By the time I publish this post, it’s likely to be almost the end of 2014’s Nano Days events (March 29 – April 6, 2014) leaving only a small time to participate (a map of NanoDays destinations and participant centers and museums can be found here).

Moving on to other news, It seems that conference season has opened (from the April 2014 issue of the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network’s [NISENet] Nano Bite),

→ The NISE Network is gearing up for an exciting spring filled with conferences, opportunities to connect with colleagues, and chances to begin new partnerships. The NISE Network will be present at the following upcoming conferences and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

2014 Spring MRS Meeting [Materials Research Society] – April 21-25 – San Francisco, CA

• NISE Network Booth – Visit the NISE Network booth and learn about becoming a science collaborator!
• NanoDays Booth – NanoDays 2015 takes place March 28-April 5, 2015. Learn how to get involved!
• Hands-on Nano Coffee Hours (M-W; 9:30-10:30am and 2:30-3:30pm)
• Student Mixer at Marriott Marquis – Mingle and explore interactive science activities (Monday, April 21^st from 7:00-8:00pm)
• Professional Development & Education Sessions

 ACM Interactivity 2014 – May 13-16 – Phoenix, AZ [ACM is Association for Computing Machinery]

• NISE Network Booth – Marketplace Exhibit Hall (Thursday, May 15^th from 7:30am-4:30pm)
• Special Evening Event: Arizona Science Center – The NISE Network with have a table with fun, hands-on nano activities for guests. Come join us! (Tuesday, May 13^th from 7:00-9:00pm; pre-registration and ticket required)
• Professional Development Sessions – Hear from NISE Net Partners

  AAM – May 18-21 – Seattle, WA [AAM is American Alliance of Museums]

• NISE Network Happy Hour – Partners old and new are welcomed to join the festivities, no RSVP required (Monday, May 19^th from 5:00-7:00pm)
• Professional Development Sessions- Hear from NISE Net Partners

….

→ Upcoming Conferences and Meetings

• Cyberlearning Research Summit – Madison, WI – June 9-10, 2014
• Visitor Studies Association Conference 2014 – Albuquerque, NM – July 15-19, 2014
• ASTC [Association of Science – Technology Centers]- Raleigh, NC – October 17-21, 2014. Participate in the NISE Network pre-conference workshop “From Demonstration to Conversation: Engaging Visitors in Technology and Society”

Here’s something I missed in December 2013, research from Rice University on better ways to diagnose malaria (from the April 2014 Nano Bite),

→ World Health Day. Did you know that more than half of the world’s population is at risk from vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue? Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases, sickening more than 300 million people and killing more than 600,000 each year, mostly young children. Traditional malarial testing includes a “blood smear” test, which requires a lab technician, chemical reagents, and microscopes for analysis. This method is expensive and often unavailable in clinics in developing countries.

Researchers from Rice University have developed a new diagnostic technology that uses a low-powered laser that creates tiny vapor “nanobubbles” inside malaria-infected cells that allow for an extremely sensitive diagnosis. This method takes advantage of the optical properties and nanosize of hemozoin, a nanoparticle produced by a malaria parasite inside red blood cells. This is the first test that can accurately detect malaria in seconds without the use of blood sampling or reagents. The first field trials of the technology in humans are expected to begin in Houston in early 2014.

– Read the full press-release

I hadn’t realized that April is poetry month but it’s here on a list of ‘days’ and other themed celebratory time periods (from the April 2014 issue of the Nano Bite),,

• World Health Day (April 7, 2014)
  • See NISE Net Exhibit “Intro to Nanomedicine video”
  • See NISE Net Program “Exploring Products – Sunblock activity”
  • See NISE Net Program “Nanotech and Consumer Products”
  • See NISE Net Forum “Nanomedicine in Healthcare”
  • See NISE Net Exhibit “Nanomedicine Explorer”
  • See NISE Net Program “Cleaning Our Water with Nanotechnology”
  • See NISE Net Program “Disease Detectives middle school outreach program”
  • See NISE Net Program “Nano Latch-n-Catch Nanomedicine Activity”
• National Environmental Education Week (April 13-19, 2014)
• Earth Day (April 22, 2014)
  • See NISE Net Program “Tiny Solutions to Our Big Energy Problem”
  • See NISE Net Forum “Energy Challenges, Nanotech Solutions”
  • See NISE Net Program “Cleaning Our Water with Nanotechnology”
  • See DragonflyTV Episode “Water Clean Up”
  • See DragonflyTV Episode “Nanosilver”
  • See NISE Net Program “Nanosilver: Breakthrough or Biohazard?”
  • See NISE Net Video “Does Every Silver Lining Have a Cloud”
• National Poetry Month (April) – A time for schools and communities to come together to celebrate poetry. View 30 ways to celebrate!

Finally, the newsletter features a haiku this month, as it almost always does,

HAIKU

Nano, where are thee?
I cannot see with thy eye
Oh, you’re are all around!

This month’s haiku submitted by Kayla Berry, NISE Network Coordinator.

You can find the entire April 2014 issue of the Nano Bite here.