Nanotechnology targets cancer cell nucleus
Foresight Update 26.02—March 11, 2013
ISSN 1078-9731
Nanotech News
Discuss these news stories at http://foresight.org/nanodot.
In this issue:
In this Forbes interview, contributor John Nosta introduces us to a teen worth watching: fifteen-year-old Jack Andraka, whose effort to design a nanotube-based sensor for pancreatic cancer detection was initially ignored. The interview taps into some aspects of how innovation occurs and the challenges of bringing new ideas to fruition …
A proposal alluded to by President Obama in his State of the Union address to construct a dynamic "functional connectome" Brain Activity Map (BAM) would leverage current progress in neuroscience, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology to develop a map of each firing of every neuron in the human brain—a hundred billion neurons sampled on millisecond time scales. Although not the intended goal of this effort, a project on this scale, if it is funded, should also indirectly advance efforts to develop artificial intelligence and atomically precise manufacturing …
The advent of new technologies is typically followed by new government regulation, and in the absence of data, fear-based reactionism can have far too much influence on policy. Quality research studies on real risks and impacts of nanoscale technologies can help lead to legitimate scientific consensus and appropriate regulation. …
One of the most promising near-term applications of current nanotechnology is in targeted drug delivery to treat cancer. Despite the fact that a number of approaches based on very different areas of nanoscience have shown promise in delivering a wide variety of agents in different animal models of cancer, a number of challenges remain, principally involving the stability of the nanoparticles in the circulatory system, getting them into cancer cells, releasing the cargo to kill the cells, and the fact that cancer cells often have defenses against anti-cancer drugs. A core-shell nanoparticle has been cleverly adapted to deliver a particularly effective agent to where it is needed. …
Foresight Co-Founder and Past President Christine Peterson is interviewed on the Singularity Weblog in a 47-minute tour that covers nanotechnology, the founding of the Foresight Institute, her work on personal life extension through Health Activator, open source, and the Technological Singularity. …
An interview with Foresight Co-Founder and Past President Christine Peterson was filmed by Adam Ford in conjunction with the Humanity+ conference in San Francisco and is now available on YouTube. …
—Nanodot posts by James Lewis and Stephanie C.
Foresight Lectures
Christine Peterson on Singularity 1 on 1: Join Us to Push the Future in a Positive Direction
Online
Christine Peterson is interviewed on the Singularity Weblog for 47 minutes on nanotechnology, the founding of the Foresight Institute, her work on personal life extension through Health Activator, open source, and the Technological Singularity.
Media Partner Events
The 10th FNANO Conference on Self-Assembled Architectures and Devices
Monday, April 15 – Thursday, April 18, 2013 Snowbird, UT
NOTE: The early registration deadline is 15 March 2013.
The FNANO conference is an annual conclave on foundations of nano science. It maintains the highest scientific standards and provides a rich variety of opportunities for discussion and exchange of information on nanoscale sciences research.
Self-assembly is the central theme of the conference. Topics to be covered by speakers at the conference include experimental and theoretical studies of self-assembled architectures and devices at scales ranging from nano-scale to meso-scale. The subject matter of the conference spans many traditional disciplines including chemistry, biochemistry, physics, computer science, mathematics, and various engineering disciplines.
Organized by John H. Reif (Duke) and Marya Lieberman (Notre Dame) FNANO is among the most interesting and productive conferences on nanotechnology by the academic research community.
If you are interested in nanotechnology and want to spend a week immersed in presentations and discussions of many of the most important advances of the past year in nanosciences, surrounded by the snow covered peaks of one the most beautiful (and challenging) ski resorts in the US—then you ought to attend this conference.
Other Upcoming Activities of Interest
Imagine Nano 2013
April 23-26, 2013 Bilbao (Spain)
Bringing together Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Nanotech Conference & Expo 2013
May 12-16, 2013
Washington, DC USA
Don't miss this year in Washington, D.C. as we deliver the World's top innovations and the Nation's leading R&D agency programs!
2013 ASME Annual Meeting
June 21-26,2013 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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