Newnano news

The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) in partnership with the Nanotech and Biotech (Nabio) Consulting will as part of raising awareness on HIV/AIDS host the first Symposium on Nanomedicine and HIV/AIDS in South Africa on Friday, 4 December 2015. The symposium will take place at the SAASTA Auditorium – 211 Nana Sita Street, Didacta Building, Pretoria Central.

About 150 delegates attended the 7th international symposium on Nanotechnology, Occupational and Environmental Health which was held in Limpopo Province recently. The symposium provided a scientific forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss the latest research on occupational and environmental health issues and risks associated with nanotechnology.

A well-known science communicator, researcher on risk innovation and the responsible development and use of emerging technologies, Professor Andrew Maynard, presented on the need for a model for responsible innovation at the 7th International Symposium for Nanotechnology, Environmental and Occupational Health.

The Deputy Director-General of Technology Innovation at the Department of Science and Technology, Mr Mmboneni Muofhe, delivered the opening address at the 7th International Symposium on Nanotechnology, Occupational and Environmental Health, the first to be held in South Africa and the continent.

The 5th Gauteng Nanosciences’ Young Researchers Symposium was hosted by the Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability Research Unit, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa on 9 October 2015. The symposium was held at the Science Campus and attracted about 100 academics and students.

If a developing country such South Africa wishes to break the poverty cycle, reduce inequalities and improve health, it needs to have a strong and effective science, technology and innovation (STI) systems investment of up to 3.5% of the country’s GDP, as reported by scientists advising UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, on sustainable development.

The South Agency for Science and Technology Advancement participated in the Sustainability Week 2015 as sponsor for the first time. SAASTA is a business unit of the National Research Foundation (NRF), and is mandated to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

The 51st National Science Olympiad awards to celebrate excellence in science teaching and learning took place at Emperors Palace on 02 July 2015. The annual event recognises Southern Africa’s top young science achievers and schools in the disciplines of physical and life sciences. The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, congratulated the winners.

The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network is a partnership of 14 US leading universities funded by the National Science Foundation. Its primary focus is to provide state-of-the art facilities for nanoscale researchers. In addition, NNIN has a wide ranging education and outreach program that reaches more than 60,000 each year.

Imagine a particle so small, yet so powerful that its use in diagnostic biosensors could lead to quicker and simpler detection of diseases and toxic substances. Dendrimers are ball-shaped nano-molecules of about 12 nm – 16 nm and Dr. Omotayo Arotiba’s research is all about how these small molecules are being used to improve diagnostic methods for cholera and HIV.

Few of us ever give a second thought to rinsing a paint brush, cleaning make-up off, or washing a clothing item. With an increase in commercial products containing nanoparticles, we should perhaps be asking how these particles influence the world around us as they enter the environment and our waterways. How will ecosystems cope? Will this impact the quality of drinking water?

Laptops and cell phones that run out of battery power are, inconveniently, part of our lives. Most portable electronic devices, as well as electric cars, are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Because of their critical function, nanotechnologists are focusing their gaze on finding effective improvements to enhance the performance and lifespan of these batteries.

Some windows are just hard to clean. Staking its claim on the world map for beneficiating titanium, South African nanomaterials can soon make light work of cleaning ceiling windows such as this in a museum in Vienna. South Africa currently has the second-largest global reserves of titanium.

What you may think of as an irritating, orange-red rust gradually eating away at metal surfaces, is actually just one form of a multipurpose tool with life-saving capabilities. Rust is really just iron oxides. Interestingly, less is more when it comes to the iron oxides. Some of these uses require nano-sized particles of iron oxides; particles no larger than 100 nanometres in width.

About fifteen years ago, as an undergraduate student in Spain, I convinced a few friends of mine to apply for a Summer School at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. With over 15,000 scientists and engineers from all over the world working in unison at revealing the secrets of nature, CERN is probably the most extraordinary research institution in the world.

The Toxicology Section at the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), recently hosted a workshop on Exposure Assessment to Nanoparticles. This workshop was held at the Sunnyside Park Hotel, Johannesburg on the 2nd – 3rd October 2013 and it was the first of its kind to be held in South Africa.

