Category: Nanodot

from the itís-the-little-things dept.
An article in Science News ("Molecular Chemistry Takes a New Twist", by J. Gorman, 2 June 2001) describes new calculations by a research team at Rutgers University that seem to show that a basic tenet of chemistry is wrong: Ethane forms its most stable structure not due to so-called steric effects, but because of a quantum mechanical influence. This research is important because chemists have long attributed many of the structural properties of organic molecules to steric effects. As the article concludes, "Researchers can no longer assume that steric effects play the major role in determining stable forms . . . They should give more attention to quantum mechanical effects when studying biological molecules and processes such as protein folding."

from the it's-about-time dept.
SteveLenhert at nanotech.about.com writes "Encyclopedia Nanotech is an attempt to minimize confusion resulting from interdisciplinary terminology. Recently I redefined assembler the way I understand the concept and introduced two specific types of assemblers – self-assembler and directed assembler. I'm also trying to clarify the concepts of self-replication and self-assembly. I welcome any suggested definitions of words relating to nanotechnology – in particular, the word nanotechnology itself!"

from the computing-with-microbes dept.
Patrick Underwood writes "A short New Scientist article describes the work of Michael Simpson, Gary Sayler and James Fleming of Oak Ridge, who have modified _Pseudomonas putida_ bacteria cells to produce AND and OR gates. Online at http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999778"

from the sorting-things-out dept.
alison writes "A recent posting on the Advanced Light Source website describes how UCSF researchers have figured out the structure and mechanism of selective cell membrane channels in E. coli. The channel in question, called GlpF, admits glycerol and water into cells, but not ions. This research has important implications not only for our understanding of how cells regulate their chemical environment, but also for stimulating new ideas about manipulation and selection of molecules for molecular assembly projects."

from the gene-blues dept.
In an extensive article in The New Republic ("Preventing a Brave New World", May 2001), Leon R. Kass considers some of the moral, ethical, philosophical and legal issues surrounding the possibility of human cloning, and argues that it should be banned. "Human nature itself lies on the operating table," Kass asserts, ìready for alteration, for eugenic and psychic 'enhancement,' for wholesale re-design . . . evangelists are zealously prophesying a post-human future."

Kass, a professor at the University of Chicago and co-author of a book on the ethics of cloning, appears to assume that a "post-human future" implies a future without humans (or at least, human values — as he defines them) when he writes, "No friend of humanity cheers for a post-human future." A ban on human cloning, Kass concludes, is necessary because "Now may be as good a chance as we will ever have to get our hands on the wheel of the runaway train now headed for a post-human world and to steer it toward a more dignified human future."

While focused on human cloning and biological procreation, the article provides a possible insight into how some segments of society may react to the development of non-biological enhancements to human beings, as well as entities with artificial intelligence.

from the it's-not-a-nightmare-if-you're-awake dept.
Politech gives a pointer to the final report of an NSF conference on "Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, NSF". Politech's editor said "This is an important report, though the Viola Vogel comments are from someone who is in part a nanotechnology critic. For instance, Vogel calls simulating a human mind on a computer a "nightmarish scenario," though it seems to me to be an inevitable and unobjectionable step."

from the well-worth-reading dept.
A Rand Corporation "foresight" report on "The Global Technology Revolution: Bio/Nano/Materials Trends and Their Synergies with Information Technology by 2015" examines the potential effects of several technological trends over the next 15 years.
As described by the authors in their introduction, the report covers "[a] number of significant technology-related trends appear poised to have major global effects by 2015. These trends are being influenced by advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials technology, and information technology . . . [the] implications are varied and can include social, political, economic, environmental, or other factors. In many cases, the significance of these technologies appears to depend on the synergies afforded by their combined advances as well as on their interaction with the so-called information revolution."

Although the authors feel "the present period in molecular manufacturing research is extremely exciting", their basic conclusion about advanced nanotechnology is rather cautious:
"Although molecular manufacturing holds the promise of significant global changes . . . it remains the least concrete of the technologies discussed here. Significant progress has been made, however, in the development of component technologies within the first regime of molecular manufacturing, where objects might be constructed from simple molecules and manufactured in a short amount of time via parallel atomic force microprobes or from simple self-assembled structures. Although the building blocks for these systems currently exist only in isolation at the research stage, it is certainly reasonable to expect that an integrated capability could be developed over the next 15 years . . . A series of important breakthroughs could certainly cause progress in this area to develop much more rapidly, but it seems very unlikely that macro-scale objects could be constructed using molecular manufacturing within the 2015 timeframe."

The full report is available online, and as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

from the natural-molecular-manufacturing dept.
William Morgan writes "Just a reminder that there is more than one path…
A press release on EurekAlert describes an article in Science about researchers at UC Santa Cruz who used x-ray crystallography to detail the structure of ribosomes."

In a paper published in the 30 March 2001 issue of Science, the researchers describe the structure of a bacterial ribosome in sufficient detail to begin to understand how it works. "This allows us to see what all the key parts are and how they interact," said Harry Noller, head of the group that obtained the new images. "The ribosome is a molecular machine, and it must have moving parts to accomplish its function. We are now in a position to understand the structural rearrangements of the ribosome during protein synthesis," Noller said. The abstract of the paper is freely available online.

Previous research into the fine structure of ribosomes was covered here in July and August of 2000.

from the Bunny-bemusement dept.
Is a glowing bunny an aesthetic statement? rinkjustice calls our attention to this item, which raises some interesting questions about what happens when genetic manipulation moves beyond basic research and the treatment of genetic diseases into . . . other arenas:
"Chicago-based conceptual artist Eduardo Kac has created a stir when he was prevented from unveiling his latest high tech art named Alba, at an exhibition of digital art in Paris. Alba is a transgenic bunny that glows bright green in blue light. It was the result of splicing the green fluorescent protein from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish into the genes of a rabbit. Some called the denial of his exhibit censorship, while others — horrified at this genetic manipulation — accuse Kac of playing God.
Is Alba legitimate bio-art? Is it an indication of how house pets will be in the future? Kac is already in the process of combining said jellyfish protein with Mexican hairless dogs for a glow unobscured by fur."

from the alternative-chemistries dept.
Brian Wang spotted this interesting item in Electronic Engineering Times on boron nitride nanostructures: "Northwestern University research has delivered the world's first nanotubes, -cones and -spheres constructed from boron nitride rather than the usual carbon. Single-walled boron-nitride (BN) nanostructures are hypothetically stronger and lighter than steel, but were only recently demonstrated here by professor Laurence Marks. Once BN nanostructures are embedded into polymers, they could serve to ruggedize the surface of metal parts, as well as form the basis for oxidation-proof coating. BN nanostructures have been hypothesized since carbon buckyballs were first built in the 1980s. But previous evidence of BN nanostructures was limited to multiwalled nanotubes, concentric fullerenes and nano-arches, the images for which were obtained only after the samples had been exposed to air, contaminating them with artifacts."