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National Nanomanufacturing Network
Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium Selects Project Proposed by Arizona Center for Integrative ...
The Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium (NBMC), an industry-academia partnership with the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), has chosen a project proposed by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, to receive research funding. The AzCIM projects goal is to assess different sweat collection methods and devices for their ability to collect different volumes of sweat under a variety of human-body conditions, the results of which will help determine the best method for integrating into a wearable sensor system. Funding for the one year program will total $200,000. As part of the project, at least one analytical method, including offline immunoassay or mass spectrometry-based, will be developed to determine the levels of each of several AFRL-preferred biomarkers in sweat samples collected from multiple skin regions. Two molecules, one small and one large protein, will be selected for analysis from the following biomarkers: Orexin-A (impacts arousal and alertness); Neuropeptide Y (associated functions include stress reduction and lowering pain perception); Interleukin 6 (stimulates immune response); cortisol (released in response to stress); and Oxytocin (associated with various reproductive and bonding functions). Because the biomarker levels may be low and thus more difficult to detect by some analytical techniques, different methods for sweat concentration and purification will also be assessed. The various sweat collection methods will then be assessed for the desired volume, under a variety of conditions, including whole-body hyperthermia. Esther Sternberg, M.D., project technical lead and AzCIM director of research, noted, Participating in this program is a natural extension of AzCIMs research focus on mind-body science. Brain-immune connections are critical in decision-making and alertness, which can be greatly compromised by stress and fatigue, particularly for military personnel and others in high-pressure situations. Trauma related immune activation can also directly compromise performance and brain function. Devising a way to accurately detect these parameters in real time before problems set in, is essential to helping ensure physical and mental wellness for these individuals. In addition to Dr. Sternberg, the AzCIM project team includes Min Jia, Ph.D., AzCIM research assistant professor, as alternate technical representative. The AFRL program manager for the project is Laura Rea. Reproducibly collecting and analyzing sweat in a range of conditions and scenarios is a central challenge of enabling human performance monitoring, said Dr. Benjamin Leever, AFRL Lead for Additive Manufacturing of Functional Materials. This capability could significantly impact a large variety of Air Force missions. AzCIM and Dr. Sternberg possess a sterling reputation for successful collaboration on initiatives that investigate the relationship between wellness and ones environment, said NBMC CEO Malcolm Thompson. Ensuring that we are looking at the right biomarkers and collecting samples in the most optimal manner provides a crucial foundation for helping achieve NBMCs objective to develop a technology platform for a lightweight, low-cost, wearable biosensor patch. About NBMC The Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium (NBMC) was formed by the FlexTech Alliance, in collaboration with a nationwide group of partners, for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The mission of the partnership is to bring together leading scientists, engineers, and business development professionals from industry and universities in order to work collaboratively in a consortium, and to mature an integrated suite of nano-bio manufacturing technologies to transition to industrial manufacturing. Initial activities focus on AFRL/ DoD priorities, e.g., physiological readiness and human performance monitoring. Specifically, NBMC matures nano-bio manufacturing technologies to create an integrated suite of reconfigurable and digitized fabrication methods that are compatible with biological and nanoparticle materials and to transition thin film, mechanically compliant device concepts through a foundry-like manufacturing flow. The long-term vision is that NBMC operates at the confluence of four core emerging disciplines: nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced (additive) manufacturing, and flexible electronics. The convergence of these disparate fields enables advanced sensor architectures for real-time, remote physiological and health/medical monitoring. CONTACT: Lisa Gillette-Martin, MCA Public Relations, Phone: 650-968-8900, ext. 115, Email: email@example.com: Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium (http://www.nbmc.org/nano-bio-manufacturing-consortium-selects-project-proposed-by-arizona-center-for-integrative-medicine-to-optimize-human-performance-monitoring-techniques/)
Nanoenhanced 'smart' lithium-ion battery warns of potential fire hazard
Stanford University scientists have developed a "smart" lithium-ion battery that gives ample warning before it overheats and bursts into flames. The new technology is designed for conventional lithium-ion batteries now used in billions of cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices, as well as a growing number of cars and airplanes. "Our goal is to create an early-warning system that saves lives and property," said Yi Cui (http://web.stanford.edu/group/cui_group/), an associate professor of materials science and engineering. "The system can detect problems that occur during the normal operation of a battery, but it does not apply to batteries damaged in a collision or other accident." Cui and his colleagues describe the new technology in a study published in the Oct. 13 issue of the journal Nature Communications (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/NCOMMS6193). Lowering the odds A series of well-publicized incidents in recent years has raised concern over the safety of lithium-ion batteries. In 2013, the Boeing aircraft company temporarily grounded its new 787 Dreamliner (http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/2013/boeing_787/boeing_787.html) fleet after battery packs in two airplanes caught fire. The cause of the fires has yet to be determined. In 2006, Sony Corp. recalled millions of lithium-ion batteries after reports of more than a dozen consumer-laptop fires. The company said that during the manufacturing process, tiny metal impurities had gotten inside the batteries, causing them to short-circuit. "The likelihood of a bad thing like that happening is maybe one in a million," Cui said. "That's still a big problem, considering that hundreds of millions of computers and cellphones are sold each year. We want to lower the odds of a battery fire to one in a billion or even to zero." A typical lithium-ion battery consists of two tightly packed electrodes a carbon anode and a lithium metal-oxide cathode with an ultrathin polymer separator in between. The separator keeps the electrodes apart. If it's damaged, the battery could short-circuit and ignite the flammable electrolyte solution that shuttles lithium ions back and forth. "The separator is made of the same material used in plastic bottles," said graduate student Denys Zhuo, co-lead author of the study. "It's porous so that lithium ions can flow between the electrodes as the battery charges and discharges." Manufacturing defects, such as particles of metal and dust, can pierce the separator and trigger shorting, as Sony discovered in 2006. Shorting can also occur if the battery is charged too fast or when the temperature is too low a phenomenon known as overcharge. "Overcharging causes lithium ions to get stuck on the anode and pile up, forming chains of lithium metal called dendrites," Cui explained. "The dendrites can penetrate the porous separator and eventually make contact with the cathode, causing the battery to short." Smart separator "In the last couple of years we've been thinking about building a smart separator that can detect shorting before the dendrites reach the cathode," said Cui, a member of the photon science faculty at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/) at Stanford. To address the problem, Cui and his colleagues applied a nanolayer of copper onto one side of a polymer separator, creating a novel third electrode halfway between the anode and the cathode. "The copper layer acts like a sensor that allows you to measure the voltage difference between the anode and the separator," Zhuo said. "When the dendrites grow long enough to reach the copper coating, the voltage drops to zero. That lets you know that the dendrites have grown halfway across the battery. It's a warning that the battery should be removed before the dendrites reach the cathode and cause a short circuit." The buildup of dendrites is most likely to occur during charging, not during the discharge phase when the battery is being used. "You might get a message on your phone telling you that the voltage has dropped to zero, so the battery needs to be replaced," Zhuo said. "That would give you plenty of lead time. But when you see smoke or a fire, you have to shut down immediately. You might not have time to escape. If you wanted to err on the side of being safer, you could put the copper layer closer to the anode. That would let you know even sooner when a battery is likely to fail." Locating defects In addition to observing a drop in voltage, co-lead author Hui Wu was able to pinpoint where the dendrites had punctured the copper conductor simply by measuring the electrical resistance between the separator and the cathode. He confirmed the location of the tiny puncture holes by actually watching the dendrites grow under a microscope. "The copper coating on the polymer separator is only 50 nanometers thick, about 500 times thinner than the separator itself," said Wu, a postdoctoral fellow in the Cui group. "The coated separator is quite flexible and porous, like a conventional polymer separator, so it has negligible effect on the flow of lithium ions between the cathode and the anode. Adding this thin conducting layer doesn't change the battery's performance, but it can make a huge difference as far as safety." Most lithium-ion batteries are used in small electronic devices. "But as the electric vehicle market expands and we start to replace on-board electronics on airplanes, this will become a much larger problem," Zhuo said. "The bigger the battery pack, the more important this becomes," Cui added. "Some electric cars today are equipped with thousands of lithium-ion battery cells. If one battery explodes, the whole pack can potentially explode." The early-warning technology can also be used in zinc, aluminum and other metal batteries. "It will work in any battery that would require you to detect a short before it explodes," Cui said. Stanford graduate student Desheng Kong also co-authored the study. Support was provided by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Source: Stanford University (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/october/smart-battery-cui-101314.html)
Nanotechnology process makes heat-resistant dyes
You may have heard about the hazards posed by pranksters who shine laser pointers at airplanes during takeoff or landing. One way to keep those beams of concentrated light from blinding pilots is to incorporate a special dye in the cockpit windows, one that blocks the wavelengths of laser light while letting other wavelengths through. Optical dyes can be used to control color and light in applications ranging from laser welding to production of sunglasses and plasma TVs. The dyes used for this purpose are often expensive; others are cheap but apt to decompose when exposed to heat. A better set of options optical dyes that are both economical and stable is about to hit the market, thanks to researchers at Binghamton University. Wayne Jones, professor of chemistry and chair of Binghamtons chemistry department, received a $50,000 investment from SUNYs Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) for a new process to bind organic dyes to metal oxides. The investment will help Jones and his lab further develop the process and scale up for commercial production. Jones made the discovery in collaboration with Bill Bernier, a research professor in the chemistry department, and graduate student Kenneth Skorenko. The organic dyes that form the focus of their research are small organic molecules. In the presence of high temperature, they tend to react with oxygen and water in the atmosphere, Jones says. The reaction causes the dyes to break down. That makes them a poor choice to use, for example, in plastics that are melted for extrusion or molding. The new process runs an electric current through a metal electrode to create charged nanoparticles of metal oxide, which bind to molecules of the dye. The bound molecular composite is stable at temperatures higher than needed in most industrial applications. Jones and his collaborators have used a prototype of this process to make polymer pellets infused with a light-controlling dye. We hope the TAF investment is going to allow us to take this to full-scale manufacturing, he says. Jones lab has patented the binding process. To commercialize the invention, the researchers formed a small company, ChromaNanoTech, with Bernier as chief executive officer and Skorenko as chief technology officer. The company will operate in Binghamton Universitys business incubator. One potential customer has already sent ChromaNanoTech a purchase order for a large quantity of dye, Jones says. But theres a catch. The purchase order doesnt become effective until we can produce a kilogram a week, he says. In a research lab like mine, typically were delighted if we produce one gram a week. So we have to scale up a thousand fold. The TAF investment will help the company do just that, allowing the startup to buy new equipment and hire Skorenko, who will work on technologies to make the process run faster. Jones and his team also plan to develop and commercialize additional processes for stabilizing dyes. ChromaNanoTech has formed a partnership with a dye manufacturer that has hundreds of dyes in its portfolio, none of them currently suitable for applications involving high temperature plastics. We can potentially convert all of them, Jones says, and have a wide series of these dyes.Source: Binghampton University (http://discovere.binghamton.edu/news/dye-5865.html)
$18-million NSF investment aims to take flat materials to new heights
2-D alternatives to graphene may enable exciting advances in electronics, photonics, sensors and other applications. Graphene, a form of carbon in which a single layer of atoms forms a two-dimensional, honeycomb crystal lattice, conducts electricity and heat efficiently and interacts with light in unusual ways. These properties have led to worldwide efforts in exploring its use in electronics, photonics and many other applications.
