CONTENTS AND IN BRIEF ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE FOR YOU THIS MONTH

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COVER STORY: Food in the Nano Platter
Food security has always been the biggest concern of the mankind. Nations,communities and Governments have been struggling with the issue since long.Particularly, it's a prime agenda for the developing world including India,will nanotechnology be an answer to this problem?

SPECIAL STORY: A Boon to Alternative Energy
Nanotechnology allows manipulation and adjustment of properties of materialsused in the renewable energy generation. When we go to the nano scale we get touse an enormous increase in surface area in low volume for reactions andmovement of charged particles made feasible by the nano scale.

EVENTS:

Development in biomedical apparatus highlighted
The last decade has seen rapid progress and development in the biomedicalapparatus; specifically the diseases of the cardiovascular systems contributeto about 20 per cent of the mortality in older people. Arteriosclerosis aproblem appearing in the large and medium sized diameter arties, specificallythe aorta, coronary arteries and cerebral arteries is a major cause of death.

JNTUH to hold Nano Conference
The Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of Jawaharlal Nehru TechnologyUniversity of Hyderabad will host two day national conference on Introductionto Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Applications (INTA – 2010) from September 2,2010.

SUCCESS STORY: Nanomaterials can be Prepared with Water

The requirements of simple and reliable protocols for the preparation of nanomaterials with controlled morphology continue to be a majorchallenge in nanoscience.

INDUSTRY WATCH: Indigenous Nanomaterials Manufacturer

Quantum Materials Corp, Bangalore based nanomaterials and other smart materials manufacturer is one of leading nanotech companies in country andintends to “take nanotechnology from the lab to market-place”. With theintention of commecialising he nanotech products and nanomaterials, the companyhas recently start the manufacturing unit at Bangalore and is alreadymanufacturing carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, smart polymers, Zinc OxideNanoparticles and Nanowires.

THEME: Food packaging materials with Biodegradable plastics

Presently whole world seems to be wrapped in plastic. Almost all product we buy including food, come encased in plastic. Packaging is thelargest market for plastics. In the past 20 years, the production and the useof plastics in the world have enormously increased, worsening the problem ofthe waste disposal. The growing interest in environmental impact of discardedplastics has directed research on the development of plastics that degrade morerapidly in the environment, leading to a complete mineralisation or bioassimilationof the plastics.

New Dimension to Food Industry

A derivative of chemistry, engineering, and physics, and micro falsity techniques, nanotechnology involves manipulating matter at thenano scale level. It is responsible for determining not only that biologicaland non-biological structures measuring less than 100 nm exist but also thatthey have one-of-a-kind and novel functional applications. In fact, theNational Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI, 2006) defines nanotechnology as “theunderstanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100nanometers, where one-of-a-kind phenomena enable novel applications.”

FEATURE: Nanovaccines against Hepatatis B

Vaccines are medications designed to stimulate the body's immune system to generate a response that will protect the individual fromdisease by the pathogen in question. Vaccines generally consist of pathogens inweakened or killed form. Vaccines are used as a measure of prevention of aparticular disease as well as a measure to cure ailments.

NANO PRIMER:
Nano for Energy: Demand of the Days

The energy shortage in the world is among the biggest concerns in the present time. We cannot cater the demands of the people with enough energy in the coming decadesusing only electric power. Theproduction and use of oil and other fossil fuels continues to rise on a yearlybasis to record new levels. At the same time, fewer new oil fields are beingidentified which means that sometime over the few decades oil production will alsonot be able to satisfy the demand.

Nanotechnology in Agriculture

Research in nanotechnology has extremely high potential to benefit society through applications in agriculture and food systems. Over 400companies around the world today are active in nanotechnology research anddevelopment (R&D) and this number is expected to increase to above 1000within the next 10 years. In developed countries, the food industry is drivenby consumer demand which is currently for fresher and healthier foodstuffs.This is big business! For example the food industry in the UK is boomingwith an annual growth rate of 5.2 per cent and the demand for fresh food hasincreased by 10 per cent in the last few years.

Institute Profile

Mumbai’s N Shankaran Nair Research Center (nsnRc) for Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology is a new abode for nanotech research in India.This centre which has come up recently promises to deliver some exciting andpath-breaking results in the near future is spearheaded by Prof MaheshwarSharon, retired professor from IIT Bombay and Professor Emeritus CSIR and UGC.The centre has come up under the South Indian Children Education Society(SICES) and was inaugurated in March this year by Dr Michael Neumann-Spallartof CNRS, Meudon France “with whom Professor Sharon has been collaborating since1985 in the area of Photoelectrochemistry.”