Anybody who has cooked an egg will know that as soon as you apply some heat, the egg starts to harden. The more heat you apply and the longer you apply it for, the harder the egg gets. This is thanks to the protein in the eggs unfolding as heat is applied, forming new bonds, clumping together (aggregating) and hardening. While that might be a good outcome for your breakfast, what happens inside our own bodies when proteins are stressed? Scientists at the University of Zululand are asking just this question.

The sight of a snake on the porch or a spider in the bathroom is enough to send most people running for the hills, but scientists have managed to stick around long enough to utilise the creepy crawler’s greatest scare tactic: venom. In the near future these otherwise-lethal substances could be harnessed to cure and treat humanity’s most feared diseases.

South Africa’s Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Summer School is as much about training a growing generation of students as it is about focusing attention on emerging nanotechnology products and processes in the country. The University of the Western Cape played host to the third such summer school at the end of November as a diverse group of national and international scientists shared insights into the “impact of nanotechnology in water treatment and management”.

Ground breaking research is under way towards a possible non-invasive early detection method for a cancer killing thousands of men annually. Rated as the second most common cancer in men globally, prostate cancer follows a natural course, starting as a tiny group of cancer cells that could grow into mature tumours.

Your brightly coloured clothes might have a dark story to tell. Hidden in the bright oranges, blues and reds of textile wastewater are some pretty harmful pollutants. Difficult to degrade, these compounds end up in waterways and may well outlast your outfit. Can we clean up and re-use water effluent from the textile industry? Nanotechnologists can tell a lighter side of the tale using special nano-based catalysts.

Scientists say that a combination of electricity and nanotechnology could offer a cheap solution for treating polluted water. Patented technology emanating from the research of Prof Leslie Petrik at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and colleagues at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch University has moved the field ahead with a nanobased approach.

Yes or no? If yes, how much? Perfecting diagnostics for health monitoring is a quick win for human healthcare challenges in SA. Newly patented aptamer-based biorecognition agents for malaria and CD4 monitoring may open fresh opportunities for rapid diagnostics in the sector. For South Africa, the latter is particularly relevant, opening up the door to on-site diagnostics of HIV positive patients’ CD4 count.

The Department of Science and Technology has, through its established Nanotechnology Ethics Committee, developed a Code of Conduct for nanotechnology research and development, which is currently in a draft form.

The all new Zeta pipette tips, which promise a breakthrough for all scientists that suffer from pipetting errors, will soon enter the laboratory market. These are graphene-based nanocomposite-coated tips that reduce electrical charges transferred to droplets of liquid during the pipetting process.

One in three people will develop cancer in their lifetime, and 25% will die from that cancer. In order to combat the disease, more than 50% of cancer patients will receive radiation therapy (RT). (American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2013, Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2013.) The application of nanotechnology to RT holds the potential to radically improve the results of this widely-used therapy.

The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has claimed the lives of thousands of people and has highlighted an urgent need for experimental treatments to stop the spread of the virus. Nanotechnology could be one way of approaching the problem.

If you haven’t yet heard the word “nano”, then you are missing out. What you are missing is one of the biggest leaps that science has taken in a long, long time. The fuss is really about particles so tiny that we need the world’s most powerful microscopes just to be able to see them.

The Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition (BYSCC) is an initiative supported by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST), which aims to encourage innovation and its application, and to promote a scientific culture among learners from different China districts and from around the world.

The National Research Foundation and the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement were requested by Reverend Thobela Willem who is a member of the School Governing Body at Simzamile Senior Secondary School to organise and facilitate a role-modelling campaign in the area of Ndevana in King Williams Town on 31 May 2014.

NPEP in partnership with the Unizulu Science Centre organised a two day nanotechnology workshop that took place at the science centre in Richards Bay on the 21-22 May 2014. Through a grant from SAASTA|NPEP, the Unizulu science centre developed a number of resources on nanotechnology.

Through its many outreach and awareness programmes, SAASTA aims to entice learners to pursue careers in science and to instil in people an enthusiasm and deeper understanding and appreciation of science in their daily lives. In line with these aims, SAASTA coordinates numerous projects that entail school science support through educator development programmes.

The National Schools Debates Competition is an initiative that gives learners in Grades nine to 11 an opportunity to develop their research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as their ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments.

The fourth edition of the Learners Focus Week (LFW) in Energy was held at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, in Polokwane from 30 June to 05 July 2014. The LFW is an initiative of the Department of Energy (DoE), with support from various energy and youth development stakeholders across South Africa.