Nanomanufacturing Goals for the National Nanotechnology Initiative: Breaking Down the NNI ...
As we review the various reports that have been made available to the public over the past few years regarding the federal investment in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (http://nano.gov) (NNI), we continue to observe key language that supports the nanomanufacturing community broadly. An example is the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which in their 2012 Assessment of the NNI (http://eprints.internano.org/1838/) cited the need for increased investment for nanomanufacturing and commercialization related activities. More recently, the 2014 NNI Strategic Plan (http://eprints.internano.org/1921/) provides a roadmap for key steps to support and foster these activities. Excerpts from this report describe the key goals relevant to nanomanufacturing as follows;
New oxide nanoparticle extreme-UV photoresists achieve high sensitivity
High-performance photoresists made from metal oxide nanoparticles offer high-sensitivity lithography at extreme-UV wavelengths by using a new ligand-based patterning mechanism.
Startup scales up graphene production, develops biosensors and supercapacitors
An official of a materials technology and manufacturing startup based on a Purdue University innovation says his company is addressing the challenge of scaling graphene production for commercial applications. Glenn Johnson, CEO of BlueVine Graphene Industries Inc. (http://www.bluevinegraphene.com/), said many of the methodologies being utilized to produce graphene today are not easily scalable and require numerous post-processing steps to use it in functional applications. He said the company's product development team has developed a way to scale the production of graphene to meet commercial volumes and many different applications. "Our graphene electrodes are created using a roll-to-roll chemical vapor deposition process, and then they are combined with other materials utilizing a different roll-to-roll process," he said. "We can give the same foundational graphene electrodes entirely different properties, utilizing standard or custom materials that we are developing for our own commercial products. In essence what we've done is developed scalable graphene electrodes that are foundational pieces and can be easily customized to unique customer applications." Timothy Fisher, founder and Chief Technology Officer of BlueVine Graphene Industries, developed the technology. He also is the James G. Dwyer Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue. The patented technology has been exclusively licensed to BlueVine Graphene Industries through the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization. "We're moving up to roll-to-roll, large-scale manufacturing capabilities. These roll-to-roll systems allow us to increase output by a thousand-fold over the original research-scale processes," Fisher said. "These state-of-the-art systems allow us to leverage the game-changing properties of graphene and, in particular, our graphene petal technology, called Folium, at production scales that provide tremendous pricing advantages." BlueVine Graphene Industries already is developing and testing two commercial applications for its Folium technology: biosensors and supercapacitors. Johnson said the company's first-generation glucose monitoring technology could impact the use of traditional testing systems like lancets, which are made with gold and other precious metals. The second-generation technology could allow people to use non-invasive methods to test their glucose levels through saliva, tears or urine. "Patient non-compliance with doctor-recommended glucose testing frequency can be a problem. By making lancets more affordable and potentially non-invasive, we are addressing a critical global need," he said. "More frequent tests could lead to better control of the disease, which could lead to an associated reduction in health risks." Supercapacitors are BlueVine Graphene Industries' second application under development for its Folium graphene. Johnson said the company's graphene supercapacitors are reaching the energy density of lithium-ion batteries without a similar energy fade over time. "Our graphene-based supercapacitors charge in just a fraction of the time needed to charge lithium-ion batteries. There are many consumer, industrial and military applications," he said. "Wouldn't it be great if mobile phones could be fully recharged in only a matter of minutes, and if they kept working like new, year after year?" Johnson said the company will refine its production and quality assurance processes to produce commercial volumes of the Folium graphene. "We also are focused on working with potential customers to continue to develop baseline products for both our biosensor and supercapacitor applications," he said. BlueVine Graphene Industries is one of more than 20 startups based on Purdue intellectual property that were launched in the 2014 fiscal year. For information about leadership positions, investing in a Purdue startup or licensing a Purdue innovation, visit http://www.purduefoundry.com (http://www.purduefoundry.com ) Source: Purdue University (http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2014/Q3/purdue-based-startup-scales-up-graphene-production,-develops-biosensors-and-supercapacitors.html)
EPA Requests Comments on Nanomaterials Manufacturing and Formulating for Effluent Guidelines ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of the combined Final 2012 and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans (http://eprints.internano.org/cgi/users/home?screen=EPrint::View eprintid=2215). EPA requests comments (http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/304m/index.cfm) on its Preliminary 2014 Plan, including the data and information used to support the findings, actions, and conclusions as stated in the Preliminary 2014 Plan. EPA seeks public comment and stakeholder input, data, and information on several topics, including nanomaterials manufacturing and formulating. The notice states: EPA is collecting data and information on the potential industrial wastewater discharge hazards associated with nanomaterials manufacturing and formulating. EPA requests public comment and stakeholder input relating to any information or data available on the wastewater hazards and discharges associated with the manufacture of nanomaterials and their use in manufacturing or formulating products, as well as any other information believed to be relevant. Comments are due November 17, 2014.Source: EPA (http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/304m/index.cfm)
New process allows fully additive roll-to-roll printing of flexible electrochromic devices
Electrochromic materials exhibit reversible optical change in the visible region when they are subjected to an electric charge. These switchable materials can be used for 'smart' windows in buildings, cars and airplanes as well as in information displays and eye wear. An electrochromic device is one of the most attractive candidates for paper-like displays, so called electronic paper, which will be the next generation display, owing to attributes such as thin and flexible materials, low-power consumption, and fast switching times. Electrochromic devices (ECDs) generally consist of a structure where certain material layers, among them an electrolyte, are sandwiched together. A major limitation until now has been the necessity to use the very expensive indium tin oxide (ITO) as transparent electrodes. ITO's brittleness makes it unsuitable for flexible device applications and its fabrication process vacuum-coating, high-temperature annealing is incompatible with plastic-based substrates. "ECD structure and manufacturing is to a wide extent challenged by the electrolyte component," Frederik C. Krebs (http://www.dtu.dk/english/Service/Phonebook/Person?id=3454), a professor and head of section of Energy Conversion and Storage at the Technical University of Denmark, tells Nanowerk. "As it remains common practice to employ a semisolid adhesive gel electrolyte, fabrication of devices is limited to separately coating of the two electrodes before finalizing the device in a lamination step; a technical challenge in a simple roll-to-roll (R2R) process and an impossibility in advanced R2R processes with 2D registration requirements." In new work, reported in the September 5, 2014 online edition of Advanced Materials ("From the Bottom Up Flexible Solid State Electrochromic Devices" (http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1002/adma.201402771)), Krebs and first author Dr. Jacob Jensen describe solid state electrochromic devices, manufactured by sequentially stacking layers in one direction using flexographic printing and slot-die coating methods. The novelty of this bottom-up printing process for electrochromic device fabrication is the use of printed grid structures in combination with printable electrolytes that can be crosslinked in such a way that many layers can be printed on top of each other. Whereas previous processes have employed the lamination of two separately prepared films, this new method provides the ability to constitute multilayer structures with functionality through printing layers consecutively on top of each other. "We show how using a specially developed 'curing chamber' mounted on a mini roll coater solid state electrochromic devices can be manufactured continuously in one direction, i.e., from the bottom and up, using slot-die coating and flexographic printing," says Krebs. "This technique eliminates the need for a lamination step and enables fully additive roll-to-roll processes." This considerably simplified process constitutes an important step towards R2R manufacturing of ECDs without having to employ brittle materials such as ITO. This new paper extends the team's previous reports on ECD manufacture such as "Fast Switching ITO Free Electrochromic Devices" (http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1002/adfm.201302320) in Advanced Functional Materials and "Manufacture and Demonstration of Organic Photovoltaic-Powered Electrochromic Displays Using Roll Coating Methods and Printable Electrolytes" (http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1002/polb.23038) in the Journal of Polymer Science. The ability to cheaply mass-produce ECDs will find applications ranging from light management and shading to large area/low cost displays such as billboards. Basically, it is a simple way of printing thin, very low cost and low power consumption display devices. The compromises that need to be made with this process are slow switching speed and relatively poor contrast. Both can be improved, notes Krebs, but since these devices rely on a chemical reaction taking place when changing color there are limits to the switching speed that can be reached. Krebs points out that the current version of his team's ITO- and vacuum-free grid electrodes still require further optimization to achieve the same optical transmission as the brittle ITO. Source: Nanowerk (http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=37388.php)
Nanoscale Offset Printing System (NanoOPS) Offers Potentially Transformative Nanomanufacturing ...
