Nano Israel 2010 presents science-fiction-like ideas by Zuzana Zelenakova

Israel is recognized as one of the leading countries as far as advanced research and technology are concerned and this year´s nanotechnology conferencee Nano Israel 2010 taking place in Tel-Aviv only confirms that. Great number of international technology firms has its centers in Israel where people are among the highest educated in the world. Two-day nanotech conference presents about 1,500 participants including chemists, physics, medical researchers and others. They are all dealing with manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale, as nanotechnology is defined. Dan Peer, profesor at Tel Aviv University´s Cell Research and Immunology Department is tryin! g to find a way to help people suffering of cancer and other diseases by improving toxic treatments, like for example chemotherapy in case of cancer. "Sometimes the drug is there, but it doesn't operate in a targeted manner," he said. Therefore, scientists look for a way to better direct these drugs to the troubled cells. It might be possible by attaching the drug to a vitamin that gets into the malignant cels easily. "You can potentially create new materials, new vehicles for drugs, like very small bubbles, like mini-submarines, which carry them into the body," said Peer. Other researchers are trying to reach the goal by blinding the immune system of a patient so that it does not attack drugs inserted into the body. Another sensation caused Russian scientist Andre Geim who presented a material called graphene consisting of one-atom-thick layers of carbon atoms arranged in two-dimensional hexagons that is stiffer than diamond. "You can imagine you can make a thousand device! s out of this graphene," he said to the audience at the confer! ence. Be sides being one of the strongest and hardest materials in the world, it is also the thinnest. It could be used as an alternative to silicon.

related story (sgx18572): http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101109/sc_afp/healthisraelscie...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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