Nanoparticles and Nanocrystals

France has become the first country in Europe to require manufacturers to identify use of nano-particles, the extremely fine grains that are increasingly found in drugs and consumer products.

Scientists in Britain say they have developed a super-sensitive test using nano-particles to spot markers for cancer or the AIDS virus in human blood serum using the naked eye.

Scientists on Wednesday reported they had invented an invisible tag using the widely-used "quick response" code to help thwart banknote forgers and criminals who sell bogus drugs or fake vintage wine.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An implantable, wireless microchip delivered osteoporosis medicine to a small group of Danish women, raising hope for a new kind of drug delivery device that might allow patients to skip regular injections, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch scientists have found a way of turning plant matter into the building blocks of common plastics using a nanotechnology process that offers an alternative to oil-based production.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Studying the potential health hazards of nanotechnology will require an additional $24 million a year to close the knowledge gap about the tiny particles used in a fast-growing array of consumer products, the National Research Council said on Wednesday.

In the United States, about 46 million people smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ``About half of those people try to stop in a given year,'' says John Hughes, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont who studies smoking. ``But only about 5 percent are able to quit forever.'' (Hughes has been a consultant to Selecta and other companies developing antismoking products.)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's executive published a definition of nanomaterials on Tuesday, a move that will help regulators identify whether such ultra-fine particles -- whose risks are still largely unknown -- are present in food and consumer goods.

LONDON (Reuters) - In a taste of things to come, food scientists say they have cooked up a way of using nanotechnology to make low-fat or fat-free foods just as appetizing and satisfying as their full-fat fellows.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Using an experimental scanner and nanoparticles of gold, U.S. researchers said they have found a way to identify the most dangerous types of blocked arteries.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A highly sensitive blood test may be able to predict whether prostate cancer is cured or is likely to come back, giving doctors an early sign of whether treatments are working, U.S. researchers said Wednesday.

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LONDON (Reuters) - A global scarcity of scientific research on using nanotechnology in foods means food safety authorities are unable to properly regulate products that may be beneficial or harmful, a British science panel said on Friday.

A corporate reorganization gave a big boost to a small Bakken play Wednesday, while a pharma stock soared on an asset sale. . Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report for Wednesday, November 11, 2009

LONDON (Reuters) - Nanoparticles can damage the DNA of cells from a distance, even without crossing the cellular barriers that protect certain parts of the body, British researchers said on Thursday.

Scientists reported Thursday that nano-particles used in medical applications can indirectly damage DNA inside cells by transmitting signals through a protective barrier of human tissue.

Nanosphere plans to offer 4.7 million shares at $7 each. Molecular diagnostics maker Nanosphere Inc. said Friday its offering of 4.7 million common shares was priced at $7 each.

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists are developing ways to use nanoparticles as tiny magnets that can heat up and kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells around them.

They can make fabric resistant to stains, improve the taste of food and help drug research, but nanoparticles could also pose a danger to human health, experts warned Wednesday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In determining the safety of improbably small materials known as nanoparticles, special properties associated with some of the very smallest particles may be the key, scientists said on Sunday.