From the NewScientist Tech article (via Slashdot):

Molecular biologist Shuguang Zhang, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, began experimenting with peptides in 1991. Zhang and colleagues at MIT and the University of Hong Kong in China went on to design several materials that self-assemble into novel nano-structures, including a molecular scaffold that helps the regrowth of severed nerve cells in hamsters (see Nano-scaffolds could help rebuild sight).

Their work exploits the way certain peptide sequences can be made to self-assemble into mesh-like sheets of "nanofibres" when immersed in salt solutions.

In the course of that research they discovered one material's dramatic ability to stop bleeding in the brain and began testing it on a variety of other organs and tissues. When applied to a wound, the peptides form a gel that seals over the wound, without causing harm to any nearby cells.

From the NERO Homepage:

Neuro-Evolving Robotic Operatives, or NERO for short, is a unique computer game that lets you play with adapting intelligent agents hands-on. Evolve your own robot army by tuning their artificial brains for challenging tasks, then pit them against your friends' teams in online competitions!

NERO is an active research project run almost entirely by students. It uses the real-time NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (rtNEAT) algorithm created by Ken Stanley during his PhD work at UT Austin. The NERO project is a collaboration of the Department of Computer Sciences and the Digital Media Collaboratory at the University of Texas at Austin.

From the ScienceDaily article :

“For anthrax to be effective, it has to be made into a fine powder that can easily enter the lungs when inhaled. That is what makes it lethal,” said Sun. “What we have done is come up with an agent that clings to the anthrax spores to make their inhalation into the lungs difficult.”

Anthrax spores are covered with carbohydrates, or simple sugars, that are used to communicate with or attract other biological species. The Clemson team used carbon nanotubes as a platform or scaffolding for displaying sugar molecules that would attract the anthrax spores. Carbon nanotubes are hollow tubes made of carbon atoms. Typically one-hundred thousandth the thickness of a single human hair, nanotubes are formed from intensely heated carbon. When sugar coated, the carbon nanotubes bind with the anthrax spores, creating clusters that are too large to be inhaled –– stopping their infection and destruction.

From the Click Heard Round the World:

Is SL a separate reality from the physical world, or is it "merely" an extension of the real world? Are residents the same people that they are in real life, or are do they take on new identities in SL, akin to playing a character in a play? What effect does the reality (or unreality) of SL have on the relationships between residents?

From the Deseret News article:

A determined tall person is often admired, Frankel points out, but "a determined short person is often said to have a 'Napoleon complex."'

It's no surprise, then, that parents of short children are tempted to get their doctors to prescribe synthetic human growth hormones, even for children who are not hormone deficient. In other words, Frankel says, the drugs are being prescribed for healthy children who happen to be short.

Sorry... that's it for today, slow news day so far.

From NutraIngredients USA article:

The report reveals regulatory weaknesses affecting new products, such as certain dietary supplements and cosmetics, using the technology. Critics say questions over nanotechnology safety have not been answered and the FDA is not in a position to effectively police it.

“Unless the FDA addresses potential nanotechnology risks now, public confidence in a host of valuable nanotechnology-based products could be undermined," wrote Taylor, who was deputy commissioner for policy at the Food and Drug Administration from 1991 to 1994 and currently conducts research on policy, resource, and institutional issues affecting public health agencies.

The This Week In Science Podcast summary (mp3):

A Silence So Deafening, Don�t Worry - Think Faster, Bacon???, Lucy and Baby Have Identity Issues, Doggy Liver Devastation, Spinach Safety, Goat�s Milk To Spider Silk, Quick TWIS Bytes, and Interview w/ Dr. Alexandra Navrotsky on nanotechnology

The interview is about 30 minutes long and it's in the second half of the podcast.

The parent company, Linden Labs, has had to shut down the world overnight to investigate the object. They are now reporting that it is a bug with the intellectual property system, and they report that they are fixing it.

Coverage at SLog, SL Insider, and official coverage at Linden Labs. Previous attack coverage here, with fallout coverage here.

Is this just a protocol working out it's kinks, or a sign of instability to come in more 'open' virtual worlds?

From a ZDnet blog:

A team of French researchers has used a new genetic therapy to give back the sense of vision to several blind dogs affected by a rare genetic condition known as Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. This genetic condition, which affects between 1,000 and 2,000 children in France alone, leads to blindness shortly after birth. In this Inserm news release (PDF format, in French), you'll discover how the scientists managed to restore sight for 7 of the 8 dogs they've treated. Now, they envision clinical trials on humans, but not before several years.

From the Y Net News article:

"The missiles threatening Israel and the terrorists threatening to hurt the people of Israel should be handled using weapons that will be developed by the technology of the future, nano-technology. This is my lesson from the war, and I'm operating today, as I always have, with a vision in a bid to change the realities of the Middle East," Peres said.