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The Latest From The Commerce Blog

Secretary Locke Joins Presidents Obama and Medvedev for U.S.-Russia Business Summit

Submitted on June 24, 2010 - 5:51pm
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Photo of Medevev, Obama and Locke at table.Commerce Secretary Gary Locke participated in the U.S.-Russia Business Summit today alongside President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Talking with both U.S. and Russian business and association leaders, Locke discussed further developing bilateral commercial relations and highlighted examples of new plans for cooperation between U.S. and Russian companies. Locke and Nabiullina co-chair the U.S.-Russia Business Development and Economic Relations Working Group and together solicited input from Summit participants. Read more  White House "Reset" fact sheet   DOC Fact sheet  White House blog   Press conference video

Commerce's NIST Team Advances in Translating 'Language' of Nanopores

Submitted on June 23, 2010 - 2:05pm
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Image of nanopresScientists from Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have moved a step closer to developing the means for a rapid diagnostic blood test that can scan for thousands of disease markers and other chemical indicators of health. The team reports it has learned how to decode the electrical signals generated by a nanopore—a "gate" less than two nanometers wide in an artificial cell membrane. 

Nanopores are not new themselves; for more than a decade, scientists have sought to use a nanopore-based electrical detector to characterize single-stranded DNA for genetic sequencing applications. More recently, NIST scientists turned their attention to using nanopores to identify, quantify and characterize each of the more than 20,000 proteins the body produces—a capability that would provide a snapshot of a patient's overall health at a given moment. But while nanopores permit molecules to enter into them one at a time, determining what specific individual molecule has just passed through has not been easy.  Read more here

Secretary Locke Joins Vice President Biden for Intellectual Property Enforcement Strategy Event

Submitted on June 22, 2010 - 3:00pm
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Photo of officials at White House meeting.U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials today at the White House to introduce the U.S. Government’s intellectual property enforcement strategy. Participants included U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk and U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel. In her White House Blog, Espinel wrote,

“I am pleased to announce that today we unveiled the administration’s first Joint Strategic Plan to combat intellectual property theft.  The U.S. economy leads the world in innovation and creativity thanks to American inventors, artists and workers.  Our ability to develop new technology, designs and artistic works supports jobs and allows us to export great new products and services around the world. Our citizens need to feel confident that they can invest in new innovation and intellectual property, knowing it will be safe from theft.  Ensuring that our ideas and ingenuity are protected helps us create jobs and increase our exports.”

Intellectual property refers to the ideas behind inventions, the artistry that goes into books and music, and the logos of companies whose brands we have come to trust that must be protected. Intellectual property represents the hard work, creativity, resourcefulness, investment and ingenuity of the American public.  White House Intellectual Property Website   White House video