from the what's-obvious? dept.
A federal appeals court declared that "BN has mounted a substantial challenge to the validity of the patent in the suit." The case has been sent back for further proceedings. The Internet E-Newsarticle is discussed on Slashdot, where "Artagel" gave a link to the court decision. Cases like this are defining what can be turned into intellectual property.
from the apocalypse-not dept.
An AP report "Study eases fears of modified plants" says "A 10-year look at genetically modified crops found that they survive no better than their conventional cousins, easing fears that superplants could stray from farm fields and crowd out natural species." The original report was published in Nature [subscription required] "Transgenic crops in natural habitats." The Economist [subscription required] reported on "Genetically modified weaklings."
IMHO, there are parallels to the issue of the likely fragility and vulnerability of future nanomachines in natural environments. Alarmism about "superweeds" has some analogies to the fixation on "gray goo" dangers, rather than taking a broader view of safety issues in desiging nanomachines. – Bryan
from the tinker-toys-taking-off dept.
Charles Vollum writes "Researchers at UCLA have come up with a reconfigurable molecular switch that works in a solid state at room temperature." According to a UPI article. " 'We feel that we truly have a line-of-site toward manufacturing an extremely powerful and efficient molecular based computing machine,' said team leader James Heath, professor of chemistry at UCLA and scientific co-director of the recently created California NanoSystems Institute."
from the twice-as-nice-for-bottom-up dept.
In Wiring Up Nanoelectronics, in MIT's Technology Review, Alan Leo writes "In the race to create ever-tinier electronic devices, nanowires are looking like a better bet. This month a team of Harvard researchers disclosed that they had created several functional nanoscale semiconductor devices, including the world's smallest bipolar transistor. Using silicon nanowires, semiconductive filaments only 20 nanometers wide, researchers in the lab of Harvard professor Charles Lieber also built a nanoscale diode and an inverter, the first devices ever assembled from both positive- and negative-type nanoscale semiconductors."
from the strategies-for-survival dept.
ChrisPhoenix writes "Human societies have felt the need to regulate, or try to regulate, many different kinds of technologies. All of these technologies have been far less powerful than a mature nanotechnology. Is regulation of nanotech a good idea? If so, what form could it take? If not, is it preventable? Is limited, effective regulation a possibility?"
Read more for the rest of Chris's essay and invitation to discussion.
from the but-will-they-relinquish-when-you-tell-them-to dept.
ChrisPhoenix writes "Bill Joy will be speaking about "Genomics, Robotics, and Nanotechnology: Science and Religion Converse on the Shape of the Future" on Wednesday February 14, 2001, 7:30 p.m. at Grace Cathedral, 1051 Taylor St., Gresham Hall, Rooms 150-250, San Francisco. Details are at ctns.org. They'll have panel responses from several scientists, a theologian, and an ethicist. The event is put on by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, publishers of Science) and by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.
After you go to the talk, come back here and comment on it! Personally, I'm very interested in whether Mr. Joy has developed any viable plans yet for enforcing the limitations he wants to place on technology. Chris"
from the P2P-4-3D dept.
Matthew Gream writes "Slashdot records and comments upon a presentation, "Napster Fabbing: Internet Delivery of Physical Products" about what is 'in principle' an early stage of nano-tech based replication." The page links to two more papers on Atoms from Bits: The Digital Revolution in Manufacturing and The Origins and Direction of the Fabricator Revolution. The Slashdot discussion includes perceptive comments from some people with experience in the field, as well as "it won't work" doubters and true believers. Read More for Matthew's comments.
from the debugging-P2P-networks dept.
Biomednet's HMS Beagle web magazine has an opinion piece, Something Rotten at the Core of Science? reprinted from the February edition of Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, calling for more openess and objective evaluation of peer review procedures. "Evidence suggests serious flaws exist in the peer review process; one study indicates that it's no better than chance in evaluating papers." The abstract says "A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision and an analysis of the peer review system substantiate complaints about this fundamental aspect of scientific research. Far from filtering out junk science, peer review may be blocking the flow of innovation and corrupting public support of science."
from the ensuring-friendly-super-intelligence dept.
The February Extropy Institute Newsletter announced that Extro-5: Shaping Things to Come "will take place from June 15th to 17th at the San Jose Hilton and Towers in San Jose, California." It is intended to be a "solution-oriented conference" with extensive participation aiming "to come to useful, actionable conclusions." Themes are:
"TransVision 2001 will take place one week after Extro-5, from June 22nd to 24th, 2001 in Berlin, Germany."
from the mastering-the-technology dept.
warlock writes " Cranfield University is starting what it claims is the first nanotechnology degree course in Europe this year, for those of you who want to check it out. I'd be interested in hearing what you guys think of this course."
