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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: June 2001

Japanese researchers create medical microbot

from the in-a-spin dept.
The New Scientist Magazine reports that a team of micromachine experts at Tohoku University in Japan have developed a millimeter scale medical robot that could swim along veins, ferrying drugs to infected tissues, or even burrow into tumours to kill them off with a hot lance. The devices are actually tiny spinning screws based on cylindrical magnets. Measuring eight millimetres long and less than a millimetre in diameter (about the size of a rice grain), each magnet is made of a neodymium-iron-boron alloy. When an external magnetic field is applied, the screws literally drill their way through fluids or, in one test case, two centimeters of solid flesh (beef steak).

Additional coverage can be found at Online.ie News and The Times of London.

Researchers induce suspended animation in fish embryos

from the hold-everything dept.
Researchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed a method to induce a state of so-called suspended animation in the zebrafish, a relatively new model of vertebrate developmental biology. Their work is reported in the 12 June 2001 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Early Edition No. 24). The abstract is available without a subscription.

The researchers discovered that after 24 hours of oxygen deprivation — resulting in cessation of all observable metabolic activity, including heartbeat — zebrafish embryos can resume a normal course of development with no harmful effects on their health or growth. "Understanding the mechanisms that control biological quiescence could have dramatic implications for medical care, as it could give us an ability to control life processes at the most basic, fundamental level," said Mark Roth, Ph.D., a member of the Hutchinson Center's Basic Sciences Division and one of the principal researchers.

Open Source, Distributed Computing in the news

The New York Times ran a special supplement on E-Business (13 June 2001) that included a number of interesting articles, including an interview with open source advocate Tim O'Reilly ("Making Programs Like Water: Free and Transparent", by K. Hafner) and an article on distributed software ("Software's Next Leap Is Out of the Box", by J. Markoff).

U.S. Army program looks at military nanotech applications

from the small-arms dept.
For a detailed look at what short-term applications the U.S. Army sees for nanotechnology, you can take a look at the proceedings of a Workshop on Nanoscience for the Soldier, which was held by the Army Research Office at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Durham, NC, in early February.

The work shop marked the start of a program announced by the U.S. Army to create a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), with industry partners, to develop nanometer-scale science and technology solutions that could be incorporated into a soldier's gear. That could be a uniform that monitors a soldier's vital signs, or sends out an alert in the presence of toxins and decontaminates the soldier before any damage occurs. Or it could be a material that changes color to camouflage the soldier or protect him or her against ballistics.

An article on the Small Times web site provides a good overview of the Army program, as well those of other branches of the U.S. military.

Houston looks to nanotech to hold on as energy capital

from the deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas dept.
An article in the Houston Business Journal ("Nanotechnology may help city keep energy capital title", by A. Coleman, 1 June 2001) makes the audacious claim that "Houston is the center of research into nanotechnology", and ponders how nanotech may help the oil capital retain its primacy in energy production industries. The article quotes Richard Smalley, director of Rice's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, who says he does not know of any short-term applications of nanotechnology to energy, but the long-term benefits will be tremendous: lighter-weight materials, better insulation, and, in the very long term, solar energy generation. "If there is an answer to our solar energy needs it most certainly will be nano," says Smalley.

The article also mentions potential applications of nanotechnology in molecular electronics (quoting Riceís James Tour) and in oil exploration, extraction and processing, as well as cleaning up spills and pollution from fossil fuels.

Animated view of Drexler

from the fine-motion dept.
Those who want a better look at the molecular fine motion controller designed by Eric Drexler at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Josh Hall has created an animation of the fine motion controller that allows it to be rotated around one (the vertical) axis. The animation allows you to view the device design from different angles not available in static single-angle views.

Jurvetson in Red Herring on nanotech

from the information-investment dept.
Venture capitalist and Foresight Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson has an article in Red Herring ("From the ground floor: The business paths to nanotech", 15 June 2001) that points out the importance of manipulating information in the development of practical nanotechnology applications, whether they occur via biological or microtechnology pathways. Jurvetson concludes, "With replicating molecular machines, physical production itself migrates to the rapid innovation cycle of information technology. Matter becomes code."

Jurvetson will be participating in a special panel on venture capital and nanotechnology at the Ninth Foresight Conference in November 2001.

Computer virus reports suspected child pornography

from the automated-accusations dept.
The New York Times reports ("Virus Searches for Pornography", by R. Furchgott, 11 June 2001) on a rogue computer program which searches computers for what it suspects may be child pornography and reports file names to the police, has raised legal questions and seems sure to fuel the debate over privacy.

S. Korean consul describes nanotechnology plans

from the World-Watch dept.
In an interview with United Press International ("South Korean consular describes tech trends", by K. Hearn, 9 June 2001), Sangseon Kim, science consular at the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C., describes his countryís intent to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.13 billion) in a ten-year nanotechnology investment program. When asked what he thought of the idea of an international body to steer research and applications of nanotechnology similar to the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative, Kim said, "I think that is a good idea. If you image the Human Genome Project, how it involved international cooperation, you see it is a good model. The United States can be a leading country in this field but one country can't cover all areas. International cooperation is important to prove and promote R&D activities.î

Intel reports smallest conventional transistor

from the Mooreís-law-still-on-the-books dept.
A number of people spotted the news about this item: At a technical conference being held this weekend in Kyoto, Japan, a scientist for the Intel Corporation reported that the company had successfully made a handful of silicon transistors no more than 70 to 80 atoms wide and 3 atoms thick, using conventional chipmaking equipment. They are capable of switching on and off 1.5 trillion times a second, making them the world's fastest silicon transistor. News coverage can be found in:

The New York Times
Reuters
CNET

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