Mark your calendar for a one-day international conference titled “Nano 2013.” The 11th annual nanotech/biotech conference will be held in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. There is no charge to attend this conference and no prior registration is required.

This multi-disciplinary conference will explore recent advances in nanosciences and focus on commercialization opportunities of nanotech, medicine, pharma, biotech and related science and engineering fields. The broad ranging presentations at the conference will highlight applications of nanomedicine to human health, the urgent need for vigilance with regard to nanotoxicity, the current view of the US FDA regarding nanoregulation and intellectual property issues based on recent major changes to the US patent system. Representatives from the American Bar Association will highlight student opportunities. The conference will offer networking opportunities to researchers, engineers, physicians, ethicists, environmental scientists, intellectual property practitioners, lawyers, business professionals, technology transfer specialists, policy makers, and venture capitalists. All presentations (15-30 mins.) will be fast-paced and focused, relying upon extensive color graphics and animations to reach the diverse audience. Raffle drawings (books, gift cards, etc.) will be held throughout the day. A light lunch will be served and a networking Sushi reception will follow the conference in the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).

By exploiting the improved and often novel physical, chemical and biological properties of materials at the nanometer scale, nanomedicine has the potential to provide new tools in healthcare by enabling early detection and prevention, and to essentially improve diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases such as cancer, diabetes or neurodegenerative disorders.  Recent big deals (Amgen-Bind Bioscience, Cytimmune-AstraZeneca) have shown that the nanomedicine is making its way to the market for the benefits of the patients and society.  However the economic outputs are still too limited compared to outstanding research being performed throughout Europe.

Recently, an unprecedented effort of consolidating the area of Nanomedicine has been undertaken within NanoMed 2020, an 18 months Coordination and Support Action under the FP7-Health.  Involving the ETP Nanomedicine (www.etp-nanomedicine.eu/public) and six other partners across Europe, this project is a unique opportunity to make Europe a center for profitable nanomedicine research, development and translation.

In this context, an online questionnaire has been designed and approved to consolidate the ongoing worldwide nanomedicine landscape and to deliver first insights into the gaps, needs and bottlenecks of the nanomedicine development process. All relevant stakeholders are invited to join this survey and be part of such map which is to become a reference tool in terms of communication and awareness towards the public, the EC and national authorities, and within the nanomedicine community:

www.vdivde-it.de/mrIWeb/mrIWeb.dll?I.Project=NANOMED2020

In parallel, the ETP Nanomedicine is taking a very proactive role and is devoting major efforts towards the EC to sustainably install Nanomedicine as a main European research topic in the next framework program.  With the proposition for a 1 billion€ action-plan focusing on efficient translation of nanomedicine under H2020 and promising implementation perspectives, the ETPN is about to become a much larger representative of nanomedicine in Europe and at the core of key infrastructures and initiatives overcoming current bottlenecks in the critical path to new nanomedicine products.  In this context the ETPN is also looking for many more industrial partners willing to contribute in shaping the next industrial landscape of nanomedicine in Europe.  Find out more at: www.etp-nanomedicine.eu/public/about/membership

New research from Simon Fraser University, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of New South Wales and presented today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, highlights the economic ramifications of the confluence of the biotechnology and nanotechnology sectors (session info).

Entitled “Global Bio-Nano Firms: Exploiting the Confluence of Technologies”, the study shows that the integration of knowledge from the biotech and nanotech spheres has been driven by so-called “De Novo” firms — technology start-ups typically borne of research labs and tightly integrated with universities. The radical innovation at the heart of this emerging space — described as the birth of a new sector — opens up opportunities for new companies at the intersection of these two fields.

The international collaboration, led by Elicia Maine, an Associate Professor at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, involved the identification, classification and analysis of over 500 firms active in the emerging global bio-nano sector. Her co-authors were MIT’s James Utterback, Professor of Management and Innovation, Sloan School of Management and Professor of Engineering Systems; V.J. Thomas, Postdoctoral Fellow, SFU and IIT Delhi; Martin Bliemel, Lecturer at the Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales; and Armstrong Murira, Simon Fraser University PhD student, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.

…

The presentation is part of a larger, half-day panel at AAAS 2013 organized by Maine and Utterback entitled “Confluence of Streams of Knowledge: Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.” Other speakers include Robert S. Langer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nathan Lewis from the California Institute of Technology, Sarah Kaplan of the University of Toronto; and Han Cao, founder of BioNano Genomics.
Full post

MIT engineers have created genetic circuits in bacterial cells that not only perform logic functions, but also remember the results, which are encoded in the cell’s DNA and passed on for dozens of generations.  The circuits, described in the Feb. 10 online edition ofNature Biotechnology, could be used as long-term environmental sensors, efficient controls for biomanufacturing, or to program stem cells to differentiate into other cell types.

