April 28th, 2010 Posted in Gadget Reviews

Computers of the future will use atoms instead of chips for memory. That’s a simplified way of saying that within the next few years, we can expect miniaturization to go into the atomic level to bring to the consumer and the office more power computers that require significantly less power and possess lesser footprints. Using nanotechnology advances, the computers that we know today will become more powerful and more energy efficient and can fit more snugly inside a handbag.

What we have today

Computers have evolved from using vacuum tubes in their earliest incarnation to transistors in the 60s to integrated circuits of the 70s and to Very Large Scale Integrated circuits (VLSI) of the 80s. The latest VLSI has reached its maximum miniaturization potentials using Lithography to engineer the laptops, netbooks and mobile hand-held phones and gadgets we use today. It’s a landmark technology of the 20th century. But Lithography can only go so far. The microprocessor chips that power the computing gadgets in our hands house millions of transistors in lithographed wafer thin circuit in multiple layers inside those chips. To get them more powerful with ever decreasing sizes and lower power requirements, we need a new technology.  We’re headed for something far tinier.

The New Technology for the 21st Century

Tiny means in the vicinity of a billionth of a meter or around 1/500th the width of a hair strand.  That’s mathematically called nano.  And the engineering technologies behind working at such a microscopic atomic-sized level of parts fall within the ambit of nanotechnology. The benefits behind nanotechnology are so immensely far-reaching; they redefine the technology landscape to open new possibilities that are mostly considered impossible or at least expensive in today’s world.

Computers are among the first to get there.  A nanocomputer chip designed at the molecular level is expected to be 3-4 magnitude orders smaller than the smallest chip in the market today and their computing power doubled or tripled. It offers the next generation of computer chip design and manufacture with greater possibilities after exhausting the most that current Lithography VLSI can offer.

Nanomemories

In the near future, expect to boot up a PC in no time.  If you’ve ever started a PC or laptop, you know it can be excruciatingly slow.  With a new nanotechnology derivative called nanomagnetics that can provide faster memory chips called MRAMs, waiting for the PC to boot up can be banished forever. The new MRAMs are non-volatile memory storage chips that remember virtually all that it captured before power is lost. That makes it useful as a computer DRAM. It is also expected to be employed in other mission critical areas like databases and sensors that require instance access to large quantities of data with minute powering requirements. Smart cards that have embedded chips will get a boost with larger data storage capacities that can contain a person’s entire life history.

When to Expect It

Nanotechnology is real. Realizing this promise is only a matter of time as engineers are perfecting the manufacturing processes for commercial-grade nanotech products to reach the market at the end of the next decade. Grade schoolers of today just might get their mobile phones on a ring by then.  In the meantime, expect mobile phones and netbooks to get just incremental improvements in features, nothing radical until the first nanotech atom computers become available

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano, an application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. Nanotechnology, the emerging technology of using materials by engineering them at an incredibly small scale, has applications ranging from consumer electronics to improved drug delivery systems.

findNano allows users to browse an inventory of more than 1,000 nanotechnology-enabled consumer products, from sporting goods to food products and electronics to toys, using the iPhone and iPod Touch. Using the built-in camera, iPhone users can even submit new nanotech products to be included in future inventory updates.

The new application makes PEN's unique Consumer Products Inventory more accessible for today's consumers. The inventory, which was launched in 2006, is the leading source of information on manufacturer-identified nanotechnology consumer products around the world.

"The Consumer Products Inventory provides valuable insight into the world of nanotech consumer products, and now it's even easier to access because of findNano," says PEN Research Associate Patrick Polischuk. "This innovative tool satisfies the needs of citizen scientists, tech-savvy consumers, and those who are merely curious about whether products contain nanomaterials."

The number of nanotech products in the inventory has risen from approximately 200 in 2006 to more than 1,000 today. But this is most likely an underestimate of the number of products using nanotechnology available worldwide. To help develop better estimates of the number of nano-based products in commerce, the iPhone app allows users to submit information on new products, including product name and where the product can be purchased.

