Continental Western Insurance Group, a U.S. regional commercial property and casualty insurer, has announced that it will cease insuring against “bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury related to the actual, alleged, or threatened presence of or exposure to nanotubes or nanotechnology in any form” starting November 15.

On October 2 at the nanotxUSA 2008 conference held in the U.S., Dr. Jacob Stanley of the U.S. Army Research and Development will present on nanotechnology applications needed by the U.S. military.

Spanish biotechnology company Zeltia Group and its companies Noscira and PharmaMar along with the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NANOMED) recently hosted the annual meeting of the working groups of the European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine (ETPN), a group of European industrial and academic nanotechnology experts established to address nanotechnology research, development, and innovation in the field of healthcare to improve the scientific and industrial competitiveness of Europe and to improve the “quality of life and health care” of Europeans.

Christine Peterson passes along this item from a recent (September 25, 2008) NanoBusiness Alliance Newsletter:

Insurer Excludes Nanotechnology from Policies

Beginning November 15, the Continental Western Insurance Group will no longer insure against bodily injury, property damage, or personal and advertising injury related to the actual, alleged, or threatened presence of or exposure to nanotubes or nanotechnology in any form.

We believe the decision to exclude “nanotubes and nanotechnology” was not well thought out. Treating nanotechnology as if it is monolithic makes no sense. A technology itself does not have risks and benefits — only the embodiments of the technology in the form of products do. Furthermore, the definitions were sufficiently broad that almost any business to be subject to the exclusion. This is the first exclusion. We hope that it will be reconsidered or pulled back altogether once the insurer understands the implications of the general purpose exclusion they created. But, we must also educate insurers so that they do not make ill informed policy like this in the future.

The insurance group cited the “as of yet, unknown and unknowable risks” created by nanotubes and nanotechnology in general, and pointed to recent reports of health risks raising concerns about similarities between certain types of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and asbestos fibers. Continental Western is believed to be the first insurer to exclude nanotubes and nanotechnology from its insurance policies.

—Jim

An announcement of an open position from the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility:

Successful candidates will have a Ph.D. in communication, science and technology studies, or closely aligned social scientific field. Research experience and knowledge of social and ethical issues of science, preferably nanotechnology, is preferred.

For the complete announcement:

Postdoctoral Associate. The Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) and the Department of Communication at Cornell University seek a Ph.D. level postdoctoral associate (1) to conduct research on the social and ethical implications (SEI) of nanotechnology, and (2) to coordinate activities within the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) http://www.nnin.org. The position presents an exciting opportunity for an early career researcher. Working alongside the SEI coordinator of CNF and the NNIN, the postdoctoral associate will function as a junior investigator, participating fully in research and related scholarly activities. Additional responsibilities include maintaining SEI website http://sei.nnin.org/, serving as a liaison with SEI coordinators at NNIN sites, and helping to organize annual meetings and workshops for SEI coordinators.

Successful candidates will have a Ph.D. in communication, science and technology studies, or closely aligned social scientific field. Research experience and knowledge of social and ethical issues of science, preferably nanotechnology, is preferred.

This is a one-year position, which includes a competitive salary and benefits package. A second year is possible and conditioned upon availability of resources and merit. Applications will be reviewed beginning October 1, 2008 until the position is filled. The start date is flexible, but ideally the associate will start by January 2009. Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply.

To apply, send a cover letter addressing position qualifications and goals, curriculum vita, proof of degree, one writing sample, names and contact information of two references. All materials should be sent to Dr. Katherine McComas, Department of Communication, 313 Kennedy Hall, CornellUniversity, Ithaca, NY 14853. For additional information, e-mail Dr. McComas (kam19 @cornell.edu) or telephone 607.255.6508.

Cornell University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer.

—Jim

One of the most subtle yet important ways of regulating the expression of genes is the addition or removal of methyl groups at specific positions on a DNA sequence. A nanotech method using quantum dots provides greatly increased sensitivity in the detection of methylated DNA, and may therefore aid in cancer diagnosis and in monitoring the effect of cancer therapies. From the American Association for Cancer Research, via AAAS EurekAlert “Scientists develop new, more sensitive nanotechnology test for chemical DNA modifications“:

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore have developed a novel test to screen for chemical modifications to DNA known as methylation. The technology potentially could be used both for early cancer diagnoses and for assessing patients’ response to cancer therapies.

During methylation, healthy genes can be switched on or off potentially causing cancer without any changes in the underlying DNA sequence. The current methods for methylation screening, have significant drawbacks, explains lead study author Vasudev Bailey, a biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate at Hopkins.

Methylation specific PCR, which copies specific DNA sequences millions of times within a few hours, may not be sensitive enough to detect small amounts of methylation, and real time PCR, which allows scientists to view increases in the amount of DNA as it is copied, needs to be run several times and can be expensive, he says.

The Hopkins-developed test makes PCR technology more sensitive and efficient, Bailey said. The work was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s third International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development being held September 22-25, 2008, in Philadelphia.

“The impact of detecting DNA methylation is profound, as it has been demonstrated that a larger number of tumor suppressor genes become inactivated through DNA methylation than by mutations,” Bailey said. “Our method of methylation screening provides an easy, cost-effective and valuable tool for the early diagnosis of cancer, monitoring tumor behavior and measuring the response of tumors to targeted cancer therapies.”

—Jim