nanotechnology

Self-cleaning windshields

Pininfarina automotive designer Leonardo Fioravanti's Hidra concept car uses windshields that repel water and dirt, doing away with the need for wipers. The nanotechnology-based windshield has four layers, with the titanium oxide top layer designed to quickly repel water. A second layer pushes dirt off to its sides, keeping the windshield clean. A third layer works as a sensor, while the fourth layer is charged with electricity to run the whole apparatus. An article describing the technology and concept car appeared in the Italian publication, la Repubblica, and can be read in English here, thanks to the magic of … Read more

Nanotech meets solar tech: Bloo Solar gets NSF grant

Even with incremental advances in solar cell efficiency, burning fossil fuels is still a cheaper way to make electricity.

The National Science Foundation on Thursday handed out a $100,000 grant to a start-up called Bloo Solar that wants to use nanotechnology to vastly improve solar cell output and catch up traditional power sources.

Bloo's product, called the Solar Brush, is a "ultra thin film" cell that holds billions of tiny upright wires within a square centimeter. These "nanocables" increase the amount of light that the cells receive and makes the cells sensitive to low … Read more

Sticky gecko feet inspire new medical bandage

Science teachers everywhere have had always had to face the question, "Dr. T., when are we going to use this?" In pop culture, it has always seemed to me that the general public is science-phobic, unless they are shopping for beauty products. Then it's "bring on the polypeptides," no matter how dubious the product's claims are.

But a new discovery has promise to deliver a genuine benefit, and brings nanotechnology into real life. Last week's edition of NPR's Science Friday explained that geckos use nanotubes to stick to glass surfaces. Now researchers … Read more

We can 'see' atoms now: Nanoscanning microscopic images

Scanning probe microscopes produce images based not on light, but on electron density and charge. Scientists are producing incredible images of tinyness heretofore visible only by means of an artist's imagination. Now we have "stereo" images of nanoscopic viruses, cell parts, and even individual atoms. They can also map an electric charge from a nanotube with an electrostatic force microscope.

Don't believe us? View the gallery at Wired: "Scientists scan striking nanoscale images"

Tech predictions: 25 years

Biometric access points, nanolaptops, gestural interfaces, and ambient intelligence--you can expect these to be ubiquitous in the near future. At least that's what PC World says. Don't forget toilet seats that measure body fat, 'cause that's just what you've been waiting for, right?

Check out the whole PC World list: "The next 25 years in tech"

Same stuff in Wonder Bread may prevent your hair from falling out

When attached to a nanotube delivery system, the same stuff that keeps Wonder Bread fresh is 5,000 times more effective than anything available in preventing radiation sickness, according to a trio of Texas researchers.

Jim Tour of Rice University and two colleagues from other Houston health institutions have found that common food preservatives BHA and BHT prevent radiation sickness in mice. Exposure to radiation can disrupt cells by "freeing molecules from their chemical bonds and allowing them to run amok inside the nucleus," the Houston Chronicle reported.

The "free radicals" destroy the cell's DNA, … Read more

Bionic contact lenses now a reality

Science fiction becomes present-day reality as scientists at the University of Washington construct a micro-circuit on the surface of a contact lens, complete with LED and antenna. The development suggests a variety of future applications, from heads-up GPS displays for pilots and motorists to a bio-monitor for people with health conditions.

Have a look at CNET News.com's gallery: Photos: LEDs in your contact lenses?

New materials at K 2007 will change your life

The recently concluded K 2007 conference in Düsseldorf, Germany, featured a variety of recent advances in materials science that will change your life. No hyperbole there--just a safe prediction.

I didn't make it to the show, but I've been following the announcements on the Web site of Design News, a trade publication for mechanical engineers. The K Fair is all about plastics...but in truth, the line between plastic and metal is getting pretty blurry these days.

Indeed, companies such as DuPont are now talking about plastics climbing "the metals replacement curve." MetaFuse technology, … Read more

Beam me up, Lang and Appleyard

Two scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to use light beams for picking up, holding, and moving around cellular and microscopic objects on a microchip, MIT announced Tuesday.

Matthew J. Lang, assistant professor of MIT's biological and mechanical engineering departments, and David C. Appleyard, graduate student in the biological engineering department, determined that using infrared light on select silicon wafers is a way to use optical tweezers as a tool for manipulating objects on microchips.

The breakthrough could have applications in both the biology and electronics industry, according to Lang.

While the idea of … Read more