The Northeastern Universitys NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) has developed a fully-automated system that uses offset-type printing technologies at the nanoscale to make products that fully take advantage of the superior properties of nanomaterials. In minutes, the system can print metals, organic and inorganic materials, polymers, and nanoscale structures and circuits (down to 25 nanometers) onto flexible or inflexible substrates. The Nanoscale Offset Printing System (NanoOPS) is a new system that has the potential to transform nanomanufacturing and spur innovation. Because of its relative simplicity, NanoOPS is expected to eliminate some of the high cost entry barriers to the fabrication of nanoscale devices for electronics, energy, medical, and functional materials applications. Current nanofabrication facilities cost billions of dollars to build, and their operation requires massive quantities of water and power. NanoOPS could operate at a fraction of the cost, making nanomanufacturing accessible to innovators and entrepreneurs, and creating the potential for a wave of creativity, perhaps similar to what the PC did for computing and what the 3D printer is doing for design. In addition to reducing manufacturing costs, NanoOPS will go beyond current fabrication capabilities by enabling the commercialization of products enabled by the properties of nanoscale materials, such as nanotubes, that have been demonstrated in laboratory settings. This will enable critical manufacturing in areas such as new and more affordable medicines; stronger, lighter building materials; or faster, cheaper electronics. NanoOPS was designed jointly by the CHN team and Milara, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of specialized equipment for the semiconductor industry, and subsequently built by Milara. This enables industry and innovators access to unique, emerging nanoscale process tools transitioning directly from a NSF NSEC. This exciting development provides a prime example of the new emphasis on science and technology investments by the federal government effectively transitioning to impact the commercial sector. The CHN will be hosting a NanoOPS Demonstration to be held on September 17, 2014 at Northeastern Universitys Burlington, MA campus. Please contact Eric Howard, email@example.com (mailto:email@example.com) or check out http://nano.server281.com/nanoops-day/ (http://nano.server281.com/nanoops-day/) for more details or to RSVP to this event.
NanoBCA Interview with Allen Gelwick, Executive VP, Lockton Companies
The NanoBCA conducted an interview on August 27, 2014 with Allen Gelwick, Executive VP of Lockton Companies. Mr. Gelwick is one of Americas leading insurance experts and has been an active participant in the nano community for over a decade. NanoBCA: Historically, how has the insurance sector dealt with nanotechnology? Mr. Gelwick: The insurance industry thus far has essentially dealt with nanotechnology by taking a wait and see approach. This is not unusual as the nature of insurance is to look retrospectively at events to determine how to set policies and rates. The challenge here is that nanotechnology is an emerging technology with little or no history. Thus, insurers cannot use the past to accurately predict future events. A basic tenant of the insurance sector is to rely on accurate predictive capabilities, which simply do yet not exist for nanotechnology. NanoBCA: Are there any steps that the insurance sector can take while waiting for data? Mr. Gelwick: Without the benefit of adequate historical data, the insurance sector has done its best to try to develop an understanding of risks associated with nanotechnology. To that end, risk control experts and actuaries from the major insurance carriers have engaged in nanotech specific conferences and meetings for over a decade with the intention to better understand risks associated with this emerging technology. They have also looked to government agencies for guidance. NanoBCA: Why cant an insurer just make an educated guess and then revise rates as the data become available? Mr. Gelwick: Actuarial science is the discipline used by insurance companies to establish pricing. Its a data driven discipline that does not lend itself to the flexibility you suggest. However, there are some actuaries who believe that emerging risk can and should be quantified. This creates somewhat of double-edge sword for insurers which could result in increases in reserves by the insurer, adversely impacting the insurers ability to remain competitive, in order to cover the risk. NanoBCA: If my nanotech company today has a standard policy, am I not already covered to some extent regarding risks arising from nanotechnology? Mr. Gelwick: There has been growing discussion in the insurance sector regarding the potential coverage implications due to specific existing coverages such as Products Liability, Workers Compensation, Health, Professional liability and Environmental liability. While there is not a specific nanotechnology exclusion written into the policy, Products, Liabilities, and Professional Liability (D O, Medical Malpractice, EPO, etc) should raise a serious concern to the insurers as well as the company and their investors. Health coverages are likely to assume a majority of the emerging health risks. The good news is our health plans and workers compensation policies should continue to respond. Some of the insurance industry articles have discussed products recall as an exposure, but this exposure is not generally covered by insurance and instead remains a specialty coverage. Perhaps most surprising is that neither health insurers nor state-funded Workers Compensation carriers have become vocal yet on the implications of this emerging technology. Those two will likely have the greatest share of liability. NanoBCA: Risks that are akin to those contemplated with a nanomaterial have been around for a long time, say for instance in the chemicals sector. Are there not established mechanisms in the insurance sector to deal with such risks? Mr. Gelwick: This is a good segue into why coverage should be reviewed. Unlike most professional liability and environmental policies that generally incorporate a "claims-made" coverage trigger, most U.S. products liability policies currently use an "occurrence" coverage trigger.We are now getting into some nuances that I am happy to discuss with anyone who is interested to dig deeper on this topic. Suffice it to say that there are significant pricing and potential liability dollar amounts that result from the type of coverage trigger. I will be covering this topic in more detail in some upcoming publications. NanoBCA: One last question on this topic: you mentioned U.S. policies; are European policies different? Mr. Gelwick: To some extent, yes. Claims-made coverage for products and completed operations is common in Europe, but not in the U.S. NanoBCA: What, if anything, is being reported in the insurance sector literature on the topic of nanotechnology? Mr. Gelwick: Articles on the topic of nanotechnology risk generally convey that a steep learning curve is underway and that the regulatory framework, which will govern nanotechnology, is still a work in progress. There are excellent high level and introductory articles offering views on this promising technology that, to date, come mostly from global insurers such as Allianz, ACE, Chubb, Gen Re, Lloyds, Swiss Re, and Zurich etc. However, very few of these publications have yet to discuss potential coverage issues. NanoBCA: Does a nano-specific policy exist yet in the marketplace? Mr. Gelwick: AIG's licensed non-admitted carrier, Lexington Insurance, is the first carrier to offer a nano-specific coverage, known as LexNano Shield. Another surplus lines carrier (a licensed non-admitted carrier in the U.S. - meaning they operate outside of any state guarantee funds and are essentially unregulated as it relates to coverage), James River, is also willing to underwrite and cover some nanotechnology related risks. Aspen currently incorporates nanotechnology questions that if addressed can affirm coverage. And finally, Zurich developed its ZNEPtm protocol to underwrite nanotechnology exposures. NanoBCA: Sounds like progress is being made to address some of the concerns you mentioned above? Mr. Gelwick: Yes, but as an aside, Lexington continues to advise companies in the nano space save the $5,000 or more per year by rolling the dice that there are no nano specific coverage exclusions (and perceive that retaining Occurrence coverage will protect them.) This is a bet, that if wrong, could impair an exit strategy or otherwise adversely impact your investors. No doubt that entrepreneurs will take risks. And, when it works out, we tend to romanticize this behavior. When it does not work out, however, investors and the public are at risk. A difference between Europe and the U.S. is that regulations are already being implemented in Europe and the public demands that risks are assessed before products are introduced to the marketplace. Regulations in the U.S. are inevitably coming, but as stated previously, the sector is largely unregulated currently and insurers are in a reactive mode rather than a proactive mode. NanoBCA: Do insurers use nanotechnology as a classification for coverage analysis, or do they look at more distint categorization? Mr. Gelwick: The insurance industry, like regulators and scientists, continue to argue over the definition of nanotechnology. While this discussion focuses on nanotechnology, we should note that chemicals also remain largely uncharacterized. Insurers therefore usually require a Claims-made coverage trigger to address their inability to assess the risks of long-term exposures to certain chemicals. From an underwriting standpoint, and with a lack of an adequate regulatory framework, insurers are applying protocols often adapted from the chemical, medical and environmental exposures to underwrite emerging technologies. An example of how underwriters can underwrite in the absence of specific classifications is Zurich's ZNEPtm. NanoBCA: What specific questions about nanomaterials are insurers most concerned about? Mr. Gelwick: Every article that I have seen suggests that toxicological assessments of nanomaterials are broadly needed. And although a tremendous amount of funding has been expended to develop nanomaterials, the smallest portion of that funding has been assigned to understanding risk. For instance, we find that very few nanomaterials have been characterized for EHS purposes. Further, a smaller percentage of those have been independently evaluated by toxicologists for impacts on workers, consumers and the environment. Without such evaluation, I believe there exists a false sense of security for us all. NanoBCA: Can you sum this up for us more in laymans terms? Mr. Gelwick: Keep in mind that insurance is simply a method to finance business risk. Insurance carriers and risk practices use risk identification as a necessary first step, then they measure the risks identified, as best they can, to determine the cost of risk transfer through insurance. Any business should use a similar process to decide whether to transfer the risk to a qualified insurer, or alternatively to retain the risk. NanoBCA: So, it sounds like you are saying that many companies do not do this? Mr. Gelwick: Well, we can start by acknowledging that less than 100 nanomaterials have been characterized, yet