======================================================================
JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN
-- 55th Issue -- October 13, 2005
Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
======================================================================
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTED PAPERS (JAPAN NANO 2006)
The 4th International Symposium on Nanotechnology (JAPAN NANO 2006)
calls for contributed papers for a poster session.
Topics of Contributions: Nanotechnology related research fields
(nano-IT devices, nano-physics, nano-materials, nano-biology, nano-
process and metrology )
Language: English
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (3-21-1 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0063,
Japan)
Date and Time: February 20 (Mon.), 2006, 12:00-19:45 (including 1 min
oral presentation)
Requirements for Main Presenter: under 40 years old, single
application for a main presenter
Deadline: November 4, 2005
Details: http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/event/japannano2006/notice/
Application Form: http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/event/japannano2006
/notice/jpnano2006en_1.doc
Instruction for Abstract Preparation: http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english
/event/japannano2006/notice/jpnano2006_2.pdf
----------------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
Nanonet Interview:
"Life process from the viewpoint of physics
--Interface between life and engineering --"
Akiyoshi WADA, Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo,
President, Yokohama Science Center, Special Advisor, RIKEN Genomic
Sciences Center and Executive Director, Ochanomizu University
Young Researchers' Introduction:
"Size-dependent electroless plating and its application to near-
field optical fiber probes"
Shuji MONONOBE, Sub-leader, Near-Field Optics Group, Special
Research Laboratory for Optical Science, Kanagawa Academy of Science
and Technology
-- NANO CALENDAR --
For information on nanotechnology related symposiums and conferences
held in the world,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/calendar/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NANONET INTERVIEW
Life process from the viewpoint of physics
--Interface between life and engineering --
(Issued in Japanese: March 16, 2004)
Akiyoshi WADA, Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo,
President, Yokohama Science Center, Special Advisor, RIKEN Genomic
Sciences Center and Executive Director, Ochanomizu University
Living organisms have a hierarchical structure that consists of
molecules, metabolic networks, cells, tissues, organs, individuals,
and populations. Prof. Wada has unraveled life processes by studying
the various physical properties of macromolecules, including DNA and
proteins, that are involved in transmission, recording and expression
of genetic information within a cell using innovative methods based on
his novel ideas and tools. His studies have been based on the
perspective of how living organisms utilize physical and chemical
principles for their existence.
After graduating from the department of chemistry, Prof. Wada started
investigating the properties of internal rotation of small molecules,
such as dichloroethane, using a variety of physical methods. From
there, his interests shifted to conformational changes in polymers,
and he began to study helix-coil transitions of proteins in Prof. Paul
Doty's lab at Harvard University, where biological macromolecules were
being researched. Prof. Wada's interest in "the relationship between
living organisms and physical properties" increased in one of the most
advanced research environments in biophysics.
Several years after returning to Japan, Prof. Wada was invited to join
the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science at The University of
Tokyo, where he started researching the physical properties of DNA and
proteins. He wondered, for instance, how the physical properties of
DNA support its biological functions under the restriction of genetic
information. One of his answers was the "close relationship between
genetic information, i.e. base sequences, and the stability
distributed along a DNA double helix". The DNA double helix is made up
of alternately and regularly aligned deoxyribose and phosphoric acid.
The four bases responsible for genetic information are linked to
deoxyribose and G (guanine)-C (cytosine) and A (adenine)-T (thymine)
base pairs are formed to maintain the double helix structure. In G-C
rich regions, the bonding is stronger, and the double helix is more
stable than in A-T rich regions. Prof. Wada discovered that the double
helix structure of individual genes is uniformly stable, in other
words, a gene has a 'homostabilizing propensity'. "When DNA is
replicated, the double helix must unwind smoothly into its genetic
units. Therefore, the stability of the double helix should be
uniformed within the genetic units: genes. The stability as a physical
characteristic is related to genetic information," says Prof. Wada.
