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The Republic of the Philippines this week laid out a 10-year strategy for the development of a local nanotech industry.

"The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development Council (DOST-PCASTRD) made this announcement as part of an effort to bolster economic development in the country," writes INQUIRER.net's Alexander Villafania. "The PCASTRD's nanotechnology strategic roadmap will cover at least six industrial sectors, including the semiconductor, information technology, energy, agriculture, medicine and environment protection. The roadmap indicates that funding will be provided to several nanotechnology projects, which intend to benefit identified industrial sectors."

More here from the BusinessMirror.

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The Russian nanotechnology business group RUSNANO has announced an agreement with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to establish a collaborative workgroup focused on nanotech development.

"The agreement, announced as RUSNANO officials tour Japan to study the nation's support for its nanotech industry and innovation... will focus on selecting specific projects the two can work on together," according to Small Times.

"The main focus of the interaction will be the selection of specific projects from Japanese partners' applications to be implemented in Russia jointly with RUSNANO," according to Nanowerk News. "The parties also discussed how to expand business cooperation to include smaller companies specializing in the development of state-of-the-art technology alongside large corporations in the sector."

The press release is here.

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At the IFT International Food Nanoscience Conference last weekend, the FDA's Dr. Annette McCarthy said her organization has sufficient authority to manage nanotech safety.

"In order to assist manufacturers to ensure product safety, the FDA is in the process of developing a guidance document for nanotechnology, which will become available before the end of 2010," writes Food Production Daily's Caroline Scott-Thomas. "In the meantime, McCarthy said that nanotechnology is not as simple as just making an ingredient smaller; manufacturers looking to petition the FDA for acceptance of a nanotech food additive or coloring's safety should examine its 'impact on identity and toxicity.'"

More here from Small Times.

At Duralor LLC's official opening of its new nanomanufacturing facility in Northern Arkansas, Arkansas governor Mike Beebe praised the University of Arkansas for its dedication to nanotech - the technology behind Duralor's products was developed at the university.

"It was uniquely because of the University of Arkansas' decision years ago to put talent, time and money into this field that made the rest possible, the governor said," writes The Morning News' Doug Thompson.

"Duralor looks to reap commercial success with TuffTek, its nanoparticle coating product to be sold to the metal-cutting industry," writes the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Laurie Whalen. "As many as 100 people will be employed by the research-and-technology outfit in the coming years... Duralor is a 2008 spinoff of NanoMech, an award-winning technology-development company that also is moving from Fayetteville's Arkansas Research and Technology Park to Duralor's new home at the technology park."

Duralor's press release is here.

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a technique for folding sheets of DNA, like origami, into multilayered objects. The research was published in the May 21 issue of Nature.

"This is something that nature is very good at - making many complex machines with great control," says researcher William M. Shih. "Nature optimizes cellular technology through millions of years of evolution; we don't have that much time, so we need to come up with other design approaches."

"The researchers at Dana-Farber use double DNA strands to build their structures, and the origami forms they create may or may not resemble those created by natural cells," writes InventorSpot's T. Goodman. "Nevertheless, these fine examples of origami art, which are really just the size of a virus and only visible through a powerful electron microscope, will functionally mimic our own cellular processes, which build transport systems to carry proteins and various other elements to other cells."

More here from Wired ... and the press release is here.

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Researchers at Australia's Swinburne University of Technology today announced the development of a 'five-dimensional' DVD with a capacity 2,000 times that of current DVDs.

"By adding nanoparticles to discs, researcher Min Gu and others at the school successfully recorded data to discs using not only multiple wavelengths of light but to the polarization, or angle, of the light itself," according to Electronista. "The approach would effectively let a given segment of a disc hold data in five 'dimensions' and in many cases layer multiple polarizations on top of each other, all without increasing the disc size."

"One hurdle facing the researchers is a lack of suitable recording medium that would afford the speed needed to write to the discs," writes Computerworld's Lucas Mearian. "However, the researchers are confident the discs will be commercially available within five to 10 years. The team also said the technology is likely to have immediate applications in a range of fields, such as storing extremely large medical files like MRIs, and could be a boon in the financial, military and security arenas."

More here from Ubergizmo ... more here from Engadget ... more here from The Inquirer ... and the press release is here.

ZettaCore, Inc. yesterday announced that it had raised $21 million in Series C financing from a wide range of investors, including Globis Capital Partners, Itochu Technology Ventures, Yasuda Enterprise Development, Epic Ventures, Panasonic Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Radius Ventures, Oxford Biosciences, Access Ventures, Garrett Capital, and Stanford University.

"ZettaCore is working with molecule-size materials — multi-porphyrin nanostructures — where each molecule can serve as a capacitor, which stores an electrical charge," writes VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi. "While conventional memory chips become more flaky the more you shrink them, these structures remain stable even though they're just a few nanometers, or 100,000 times smaller than a human hair, in length. ZettaCore believes it can make memory chips with the technology."

"We believe that ZettaCore's molecular technology can be an important element in our success," says Dilip Sampath of Panasonic Ventures. "We look forward to working with ZettaCore to find ways to integrate the technology in Panasonic's products."

More here from techrockies ... and the press release is here.

The U.S. Department of Energy this week selected the University of South Carolina to house an alternative energy research center that's expected to receive $12.5 million in federal funding.

"The grant was included in a White House announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science will spend $777 million on 46 new multimillion-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers over the next five years," writes the Charleston Regional Business Journal's James T. Hammond. "The centers will be established at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation... the new Materials for Energy Systems research center at USC will seek to 'build a scientific basis for bridging the gap between making nano-structured materials and understanding how they function in a variety of energy applications,' according to the Department of Energy announcement."

The press release is here.

Georgia Tech today formally opened its 190,000 square foot Marcus Nanotechnology Building.

"The invaluable research and activities taking place at our Nanotechnology Research Center (NRC) will affect the lives of every individual, from health care advances to green energy development and personal technology," says Georgia Tech president Dr. G.P. 'Bud' Peterson. "Georgia Tech and Atlanta are now sufficiently equipped to be the nanotechnology hub of the southeast and the U.S."

Philanthropist Bernie Marcus, who donated $15 million of the building's $90 million construction costs, says, "There isn't anything that nanotechnology will not touch or influence in the future. It will enhance medicine, high-technology and consumer products. I hope that nanotechnology will do for Georgia Tech, Atlanta and the region what the chip did for Silicon Valley."

The press release is here.

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The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) this week issued a fact sheet warning of the health risks of nanomaterials.

"The ACTU is pushing for closer oversight of the rapidly growing industry, which contributes to more than 800 products including bedsheets, building materials and paints... among the ACTU's demands are a national registry of all companies and organisations manufacturing, importing and supplying products containing nanomaterials, a labelling requirement for products containing nanomaterials, and for agencies to develop nanotechnology handling standards," writes The Age's Dan Harrison.

"With animal tests showing some nanomaterials share the same characteristics and reactions as asbestos fibres, governments and business must not repeat the painful lessons of the past and allow another tragedy to occur again," says ACTU assistant secretary Geoff Fary. "Existing laws and regulations were not designed with the unique properties of nanoscale materials in mind... until we know more about nano materials, we should regulate as if it is dangerous to human health. It is the only safe option."

More here from Industrial IT ... more here from AZoNano ... and the press release is here.