there are in active development. Universities, where a majority of the research is conducted, have proven to be very reluctant to allow independent safety assessments of their nanomaterial laboratory activities. Small companies tend to not have the funds necessary to properly assess nanosafety, or at least they perceive the cost as too expensive. And, larger companies, like Johnson Johnson, tend to be self-insured and may or may not have an understanding of the risks including risks to supply chains upon which they rely. NanoBCA: As you mentioned previously though, insurance policies do, to some extent, currently cover risks associated with nanotechnologies? Mr. Gelwick: Generally, the structure of the policies relevant here are classified as occurrence policies which means that if you have a policy for year 2014, then any claim in future years (say, in 2018) that points to an event in 2014, will be covered by the terms of the policy as it existed in 2014. (Note: every state has different laws in this regard which creates a level of complexity). So, for illustration sake, if an occurrence policy does not exclude nano, then in many states, plaintiffs attorneys would be able to sue for every single year, under a separate policy for each year, that a suspect material was produced. This creates a scenario where multiple claims are possible. That is why the occurrence coverage trigger vs. the claims made coverage trigger presents such significantly different financial consequences. NanoBCA: So, is this scenario bad for the insured, or the insurer, or both? Mr. Gelwick: Any ambiguity usually works to the benefit of the insured. Thus, it is commonly believed that this is ultimately a problem for the insurer. However, the reality is that this scenario will likely hurt the insured more because the company may end up in a situation, post claim, that it can not find an insurer that will provide coverage at an acceptable costmoving forward from any claims which, as mentioned above, could also impact exit strategies for investors. As claims increase, insurers will predictably evolve to either limiting coverage or creating exclusions. NanoBCA: You make a good point. But, what claims are out there currently? Mr. Gelwick: Of current significance is the recent hip replacement claims against Johnson Johnson and its subsidiaries. These claims account for over $4 billion in offered settlements by Johnson Johnson. You can bet that plaintiff attorneys are considering this as a template for future litigation on other products. NanoBCA: Arent the insurers incentivized to figure out a way to create a market to sell nano specific policies, and to control risks associated therewith? Mr. Gelwick: Yes, and they are working on it. For starters, the reinsurance sector will likely begin inserting and requiring answers to nanomaterial specific questions to assist with the underwriting process. This will force the applicant to answer difficult risk questions associated with nanomaterials. Since nanomaterials are rarely disclosed, yet are commonly incorporated into products, it is currently almost impossible for insureds to answer these questions completely. Failure to do so, however, will likely create coverage gaps, particularly as it relates to supply chain risk. This process will, in some instances, evolve to create insurance exclusions. However, where enough understanding and data is available, buy-back policies or endorsements will likely become available. NanoBCA: Is there a precedent for this seemingly awkward point in time that we are in with regard to nanotech and insurance? Mr. Gelwick: Most would cite asbestos and the evolution of pollution exclusions, but this in my view this is too narrow a focus and assumes the worst when it is more likely that only a limited percentage of nanotechnology will equate to this level of risk. In fact, nanotechnology will likely help reduce risks in the future, as evidenced by nano enabled products that can clean-up pollution. However, I agree with some observers who believe that we are in unchartered territory as the number of new and innovative chemicals, not to even mention nanomaterials,that have recently been introduced into commerce is growing at a steep exponential rate. Risks are not yet known as to most of these. Michael Depledge, the former Chief Scientific Advisor of the UK Governments Environment Agency, gave a presentation on point this June in London at the Royal Institute for EMTECH, an emerging fund being created to invest in emerging technologies. He offered two slides that from an insurance standpoint help us consider emerging risk from a historical standpoint. Those slides illustrated that the lag time from the introduction of any new technology to the adequate recognition and understanding of associated risks is generally about 10 years. The number of new chemicals and materials has experienced truly off-the-charts exponential growth in the 21st Century. What the future holds in terms of risk is literally growing faster than we can possibly fathom. NanoBCA: So, how do you manage this increase of unknown risks? Mr. Gelwick: Insurance companies will simply have to increase the size of their reserve funds to offset incurred and unknown risks on these new materials because they may likely have to pay claims on them down the line. NanoBCA: Any other observations to share regarding the future of nanotechnology risk insurance? Mr. Gelwick: People often ask me if insurers will simply exclude nanotechnology. Nanotechnologies have been in the stream of commerce now for over ten years and, to date, only one insurance company that we know of has put an exclusion on nanotechnology. But things are changing rapidly. Most insurance companies are starting to consider nanotechnology through their underwriting groups already supporting high hazard classes of business such as chemical companies or environmental exposures. The analysis of insuring consumable products will follow except to the extent the exposures are covered by regulatory agencies such as the FDA. Ultimately, nanotechnology will be incorporated into all realms of insurance risk assessment and coverage. NanoBCA: What do you see as the toughest questions emerging in the arena of nanotechnology risk and liability? Mr. Gelwick: How do you exclude something from a policy if even the applicant doesnt know that the risk exists? There are many risks that we just simply do not know yet. How does that play out in court? Can those risks legally be excluded? Probably not, but these things will play out in court. And that will take some time. NanoBCA: So, what conclusions, if any, can we make about the future course of insurance for nano? Mr. Gelwick: I would conclude that there will continue to be a lot of confusion in the future, at least the near future 5 to 10 years. It seems logical to me that insurers might shift Products, Liability from the occurrence coverage model to a claims made coverage model as discussed earlier. The advantage of the claims made model is to limit the cost of distracting and expensive litigation. This model really appears to be best suited for an emerging technology with unknown risks, such as nanotechnology. Insurers will need to broaden tail coverage to be able to offer reasonable pre-agreed pricing for tail coverage and to structure these policies to reflect the different statute of repose for different states providing confidence to the insured. This enables a more sustainable economic model for all stakeholders. NanoBCA: What role will the pending hip replacement class action products liability lawsuits have on the insurance sector? Mr. Gelwick: Frankly, I see the hip replacement litigation serving as a roadmap for more claims from the plaintiffs bar. They will not only look prospectively at new products and new claims, but will also look retrospectively at the possibility of adding nanotech specific claims to products produced over the past ten or so years. Each day that we as a nanotech business community fail to address issues we have discussed today, simply benefits those who make their livings from litigation. NanoBCA: Do you attach any historical significance to this hip replacement litigation? Mr. Gelwick: Yes, I think we are indeed at a watershed moment. Previously there have not been any claims against insurance policies, or allegations contained in lawsuits, that specifically cite nano anything. This hip replacement litigation, which is resulting in settlements in the billions of dollars, is the first to identify nano as a specific allegation of causation. Note that only the surface of the hip incorporated nanotechnology, yet it appears to be the proximate cause of loss. This is significant because it serves to educate the plaintiffs bar that nanomaterials exist and may be a component of causation, and thus liability, of other products in the future (and the past). Also, given what we know about the huge volume of products in the flow of commerce that include nanomaterials, it is reasonable to assume that this hip replacement litigation is the first of many to come that will implicate nanomaterials. NanoBCA: This is all very enlightening and confusing at the same time. As you say, confusion is likely to reign for a while longer. With that in mind, should nanomaterials companies seek insurance coverage today? And, how would they get it? Mr. Gelwick: Yes, nanomaterials companies should absolutely seek coverage. If anything, the hip replacement litigation shows us that liability is very real and that it can be extremely expensive to find yourself as a defendant in a products liability and recall action without coverage to the point that it could easily destroy companies that do not have a good risk strategy plan in place. I hope and suspect that the nanomaterial producer, or producers, for Johnson Johnson had a contract(s) holding them harmless, or their business(es) could be in jeopardy. So, use of contracts to mitigate its risks become critical. We also now know that taking the approach of putting your head in the sand to feign ignorance will be no match in a court of law against the reasonableness standard of independently assessing safety. From an insurance standpoint this will trigger a common coverage exclusion expected or intended creating grounds for an insurance carrier to deny coverage. A more prudent approach, in my estimation, would be for companies to pursue Claims-made coverage, broadened from traditional offerings as we discussed, to affirm there is coverage for nanomaterials that are known and to include those materials the insured can be reasonably held to have known contained nanomaterials. And, companies should make efforts to fully understand, to the extent possible, the nano risks associated with their business and products. This would include toxicological analysis and data regarding risks to their workers, consumers, and the environment. Ultimately this understanding and data will be very useful because insurers (as well as current shareholders and future investors) are going to demand answers to these questions. Moreover, EPA requires this data for approval of manufacturing and sales of nanomaterials in the U.S. Larger companies that utilize nanomaterials from third parties are also at risk. They are likely not aware of whether a supply chain risk exists that may seriously disrupt their production schedules. These large companies may want to consider purchasing aggregate stops on their large retention cash flow programs.