Prof. Wada wondered how the double helix of genetic units maintains
uniform stability without the genetic information changing. He looked
for the answers in the redundancy of the "codons," or arrangements of
three bases that specify the same amino acid. For leusine, which is an
amino acid, the first and the second bases of the codon have to be C
and T, respectively. However, the third one can be T, C, A or G. He
says, "The stability may be adjusted by using weak A-T base-pairing or
strong G-C pairing at the codon's third letter without changing the
protein's amino acid-sequence. Thus, living organisms utilize the
flexibility in the third position without changing the genetic meaning."
It was remarkable to determine the relationship between the physical
properties of DNA and the strategy for extending life. The originality
of his research is appreciated again 20 years after publication.
Prof. Wada developed a high-speed and automated DNA base-sequence
analyzer. In the early 80's, he thought that decoding a large amount
of base sequences was necessary for further DNA research, and
therefore, decoding DNA base sequences automatically for much faster
analysis was indispensable. His idea was published in the magazine
'Nature' in 1987, where research involving human genome project was
reported: his idea led to progress in human genome projects worldwide.
Fully automated DNA analyzers currently being used are what he
pictured in the article and partially utilize the technology he
developed. One DNA analyzer can decode one million base pairs in a day.
Prof. Wada has been trying to determine the principles and strategy
for designing living machines. He compares living organisms, which are
naturally engineered machines, to artificial machines. "The design of
artificial machines is based on the principles of physics and
chemistry and accumulated engineering knowledge. Biomachines are based
on the capacity for survival in a fickle global environment," says
Prof. Wada. Bionanotechnology applies the principle of "strategy of
life" to engineering. He says, "Biomachines make use of nanometer-size
spaces effectively while engineered machines utilize micrometer-size
spaces at best. Biomachines have evolved over 3.6 billion years; there
is so much to learn from their strategy for survival on the Earth.
(Interviewer: Naoko Nishimura, Cosmopia Inc.)
For more information,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2005/055a.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
YOUNG RESEARCHERS' INTRODUCTION
Size-dependent electroless plating and its application to near-field
optical fiber probes
(Issued in Japanese: March 30, 2004)
Shuji MONONOBE, Sub-leader, Near-Field Optics Group, Special
Research Laboratory for Optical Science, Kanagawa Academy of Science
and Technology
We have developed a scanning near-field optical microscope with a
fiber probe, which is expected to be a powerful tool in the
development of near-field optical microscopy. Since the spatial
resolution of this microscope is determined by the apex size of the
probe, fabrication of the probe is very important in the development
of high-resolution near-field optical microscopy. Tapering a fiber and
making an aperture by coating the tip, except for the apex region,
with a metal is an effective method for preparing probes. Previously,
we prepared tapered fibers by chemical etching, coating with gold by
sputtering, and removal of the gold film covering the apex. However,
it is difficult to mass-produce the probes due to low reproducibility
during the removal process. We have proposed an electroless plating
method which does not require the removal of a metal film. In this
method, a nanometer scale apex on a tapered fiber cannot be coated
with metal easily because the ease of plating changes with the size of
a substrate in electroless plating. The mechanism and temporal
dynamics for this effect, as well as methods to control this effect,
are not well understood. In this study, we develop physical and
chemical methods to control the size-dependence effect in electroless
plating. For example, we have added heavy metal ion to the plating
bath.
For more information,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2005/055b.html
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan distributes
this e-mail newsletter, "JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN", every other Thursday
with the aim of promoting information exchange and cooperation among
researchers in nanotechnology and related fields.
The next issue of JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN will be delivered on
October 27, 2005.
JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN contains articles, "Nanonet Interview", in
which we interview a leading researcher about current issues and/or
research strategies for the future and "Young Researchers'
Introduction", in which a young researcher in the nanotechnology field
introduces his/her own recent research.
We appreciate your support very much and promise to continue to gather
and disseminate information for your benefit.
Read details on our privacy policy at:
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/policy.html
Subscribe at:
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/index.html
Change or cancel your subscription at:
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/upd_del.html
Inquiry about the newsletter:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Our website: http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/
Inquiry:
Copyright(c) 2003-2005, Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of
Japan,
All rights reserved.
