology
Upon exposure to electrons from an STM tip, pairs of platinum atoms on a germanium surface can be made to pivot on one atom, swinging back and forth like a flipper on a pinball machine.

. Self-assembled square arrays may lead nanotechnology to very small electronic devices
Nanotech methods for making very small electronic devices may benefit from a new ability to make block copolymers self-assemble into square arrays.

. Nanotechnology may need to account for proteins that coat nanoparticles used for drug delivery
Different chemical surfaces covering a nanoparticle can attract different types of blood proteins to coat the nanoparticle, which might affect how the nanoparticle moves through the body and where it ends up.

. Consortium for atomically precise manufacturing awarded $9.7 M to develop advanced nanotechnology
DARPA and a Texas fund have awarded $9.7M to investigate one nanotech path toward atomically precise manufacturing.

. First massively multiplayer forecasting platform to look for solutions to future scenarios
Christine Peterson passes along this news from the quarterly update of the Institute for the Future (IFTF) as something worth considering: “Foresight members and Nanodot readers may wish to join this collaborative forecasting effort." The IFTF announced their First Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Platform (MMFG): MMFGs are collaborative, open-source simulations of imagined future scenarios. Designed to address [...]

. American public remains uninformed about nanotechnology
A recently released poll shows that the American public is largely uniformed about both nanotechnology and synthetic biology, and furthermore that the level of public awareness about nanotechnology has not changed since 2004.

. STM brings near-atomic resolution to graphene nanotechnology
The recent demonstration of the ability to "fully engineer the electronic band gap of graphene" is a major advance in the top-down approach to nanotech applications that take advantage of the many marvelous properties of graphene.

. Calculating the role of Casimir forces in nanotechnology
Swedish scientists have developed a computer program to calculate Casimir forces between various types of nanostructured materials, which may help to determine whether significant friction problems exist in specific designs.

. Conference to develop proposal for a nanotech space elevator
November conference in Japan to draw up a proposal and timeline for a space elevator to be made possible through nanotechnology.

. NanoArt festival to showcase nanotechnology and its impact
Christine Peterson passes along this press release from NANOART FESTIVAL-STUTTGART: The 2nd International Festival for NanoArt organized by NanoArt21 (www.nanoart21.org) will be hosted in Stuttgart, Germany by NAHVISION Institute for International Culture Exchange, between November 1st and November 30th, 2008. The show is curated by artist/scientist Cris Orfescu (USA) and art professor Dorothea Fleiss (Germany). …NanoArt is [...]

. One Insurer Excludes Nanotechnology from Policies
Christine Peterson passes along this item from a recent (September 25, 2008) NanoBusiness Alliance Newsletter: Insurer Excludes Nanotechnology from Policies Beginning November 15, the Continental Western Insurance Group will no longer insure against bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury related to the actual, alleged, or threatened presence of or exposure to nanotubes or nanotechnology [...]

. Postdoctoral associate sought to conduct research on the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology
An announcement of an open position from the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility: Successful candidates will have a Ph.D. in communication, science and technology studies, or closely aligned social scientific field. Research experience and knowledge of social and ethical issues of science, preferably nanotechnology, is preferred. For the complete announcement: Postdoctoral Associate. The Cornell Nanoscale Science and [...]

. Nanotechnology provides more sensitive test for DNA changes in cancer and during treatment
A nanotech method using quantum dots provides greatly increased sensitivity in the detection of methylated DNA, and may therefore aid in cancer diagnosis and in monitoring the effect of cancer therapies.