Advanced Nanomanufacturing at the Core of Potential New DARPA Program
The benefits of nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing include significantly improved properties of many common materials when fabricated at nanoscale or molecular dimensions. Examples of these properties include quantized electrical characteristics, enhanced adhesion and surface properties, superior thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties, and tunable light absorption and scattering. Scaling these properties for nano-enabled products and systems, could offer potentially revolutionary performance and capabilities for defense, security, and commercial applications while providing significant societal and economic impact. Key challenges and barriers remain to realizing such nano-enabled technologies that are central to emerging nanomanufacturing techniques, including retaining the nanoscale properties in materials at larger scales, and the maturity of assembly techniques for structures between the nanoscale and 100 microns. Recently, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has created the Atoms to Product (A2P) program to address and help overcome these challenges. The program seeks to develop enhanced technologies for assembling nanoscale elements coupled with integration and scale-up of these components into materials and systems to product scale in ways that preserve and exploit the distinctive nanoscale properties of the core element. We want to explore new ways of putting incredibly tiny things together, with the goal of developing new miniaturization and assembly methods that would work at scales 100,000 times smaller than current state-of-the-art technology, said John Main (http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Personnel/Dr__John_Main.aspx), DARPA program manager, quoted from the DARPA website announcement (http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/08/22.aspx). If successful, A2P could help enable creation of entirely new classes of materials that exhibit nanoscale properties at all scales. It could lead to the ability to miniaturize materials, processes and devices that cant be miniaturized with current technology, as well as build three-dimensional products and systems at much smaller sizes. The A2P program supports the emphasis on key challenges of nanomanufacturing for given applications extending previous investments in fundamental science and materials research. In this case, several emerging nanomanufacturing approaches and platforms are likely to contribute to such a program concept, including nanoimprint lithography, directed self-assembly (DSA), layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly, additive driven assembly, and hybrid processes incorporating solution-based and vacuum-based processing approaches. Further scalability through adaptation to existing manufacturing infrastructure such as roll-to-roll and print, additive manufacturing, or semiconductor batch type processing is likely to accelerate the pathway to commercialization, and further position these emerging nanomanufacturing processes for the eventual Factory of the Future. To familiarize potential participants with the technical objectives of the A2P program, DARPA has scheduled identical Proposers Day webinars. Participants must register through the registration website: DARPA (http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2014/08/22.aspx)
Large Area Growth of Single Layer Hexagonal Boron Nitride Films
Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a material of significant interest due to the strong ionic bonding of boron and nitrogen atoms that provides unique properties, including the thinnest insulating nanomaterial, exhibiting a bandgap of 5.9 eV, with superior chemical, mechanical, and thermal stability. In addition, h-BN provides an ideal substrate for improving the electrical properties of graphene since the surface is atomically smooth and free of dangling bonds, thereby reducing charge scattering effects resulting in an order of magnitude increase in graphene charge mobility over materials grown on silicon or silicon dioxide. Previously, the method to synthesize monolayer n-BN utilized ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) using borazine as a precursor on single crystal transition metal substrates, such as nickel, platinum, or silver, but proved difficult to scale. Polycrystalline metal foils (Ni, Co, Cu, and Pt) were additionally used to grow h-BN using regular chemical vapor deposition (CVD), but the thickness and quality of the films critically depended on surface morphology and crystal orientation of the substrate. High quality h-BN has been synthesized on Pt foils using ammonia borane precursor, yet control of film thickness and domain size remains a challenge for scaling, and the specific growth mechanisms are not well understood. Recently, Park et.al., reported results from a systematic study for synthesis of large area single layer h-BN films on polycrystalline Pt foils using low pressure CVD comparing borazine and ammonia borane precursors. The authors goal was to study the effect of the Pt lattice orientation, the total pressure, and the different cooling rate in order to understand h-BN growth mechanisms. Since nitrogen is not soluble in Pt, the authors objective was to confirm the contributions to h-BN growth surface mediated and precipitation processes. The study included analysis of film properties dependence on cooling rate and crystal orientation of the substrate. Their findings demonstrated that film growth was by a surface mediated growth mechanism, facilitated by a catalytic reaction, that produced polycrystalline h-BN monolayers confined by the underlying Pt surface orientation. The thickness of the h-BN films exhibited a dependence on the Pt surface orientation, presumably determined by the available catalytic reaction sites that decompose the borazine precursor, which would exhibit a dependence on crystal orientation. Improved understanding of h-BN growth mechanisms will potentially lead to methods for controlling the growth of high-quality h-BN films. This further provides the basis for materials and substrates for application in quantum tunneling devices, novel heterostructures, and two-dimensional semiconductors such as molybdenum sulfide and graphene.Reference: Park J, Park JC, Yun SJ, Kim H, Luong DH, Kim SM, Choi SH, Yang W, Kong J, Kim KK, Lee YH. Large-Area Monolayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride on Pt Foil. ACS Nano. 2014; 8 (8): 8520-852 doi: 10.1021/nn503140y (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nn503140y#showRef) Image reprinted with permission from American Chemical Society.
Nanotechnology engineering produces a water splitter that runs on an ordinary AAA battery
In 2015, American consumers will finally be able to purchase fuel cell cars from Toyota and other manufacturers. Although touted as zero-emissions vehicles, most of the cars will run on hydrogen made from natural gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to global warming. Now scientists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. The battery sends an electric current through two electrodes that split liquid water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. Unlike other water splitters that use precious-metal catalysts, the electrodes in the Stanford device are made of inexpensive and abundant nickel and iron. "Using nickel and iron, which are cheap materials, we were able to make the electrocatalysts active enough to split water at room temperature with a single 1.5-volt battery," said Hongjie Dai (http://dailab.stanford.edu/), a professor of chemistry at Stanford. "This is the first time anyone has used non-precious metal catalysts to split water at a voltage that low. It's quite remarkable, because normally you need expensive metals, like platinum or iridium, to achieve that voltage." In addition to producing hydrogen, the novel water splitter could be used to make chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide, an important industrial chemical, according to Dai. He and his colleagues describe the new device in a study (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5695) published in the Aug. 22 issue of the journal Nature Communications. The promise of hydrogen Automakers have long considered the hydrogen fuel cell a promising alternative to the gasoline engine. Fuel cell technology is essentially water splitting in reverse. A fuel cell combines stored hydrogen gas with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, which powers the car. The only byproduct is water unlike gasoline combustion, which emits carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.Earlier this year, Hyundai began leasing fuel cell vehicles in Southern California. Toyota and Honda will begin selling fuel cell cars in 2015. Most of these vehicles will run on fuel (http://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/natural-gas-reforming) manufactured at large industrial plants that produce hydrogen by combining very hot steam and natural gas, an energy-intensive process that releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Splitting water to make hydrogen requires no fossil fuels and emits no greenhouse gases. But scientists have yet to develop an affordable, active water splitter with catalysts capable of working at industrial scales. "It's been a constant pursuit for decades to make low-cost electrocatalysts with high activity and long durability," Dai said. "When we found out that a nickel-based catalyst is as effective as platinum, it came as a complete surprise." Saving energy and money The discovery was made by Stanford graduate student Ming Gong, co-lead author of the study. "Ming discovered a nickel-metal/nickel-oxide structure that turns out to be more active than pure nickel metal or pure nickel oxide alone," Dai said. "This novel structure favors hydrogen electrocatalysis, but we still don't fully understand the science behind it." The nickel/nickel-oxide catalyst significantly lowers the voltage required to split water, which could eventually save hydrogen producers billions of dollars in electricity costs, according to Gong. His next goal is to improve the durability of the device. "The electrodes are fairly stable, but they do slowly decay over time," he said. "The current device would probably run for days, but weeks or months would be preferable. That goal is achievable based on my most recent results" The researchers also plan to develop a water splitter than runs on electricity produced by solar energy. "Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for powering vehicles, buildings and storing renewable energy on the grid," said Dai. "We're very glad that we were able to make a catalyst that's very active and low cost. This shows that through nanoscale engineering of materials we can really make a difference in how we make fuels and consume energy."Source: Stanford University (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/splitter-clean-fuel-082014.html)
Optical Microscope Technique Confirmed as Valid Nano-Measurement Tool
