When we started TNT Weekly way back in 2000, scraping the barrel was a regular event. The low point was in February 2001 when a search of the entire universe turned up only six nano related stories, and two of those were duplicates.
Since then we have seen plenty of non stories, but given the current glut of nano news, a recent Small Times piece on Argentinean nanotech entitled largest sovereign debt default in history restructured, economic downturn possibly over, Hey Ho let’s perhaps go nano caught our eye. The justification seems to be the fact that the EU made a quick stop to discuss nano collaboration. Of course Latin American nanotech is nothing new, almost every country in the world has a nanotechnology initiative, and we have been working with Venezuela and Brazil for what seems like forever. Brazil even had a stand at Nanotech 2005 in Tokyo.
The European Commission runs around the entire known world encouraging (nano)technology collaboration and integration with EU research capabilities, and the doughty nanodiplomats trudging around the world don’t usually merit a mention. Its nice to know they are always guaranteed a decent steak on the pampas. On the other hand, or continent, if you want the best in Madrid, the Cientifica gastronauts recommend Casa Paco.