Using findNano, users can take or select a photo of a possible nanotech product and submit it for inclusion in the PEN inventory. This feature will help consumers, researchers, and policymakers determine how-and where-nanotechnologies are entering the marketplace.

findNano is available as a free download for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and can be found in the iTunes App Store.

BioVex Inc, a company developing new generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced today that it has concluded a $70 million private financing, raising $30 million in addition to the $40 million announced in March. The proceeds of the financing will primarily be used to complete the ongoing Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEXGM-CSF for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma and to fund pre-commercialization activities.

The second close placement was co-led by Morningside Venture, Ventech and MVM Life Science Partners who were joined by other new investors including Sectoral Asset Management and Ysios Capital Partners. Reenie McCarthy for Morningside, Mounia Chaoui of Ventech and Steve Reeders of MVM Life Science Partners will join the BioVex board of directors.

"Securing this financing is a significant milestone that puts BioVex in a strong financial position to complete its first pivotal study with OncoVEX in metastatic melanoma, with a view to submitting a Biologics License Application filing in mid 2011," said Philip Astley-Sparke, President and CEO of BioVex. "We believe this over-subscribed funding round is the largest for a private clinical stage biotech company this year and is a validation of our clinical and regulatory achievements. We have generated encouraging data in four tumor types and beyond melanoma have agreed to an additional Phase III pivotal protocol with the FDA under the Special Protocol Assessment procedure in head and neck cancer."

"Pending the successful conclusion of its first pivotal study, OncoVEX is positioned to become the first cancer destroying virus to reach the market in the United States," said Steve Reeders of MVM Life Science Partners. "Given the strength of the Phase II data in melanoma, we are optimistic that OncoVEX will meet its primary endpoint in the current Phase III study and that its potential will be realized in melanoma and subsequently many other hard to treat solid tumors."

"We were impressed by the number of durable complete remissions following OncoVEX therapy in both metastatic melanoma and head and neck cancer,” said Reenie McCarthy of Morningside. "OncoVEX is an extremely promising treatment for many hard to treat solid tumor types and we look forward to working with management to fully realize the potential of this first-in-class biologic."

Harris & Harris Group (TINY) a publicly traded venture capital company that invests in nanotechnology and microsystems, is an investor in privately held BioVex, Inc.

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTI), a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management, has announced the shipment of 40 advanced battery systems in support of the Army's M119 105mm lightweight gun digitization program.

The battery development initiative, announced by Altairnano in August 2008, is part of a military testing program to demonstrate the use of Altairnano's advanced battery systems for improving performance, reliability, and safety attributes associated with M119 105mm gun batteries.

Jim Shields, the Army's program manager indicated, "I am very excited about the capability offered by the Altairnano battery technology and look forward to conducting system level testing and delivering leap ahead performance to our troops."

"Altairnano's advanced battery systems exhibit the widest operating temperature ranges, and highest abuse tolerance of any lithium-ion battery available today," said Terry Copeland, president and CEO, Altairnano. "The projected long-life of the batteries is also an important attribute, which is expected to help the military replace batteries less often than shorter-lived, conventional lithium-ion batteries."

Engineering and software design for the M119 gun digitization program is being managed by the Armaments Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. Testing of the recently shipped battery systems by the U.S. Army's Communications and Electronics Research, Engineering and Development Command (CERDEC) at Ft Monmouth, New Jersey is expected to continue through summer 2009. Once approved for the M119 105mm lightweight gun digitization program, the Altairnano battery systems could be offered for use throughout the military's M119 105mm inventory, which currently numbers around 850 howitzers.

The system designed for the U.S. Army features a 24 Volt/22 Amp Hour battery with an integrated battery management system (BMS). The battery has broad applications beyond the M119 program and could extend to other weapons platforms, advanced military vehicle designs, portable power and back-up power applications.

About Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.

Headquartered in Reno, Nevada with manufacturing in Anderson, Indiana, Altairnano is a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management. Going beyond lithium ion, Altairnano's Lithium-Titanate based battery systems are among the highest performing and most scalable, with applications that include battery cells for military artillery, battery packs for hybrid vehicles and energy storage systems for large-scale stationary power services. For more information please visit Altairnano at www.altairnano.com.