Recent experiments have confirmed* that a technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can enable optical microscopes to measure the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of objects at nanometer-scale resolutionfar below the normal resolution limit for optical microscopy (about 250 nanometers for green light). The results could make the technique a useful quality control tool in the manufacture of nanoscale devices such as next-generation microchips. NISTs experiments show that Through-focus Scanning Optical Microscopy (TSOM) is able to detect tiny differences in 3-D shapes, revealing variations of less than 1 nanometer in size among objects less than 50 nm across. Last year,** simulation studies at NIST indicated that TSOM should, in theory, be able to make such distinctions, and now the new measurements confirm it in practice. Up until this point, we had simulations that encouraged us to believe that TSOM could allow us to measure the 3-D shape of structures that are part of many modern computer chips, for example, says NISTs Ravi Attota, who played a major role in TSOMs development. Now, we have proof. The findings should be helpful to anyone involved in manufacturing devices at the nanoscale. Attota and his co-author, Ron Dixson, first measured the size of a number of nanoscale objects using atomic force microscopy (AFM), which can determine size at the nanoscale to high accuracy. However, the great expense and relatively slow speed of AFM means that it is not a cost-effective option for checking the size of large numbers of objects, as is necessary for industrial quality control. TSOM, which uses optical microscopes, is far less restrictiveand allowed the scientists to make the sort of size distinctions a manufacturer would need to make to ensure nanoscale components are constructed properly. Attota adds that TSOM can be used for 3-D shape analysis without needing complex optical simulations, making the process simple and usable even for low-cost nanomanufacturing applications. Removing the need for these simulations is another way TSOM could reduce manufacturing costs, he says. More details on the TSOM technique and its application to 3-D electronics manufacturing can be found in this story (http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20130625.cfm#tsom), which covers the 2013 simulation study. *R. Attota and R.G. Dixson. Resolving three-dimensional shape of sub-50 nm wide lines with nanometer-scale sensitivity using conventional optical microscopes. Applied Physics Letters, 105, 043101, July 29, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4891676 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4891676). **See the June 2013 NIST Tech Beat story, Microscopy Technique Could Help Computer Industry Develop 3-D Components (http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20130625.cfm#tsom) at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20130625.cfm#tsom (http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/tb20130625.cfm#tsom). Source: NIST (http://www.nist.gov/pml/div683/tsom-082614.cfm)
Graphene rubber bands could stretch limits of current healthcare, new research finds
New research published today in the journal ACS Nano ("Sensitive, High-Strain, High-Rate Bodily Motion Sensors Based on GrapheneRubber Composites" (http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1021/nn503454h)) identifies a new type of sensor that can monitor body movements and could help revolutionise healthcare. Although body motion sensors already exist in different forms, they have not been widely used due to their complexity and cost of production. Now researchers from the University of Surrey and Trinity College Dublin have for the first time treated common elastic bands with graphene, to create a flexible sensor that is sensitive enough for medical use and can be made cheaply. Once treated, the rubber bands remain highly pliable. By fusing this material with graphene - which imparts an electromechanical response on movement the team discovered that the material can be used as a sensor to measure a patient's breathing, heart rate or movement, alerting doctors to any irregularities. "Until now, no such sensor has been produced that meets needs and that can be easily made. It sounds like a simple concept, but our graphene-infused rubber bands could really help to revolutionise remote healthcare," said Dr Alan Dalton from the University of Surrey. Co-author, Professor Jonathan Coleman from Trinity College, Dublin commented, "This stretchy material senses motion such as breathing, pulse and joint movement and could be used to create lightweight sensor suits for vulnerable patients such as premature babies, making it possible to remotely monitor their subtle movements and alert a doctor to any worrying behaviours. "These sensors are extraordinarily cheap compared to existing technologies. Each device would probably cost pennies instead of pounds, making it ideal technology for use in developing countries where there are not enough medically trained staff to effectively monitor and treat patients quickly." Source: University of Surrey (https://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/could-elastic-bands-monitor-patients%E2%80%99-breathing)
NSF Workshop for a Future Nanotechnology Infrastructure Support Program Webcast
On August 18 and 19, 2014 the NSF will conduct a Workshop for a Future Nanotechnology Infrastructure Support Program.The workshop is a next step in NSF's preparation for developing a program to succeed the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN (http://nnin.org/)), after having received community input in response to a recent Dear Colleague Letter (DCL 14-068 (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14068/nsf14068.jsp?org=ENG)). To broaden engagement, portions of the Workshop for a Future Nanotechnology Infrastructure Support Program will be webcast. (The approximate webcast times shown below are Eastern Daylight Time.) The workshop will convene a panel of experts from academe, industry, and government to: develop a vision of how a future nanotechnology infrastructure support program could be structured, and determine the key needs for the broad user communities over the coming decade. The workshop is co-chaired by Dr. Thomas Theis (IBM Research, on assignment to the Semiconductor Research Corporation) and Dr. Mark Tuominen (University of Massachusetts, Amherst). More details are in the workshop agenda (http://www.nsf.gov/attachments/132127/public/Workshop_Future_Nanotechnology_Infrastructure_Support_Program.pdf). Webcast: August 18, 2014 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and August 19, 2014 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM Morning sessions of the workshop will be broadcast via WebEx; afternoon breakout sessions will not be broadcast. If you have never used WebEx before or if you want to test your computer's compatibility with WebEx, please go to http://www.webex.com/lp/jointest/ (http://www.webex.com/lp/jointest/), enter the session information and click "Join". Please feel free to contact WebEx Support if you are having trouble joining the test meeting.Session number: 643 345 106 Session password: This session does not require a password. ------------------------------------------------------- To join the session ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Go to https://src.webex.com/src/k2/j.php?MTID=tb5710cac7d8b81a0e0e5c436b48545bc (https://src.webex.com/src/k2/j.php?MTID=tb5710cac7d8b81a0e0e5c436b48545bc) 2. Enter your name and email address. 3. Click "Join Now". 4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. 5. To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the session.------------------------------------------------------- To join the session by phone only ------------------------------------------------------- Call the number below and enter the access code. Toll-free number (US/Canada): 1-877-668-4490 Access code: 643 345 106 Meeting TypeWebcast Contacts Allison Hilbert, 919-941-9433, firstname.lastname@example.com (mailto:email@example.com)Preferred Contact Method: Email NSF Related Organizations NSF-Wide Directorate for Engineering Core Attachments Workshop Future Nanotechnology Infrastructure Support Program (http://www.nsf.gov/attachments/132127/public/Workshop_Future_Nanotechnology_Infrastructure_Support_Program.pdf)Source: NSF (http://www.nsf.gov/events/event_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132127 WT.mc_id=USNSF_13 WT.mc_ev=click)
Biodegradable, Nanoscale Thin Films Release Drugs in Steady Doses Over a Long Period of Time
About one in four older adults suffers from chronic pain. Many of those people take medication, usually as pills. But this is not an ideal way of treating pain: Patients must take medicine frequently, and can suffer side effects, since the contents of pills spread through the bloodstream to the whole body. Now researchers at MIT have refined a technique that could enable pain medication and other drugs to be released directly to specific parts of the body and in steady doses over a period of up to 14 months. The method uses biodegradable, nanoscale thin films laden with drug molecules that are absorbed into the body in an incremental process. Its been hard to develop something that releases [medication] for more than a couple of months, says Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering at MIT, and a co-author of a new paper on the advance. Now were looking at a way of creating an extremely thin film or coating thats very dense with a drug, and yet releases at a constant rate for very long time periods. In the paper, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe the method used in the new drug-delivery system, which significantly exceeds the release duration achieved by most commercial controlled-release biodegradable films. You can potentially implant it and release the drug for more than a year without having to go in and do anything about it, says Bryan Hsu PhD 14, who helped develop the project as a doctoral student in Hammonds lab. You dont have to go recover it. Normally to get long-term drug release, you need a reservoir or device, something that can hold back the drug. And its typically nondegradable. It will release slowly, but it will either sit there and you have this foreign object retained in the body, or you have to go recover it. Layer by layer The paper was co-authored by Hsu, Myoung-Hwan Park of Shamyook University in South Korea, Samantha Hagerman 14, and Hammond, whose lab is in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. The research project tackles a difficult problem in localized drug delivery: Any biodegradable mechanism intended to release a drug over a long time period must be sturdy enough to limit hydrolysis, a process by which the bodys water breaks down the bonds in a drug molecule. If too much hydrolysis occurs too quickly, the drug will not remain intact for long periods in the body. Yet the drug-release mechanism needs to be designed such that a drug molecule does, in fact, decompose in steady increments. To address this, the researchers developed what they call a layer-by-layer technique, in which drug molecules are effectively attached to layers of thin-film coating. In this specific case, the researchers used diclofenac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is often prescribed for osteoarthritis and other pain or inflammatory conditions. They then bound it to thin layers of poly-L-glutamatic acid, which consists of an amino acid the body reabsorbs, and two other organic compounds. The film can be applied onto degradable nanoparticles for injection into local sites or used to coat permanent devices, such as orthopedic implants. In tests, the research team found that the diclofenac was steadily released over 14 months. Because the effectiveness of pain medication is subjective, they evaluated the efficacy of the method by seeing how well the diclofenac blocked the activity of cyclooxygenase (COX), an enzyme central to inflammation in the body. We found that it remains active after being released, Hsu says, meaning that the new method does not damage the efficacy of the drug. Or, as the paper notes, the layer-by-layer method produced substantial COX inhibition at a similar level to pills. The method also allows the researchers to adjust the quantity of the drug being delivered, essentially by adding more layers of the ultrathin coating. A viable strategy for many drugs Hammond and Hsu note that the technique could be used for other kinds of medication; an illness such as tuberculosis, for instance, requires at least six months of drug therapy. Its not only viable for diclofenac, Hsu says. This strategy can be applied to a number of drugs. Indeed, other researchers who have looked at the paper say the potential medical versatility of the thin-film technique is of considerable interest. "I find it really intriguing because it's broadly applicable to a lot of systems," says Kathryn Uhrich, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University, adding that the research is "really a nice piece of work." To be sure, in each case, researchers will have to figure out how best to bind the drug molecule in question to a biodegradable thin-film coating. The next steps for the researchers include studies to optimize these properties in different bodily environments and more tests, perhaps with medications for both chronic pain and inflammation. A major motivation for the work, Hammond notes, is the whole idea that we might be able to design something using these kinds of approaches that could create an [easier] lifestyle for people with chronic pain and inflammation. Hsu and Hammond were involved in all aspects of the project and wrote the paper, while Hagerman and Park helped perform the research, and Park helped analyze the data. The research described in the paper was supported by funding from the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.Source: MIT News (http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/advanced-thin-film-technique-could-deliver-long-lasting-medication-0804)