“Almost all of the previous work in synthetic biology that we’re aware of has either focused on logic components or on memory modules that just encode memory. We think complex computation will involve combining both logic and memory, and that’s why we built this particular framework to do so,” says Timothy Lu, an MIT assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and biological engineering and senior author of the Nature Biotechnology paper.  Lead author of the paper is MIT postdoc Piro Siuti. Undergraduate John Yazbek is also an author.

More than logic

Synthetic biologists use interchangeable genetic parts to design circuits that perform a specific function, such as detecting a chemical in the environment. In that type of circuit, the target chemical would generate a specific response, such as production of green fluorescent protein (GFP).  Circuits can also be designed for any type of Boolean logic function, such as AND gates and OR gates. Using those kinds of gates, circuits can detect multiple inputs. In most of the previously engineered cellular logic circuits, the end product is generated only as long as the original stimuli are present: Once they disappear, the circuit shuts off until another stimulus comes along.

Lu and his colleagues set out to design a circuit that would be irreversibly altered by the original stimulus, creating a permanent memory of the event. To do this, they drew on memory circuits that Lu and colleagues designed in 2009. Those circuits depend on enzymes known as recombinases, which can cut out stretches of DNA, flip them, or insert them. Sequential activation of those enzymes allows the circuits to count events happening inside a cell.   Rest of article

If you are reading this you may already know who Jay Keasling is but if you have not seen his interview with Sanjay Gupta, you need to.  Here is the link on CNN: Jay Keasling // Next List

SAN JOSE, California – 24 Jan 2013: Researchers from IBM and the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology revealed today an antimicrobial hydrogel that can break through diseased biofilms and completely eradicate drug-resistant bacteria upon contact. The synthetic hydrogel, which forms spontaneously when heated to body temperature, is the first-ever to be biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic, making it an ideal tool to combat serious health hazards facing hospital workers, visitors and patients.   Rest

The IBM Research team in Almaden, CA, with folks at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore, have created “Ninja Polymers” - 

In earlier chip development research, IBM researchers identified specific materials that, when chained together, produced an electrostatic charge that allows microscopic etching on a wafer to be done at a much smaller scale.  This newfound knowledge that characterization of materials could be manipulated at the atomic level to control their movement inspired the team to see what else they could do with these new kinds of polymer structures. They started with MRSA.

The outcome of that experiment was the creation of what are now playfully known as “ninja polymers” – sticky nanostructures that move quickly to target infected cells in the body, destroy the harmful content inside, and then disappear by biodegrading without causing damaging side effects or accumulating in the organs.

As a bonus, all of this occurs without damaging healthy cells in the area.  ”The mechanism through which [these polymers] fight bacteria is very different from the way an antibiotic works,” explains Jim Hedrick, a polymer chemist in IBM Research. “They try to mimic what the immune system does: the polymer attaches to the bacteria’s membrane and then facilitates destabilization of the membrane. It falls apart, everything falls out and there’s little opportunity for it to develop resistance to these polymers.”  Full article (including informative cartoon video)

RIYADH: During a period of four years ending in 2011, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) conducted 193 research projects in the field of nanotechnology. These cost SR 574 million (US$153 Million), said KACST President Mohammed bin Ibrahim Alsuwaiyel yesterday.
Alsuwaiyel inaugurated the second Saudi International Nanotechnology Conference at KACST headquarters in Riyadh.
More than 300 delegates including speakers from various parts of the world took part in the conference.
Between 2007 and 2011, KACST initiated partnerships with local and international bodies and supported researchers to build partnerships with local and international organizations. It has been cooperating Saudi universities such as King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) and Princess Nora University, said Alsuwaiyel.
He indicated that nanotechnology has recently attracted the attention of experts for its scientific and business advantages that could benefit society in areas such as medicine, energy, electronics, and the pharmaceutical industry.
KACST has taken practical steps to introduce this technology through the National Plan of Science and Innovation (NPSI) with research findings of strategic importance to the Kingdom, he said.
He added that KACST has set up a national center for nanotechnology to act as a link between governmental and industrial sectors to meet the nation’s needs.   rest

4th International Congress

Nanotechnology, Medicine & Biology  -  13-15 March 2013, Krems/Austria
Call for Papers has been launched! Deadline for oral presentations: 14 December 2012!     Download >> 1st Announcement

Nanotechnology Enables Personalized Medicine

We invite you to submit your abstract to BioNanoMed 2013 – 4th International Congress
– the exclusive Know-How-Transfer meeting for scientists, researchers, engineers and practitioners from Natural Science, Medical Science and Engineering Subjects throughout the world. The congress in organized in  program tracks based on related technology topics.
- Novel Nanomedical Solutions – Advances in Nanomedicine
- Regenerative Nanomedicine
- Nano- Bio-Technology based Diagnostics
- Nano- Bio-Technology based Therapy

more at www.BioNanoMed.at