Examining the Potential of Breakthrough Nanotechnology Opportunities
Nanotechnology-enabled products offer the potential to expand future consumer markets having significant societal and economic impact. As part of its investment in nanotechnology, the U.S. government continues an open dialogue regarding the impact and return on investment of funding provided through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to foster fundamental science, education and training, and commercialization of nanotechnology. While the NNI investment in fundamental science has clearly positioned the U.S. as the global nanotechnology leader, commercialization of nanotechnology innovations in the U.S. has lagged behind other countries such that numerous panels of advisors and committees have called for increases or shifting of funds to foster nanomanufacturing, effective technology transfer, and commercialization of these innovations. Recently, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), part of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, held a hearing on "Nanotechnology: Understanding How Small Solutions Drive Big Innovation." Held on July 29, 2014, subcommittee members heard from several nanotech industry leaders about the current state of nanotechnology and the direction that it is headed. With Rep. Terrys emphasis that nanotechnology brings great opportunities to advance a broad range of industries, bolster the U.S. economy, and create new manufacturing jobs, the following response excerpts by panel members heard at the hearing provide key insights into how the U.S. may capitalize from these breakthrough opportunities. Professor Milan Mrksich of Northwestern University discussed the economic opportunities of nanotechnology, and obstacles to realizing these benefits. He commented, Current challenges to realizing the broader economic promise of the nanotechnology industry include the development of strategies to ensure the continued investment in fundamental research, to increase the fraction of these discoveries that are translated to technology companies, to have effective regulations on nanomaterials, to efficiently process and protect intellectual property to ensure that within the global landscape, the United States remains the leader in realizing the economic benefits of the nanotechnology industry. James Phillips, Chairman CEO at NanoMech, Inc., and a member of the NanoBusiness and Commercialization Association (NanoBCA), added, We must capitalize immediately on our great University system, our National Labs, and tremendous agencies like the National Science Foundation, to be sure this unique and best in class innovation ecosystem, is organized in a way that promotes nanotechnology, tech transfer and commercialization in dramatic and laser focused ways so that we capture the best ideas into patents quickly, that are easily transferred into our capitalistic economy so that our nations best ideas and inventions are never left stranded, but instead accelerated to market at the speed of innovation so that we build good jobs and improve the quality of life and security for our citizens faster and better than any other country on our planet. Other comments by panelists emphasized the need for nanotechnology education and training, strategies for global competitiveness, benefits of public-private partnerships to accelerate the innovation ecosystem, and challenges of retaining and transitioning foreign students into the U.S. workforce. The hearing concluded with an interesting perspective presented by Chairman Terry commenting, Nanotech is a true science race between the nations, and we should be encouraging the transition from research breakthroughs to commercial development. I believe the U.S. should excel in this area. For further details of the hearing and panelists commentary, the NNN recommends visiting the website link: http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/subcommittee-examines-breakthrough-nanotechnology-opportunities-america (http://energycommerce.house.gov/press-release/subcommittee-examines-breakthrough-nanotechnology-opportunities-america).
Nanosensor Arrays Enable Highly Sensitive Chemical Fingerprinting for Explosive Detection
Reliable detection of trace amounts of hazardous chemicals, in particular explosives, remains a pervasive problem due to the broad variety of associated chemical compounds that must be monitored in an open environment. In combination with the inherently low vapor pressures of most explosive compounds, the challenges of detecting potential threats require sensing techniques having ultra-high sensitivity, high selectivity, and rapid response. While such performance is available using sophisticated and expensive equipment, the need exists for portable, low cost systems that can discriminate a broad range of chemical species with high sensitivity and low probability of false responses. A broad range of nanomaterials have proven effective for chem/bio detection due to their high surface to volume ratio, thereby providing high sensitivity. Effective probability of detection has been demonstrated for certain trace chemical analysis by chemically functionalizing the nanomaterial surface such that the analyte of interest has an increased affinity to bind with the nanomaterial surface, which changes the electrical properties of the sensor. While this has enabled a pathway for highly sensitive, low cost sensor platforms, chemical selectivity for detection in open environments remains a challenge. For this, the concept of a chemical nose is required that can accurately discriminate trace chemicals in air. Approaches to chemical nose sensing typically include arrays of nanosensors with different elements of the array having variable properties for binding different chemical species by varying the chemical functionality added to the individual sensors in the array. Subsequent statistical analysis of the sensor array when exposed to various compounds can then provide a specific signature associated with each compound. Establishing a library of signatures makes this approach extendable for identification of a broad range of chemical unknowns. Recently, Lichtenstein, et. al. reported on the demonstration of a chemically modified nanosensor array platform for ultrasensitive detection of explosives (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140624/ncomms5195/full/ncomms5195.html) . The reported platform consisted of 144 nanosensors arranged into 8 subarrays of 18 nanosensors. Each nanosensor element consisted of a silicon nanowire Field Effect Transistor (FET) device, with each subarray chemically modified with different small molecule receptors for ultrasensitive discrimination of chemical species. Each subarray is fed by a microfluidic channel which controls the flow and interaction of the analyte with the modified sensor array. Detection occurs by first sampling the air for 5 seconds, which is pre-concentrated by flowing through a microporous filter (50-100 l/min), then flushing the adsorbed analyte from the filter membrane using a commercially available explosive standard solution, which subsequently carries the analyte to the nanosensor subarrays. Characterization of the chemical nose platform for a range of explosive compounds demonstrated unprecedented sensitivity in the parts per quadrillion (10-15) range. More importantly, the implementation of real time mathematical analysis, kinetically and thermodynamically, of the nanosensor array elements enables discrimination and identification of numerous explosive materials with standoff distance up to several meters, including non-nitrogen containing compounds. This demonstration provides a prominent example of a nano-enabled system with unprecedented performance solving a critical problem. Further development and application of surface modification chemistries and regeneration of nanosensor surfaces will impact a much broader range of applications in chemical identification and healthcare assessment. References: Lichtenstein A, Havivi E, Shacham R, Hahamy E, Leibovich R, Pevzner A, Krivitsky V, Davivi G, Presman I, Elnathan R, Engel Y, Flaxer E, Patolsky F. Supersensitive fingerprinting of explosives by chemically modified nanosensors arrays. Nat. Commun. 5(4195). doi: 10.1038/ncomms5195 (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140624/ncomms5195/full/ncomms5195.html) Image reprinted with permission from Nature Publishing Group.


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Rivera Center in San Antonio, Texas. His research has focused on Latino educational, occupational, and economic mobility, and has included extensive analysis of census data. He has written extensively on Latino immigration patterns and has reported on housing patterns and dynamics of colonia communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. He served on the Census Bureau's Advisory Committee on the Hispanic Population for many years and served on the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census (Anderson, 2000). As a member of committees established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, he helped develop the Texas "Ten Percent Plan" on university admissions and contributed to an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Gratz v. Bollinger (2003). He received masters' degrees in sociology and demography and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Daniel L. Cork is a senior program officer for the Committee on National Statistics, currently serving as study director of the Panel on Residence Rules in the Decennial Census and the Panel on the Feasibility, Accuracy, and Technical Capability of a National Ballistics Database. He previously served as co-study director of the Panel on Research on Future Census Methods and program officer for the Panel to Review the 2000 Census. His research interests include quantitative criminology, particularly space-time dynamics in homicide; Bayesian statistics; and statistics in sports. He holds a B.S. degree in statistics from George Washington University and an M.S. in statistics and a joint Ph.D. in statistics and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
Don A. Dillman is regents professor and the Thomas S. Foley distinguished professor of government and public policy in the Departments of Sociology and Community and Rural Sociology at Washington State University. He also serves as deputy director for Research and Development in the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center (SESRC), and he founded the SESRC's Public Opinion Laboratory, one of the first university-based telephone survey laboratories in the United States. His current research emphasizes how visual design and layout influences respondent answers to self-administered surveys. He served as the senior survey methodologist in the Office of the Director, U.S. Bureau of the Census, leading the development of new questionnaire designs and procedures for the 2000 decennial census and other government surveys. He is a past president of the American Association of Public Opinion Research, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association, and 2002 recipient of the Lester F. Ward Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Sociology of the Society for Applied Sociology. He holds a master's degree in rural sociology and a Ph.D. in sociology from Iowa State University.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Republicans eye Mitchell, Kirkpatrick, Giffords By: Gary Grado August 30, 2010 , 7:00 am After years of watching Gabrielle Giffords, Ann Kirkpatrick and Harry Mitchell stick out like blue nails on a very red board, Republicans are ready to swing their hammers again. Subscribe Login Email Address: Password: Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here.Forgot your password? Share this:EmailPrintFacebookLinkedInTwitterGoogle +1 Ann Kirkpatrick David Schweikert Gabrielle Gifford Harry Mitchell Republican u.s. congress 7:00 am Mon, August 30, 2010 Arizona Capitol Times Gary Grado tweet


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Wine Store in DC
Is there a particular wine store that you would recommend in DC? I'd like to give a gift certificate for someone who loves great wine. Thank you!
re: Jeserf
I'd second the recommedation for MacArthur's. They probably have the best selection for someone who is into wine. Others might also suggest Calvert-Woodley since they also have a large selection, but I prefer MacArthurs.
Another choice would be Bell's. While not as large as either of the other two I mentioned, they are very good about service and working with you. They also have access to a lot of good stuff.
But my first choice would definitely be MacArthur's.
re: dinwiddie
I think Schneiders on the Hill is the best in the city.
re: ChewFun
I agree. Look for Ben, the manager. He is fantastic and can help you at any price point.
I would also suggest Bell's if you're downtown. The staff are a bit gruff, but the selection is good and hte prices fair.
I'll second Weygandt Wines. It's probably one of the best, along with the Kermit Lynch shop in Berkley, CA, in the US.
Good suggestions here, but if it's someone who doesn't have a car, a lot of these recommendations are a bit hard. I'm a carless city-liver, and would prefer Cork or Zola market for both convenience and style. They're more of a "special bottle of wine" destination, as opposed to a full-service liquor store.
I'd add the following:
MacArthur has a terrific selection and a broad range, but I've always found their staff very snooty. It's almost painful to spend money there ... but their selection really is as good or better than anywhere else in town. I think they've got the best selection of German wines in town.
Schneider's on Capitol Hill also has a broad selection, but I think it's more limited than MacArthur (except for Australian wines, where I think it does a bit better). It's possibly the most cramped wine shop I've ever been in, and parking is virtually nonexistent. And for me at least, I think the temperature inside is usually at least 20 degrees too warm for storing fine wine.
Calvert Woodley runs a strong second to Schneiders for most cramped shop. I'd put it behind MacArthur and Schneiders in terms of breadth of offerings.
Weygandt is a terrific little shop, with a limited and eclectic lineup. Best selection of Austrian wines I've seen anywhere in DC (or in most other cities), and a lot of carefully selected producers that have reasonably narrow distribution. If your friend is a wine lover who's interested in tasting something unusual, this is where I'd go (and it's subway accessible).
I've personally found the selections at Zola to be limited, uninspired and aggressively priced. Cork has perhaps the narrowest selection of all, but it's got a lot of interesting wines that are selected with care ... and they've also got lots of other gourmet treats in the shop. So it's another strong contender for overall experience.


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Her choice is black dick and she'll give head every chance she gets
White women love sucking big black cock. Even those girls that never liked giving head back in the days where they still dated white boys. Black men's big boners seem to have an almost hypnotizing effect on white bitches and they have no other choice but to drop to their knees and start sucking the BBC! Just like this blonde babe having fun with a black guy's cock. Good start, but the brotha cums in her mouth but she doesn't swallow so more practice is needed.
Download (.mpg, Uploaded.to)


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Today I was reading an article about array dereferencing in PHP trunk. It is an awesome new feature added to PHP! Imagine you had some code like this:
class Foo { public function bar() { } } function func() { return new Foo(); }
Previous to this addition in PHP you had to do something like…
(Source: jwage)


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lovely 3d type animation
Animated typography for my latest motion piece on Honey Bees.
love the look and feel of this
-Create an interactive game aimed at middle aged singles to encourage engagement and social meetings.
ha ha *nelson muntz laugh*
New Orleans, Banksy Street Art
it's also fun to say
(via ultracommunique)
Plmouth Satellite Sebring Plus in Vancouver, WA by materialage
rainbow types
They forgot double.
NewYork City skyline
new york i love you
a typographical experiment and my 30th birthday invite. my site is being redesigned but check back in a couple of weeks for more!
Nice, our first proper submission, it's a cool design and i like the idea of you making your own invites. top work and of course, Happy Bloody Birthday when it comes!!
Thanks a bunch!
Aaaaaaaaaaaand, my chemistry class break is over. Enjoy your day.
this is so liberal arts college and i love it!
'Dog's Bollacks'
These are really cool pieces (plural as there is another submission coming soon). Could see them working really well as t-shirts, although the joke is obvious it's also kinda subtle as well? does that make sense? No? great!
Brilliant work, thanks for the submission, I haven't managed to check your site but i will do soon, is there more of this collection bar the other one you sent?
P.s That dog looks bat-shit! Red Eyes!
Thanks Danger is Everywhere! I'm Janine •handshake•
there are more like this to come, sit tight!
Submitted by: murphyz
The beams of red light are lighting up one side of the cathedral; the lines you can see in the beam is snow which had just started falling as I set up to take the shot
St Paul's Cathedral, London, illuminated red (by two large lights and only on one side due to budget) to raise awareness for World Aids day 2010.
lovely! i pass this every day on my way to work
This charming girl.
(submitted by tomie)
the hong kong light show in action (referenced a few days ago)
Manhattan: jesuisbo
i'll take manhattan, the bronx and staten island too…


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Adrian Lowe Google+
Adrian Lowe is The Age's AM homepage producer. He joined The Age in 2008 and has covered court and breaking news. He has also worked as a TV columnist.
Adrian Lowe A man charged with rape over an alleged incident at a party following Collingwood's premiership win has appeared in court this morning.
Headache and hangover for drunken learner-driver
Adrian Lowe A 24-year-old learner driver has a headache on top of his hangover after losing his permit for being caught drink-driving.
I'm a bloody idiot, says leadfoot Buddy
Adrian Lowe Hawthorn superstar Lance "Buddy" Franklin has reportedly been caught speeding 40km/h over the speed limit yesterday afternoon.
Rape charge withdrawn
Adrian Lowe Prominent Melbourne lawyer Alastair Grigor has been cleared of rape allegations.
Melbourne lawyer cleared of rape allegations
Adrian Lowe Prominent Melbourne lawyer Alastair Grigor has been cleared of rape allegations.
CBD gunman loses appeal
Adrian Lowe Melbourne CBD gunman Christopher Wayne Hudson has this morning lost his appeal against his minimum jail term.
Rape accused said thanks, court told
Adrian Lowe A woman who has accused a Melbourne criminal lawyer of raping her says after the alleged incident, he said 'thanks for that' and walked off.
Woman 'told alleged rapist to stop'
Adrian Lowe A young man accused of repeatedly raping a young woman in a South Melbourne laneway after the 2010 AFL grand final replay allegedly rebuffed her frequent demands for him to stop, a jury has heard.
Assault left soldier ashamed to be Magpie fan
Adrian Lowe A witness to a violent bashing outside the MCG has told how the incident left him 'disgusted and ashamed' to be a Collingwood supporter.
Man faces court over 'net sex blackmail'
Adrian Lowe A man who allegedly blackmailed teenage girls as young as 13 for sex was yesterday arrested in Collingwood.
Magpie partially vindicated in assault
Adrian Lowe The drunk victim of a Collingwood footballer's assault in Sale had to be 'partially accountable' for the horrific injuries he received, a magistrate has ruled.


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Paul Anderson And The Pioneer Village Chapter 4The next 2 days were about as bad as day 1,no better ,no worse-
Pauls supervisor made Paul happy at the end of Wednesday, telling
Paul he had off Thursday and Friday,
Paul however was soon unhappy when the same supervision said
Paul was expected to work Saturday and Sunday.
The news got worse for Paul when his parents said they wouldn't drive him
to and from work all weekend,
His Mom did say she'd pay his busfare.
Paul had great fears of riding the bus wearing his pioneer dress , it was one thing
to be in the village in funny old style clothes and another thing to be
in the modern day world in pioneed clothes.
Paul stood at the bus stop Saturday morning and got honked at by pssing cars
the bus was ride itself wasn't so bad, as the bus had mainly little old ladies
riding it,
Paul guessed they were off to a market.
Paul rang the bell so he could get off at Pioneer Village, the driver didn't open the door
,instead he said to Paul if he was a volunteer working in the park, he need not
pay bus fares , the city pays your way.
So as Paul bordered the bus on his way home Saturday, he mentioned about
his position in the park and that he wished a free ride.
The driver accepted that story and Paul Pocketed the $3 fare his mom gave him.
On Sunday Paul made the decision to tell his Mom about his free fares on the bus
she was pleased and said he could keep the money she had intended for busfare.
The news got worse Sunday night when DAD said, why should we waste gas and time
driving you to the village when you get free transport from the city.
So as of Sunday , it was busing every day for Paul.
LadyBeverly 18-21, F 2 Responses 2 May 6, 2012
Yes, I as well am on the edge of my chair.

What could happen next?
I am on the edge drinking again trying to figure the out come of this story.It is a good