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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Month: November 2001

New York universities battle for Army nanotech center

from the regional-conflicts dept.
An article in the Albany, NY Times Union ("Building a better high-tech soldier: New York colleges expected to compete for prestigious Army research grant", by K. Aaron, 25 November 2001) describes the competition among New York State-based universities to host the University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) for the U.S. Armyís Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN). Universities across the United States have been competing for the contract for the center (as noted here on 1 November 2001); the deadline for proposals was 15 November 2001.
The Times Union article was also reprinted on the Small Times website.

Update on Minatec in France

from the World-Watch dept.
For those who do not read French, Minatec, a research and incubation center for microtechnology and nanotechnology startups Grenoble, France, now has a version of its website in English (in addition, of course, to its home site in French). You can keep up with developments at Minatec through their newsletter, which is available online or as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

Nanotech funding for Massachusetts University

An article in the Daily Collegian (" Nanotechnology department gets recognized", by Catherine Turner, 26 November 2001), the campus newspaper of the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst, provides information on recent funding for nano-scale research projects there.

Disparate paces of law and technology

DavidForrest writes "Thanks to Kris Holley for finding this article on human cloning and the desire by some to regulate it:
http://cnn.technology.emailthis.clickability.com/e t/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=490262681 From my perspective, this continues to demonstrate how technological advances lead regulatory control. (I'm not necessarily advocating regulatory control for human cloning.) But in the case of nanotechnology I have proposed a regulatory framework (https://foresight.org/NanoRev/ Forrest1989.html). It seems likely that nothing like this will be implemented prior to the development of molecular assembler systems. In the absence of that, all we have now are the IMM and Foresight Guidelines (http://www.imm.org/guidelines/current.html) and whatever inadequate laws can be adopted to molecular assembler systems (discussed in my 1989 paper).
– David Forrest"

Creation of cloned human embryos announced

The announcement by Worcester, Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology that its researchers had created cloned human embryos has set of a new round in the debates over cloning technology. ACT claims its work, reported in the 25 November 2001 issue of the Journal of Regenerative Medicine, is not aimed a producing fully-developed cloned humans, but at producing stem cells that can be used for generating individualized new tissues for therapeutic use. However, ACT also announced in a report in the 22 November 2001 issue of Science that its proprietary cloning technology has been used to produce healthy and normal adult animals (in this case, cattle).

Some additional background may be found in these articles from Reuters News Service on ACTís announcement, the renewed debate, and the companyís goals for therapeutic cloning.

Panel discussion on GNR technologies held in Washington, D.C.

A number of items on the KurzweilAI.net website present comments made by inventor-author Ray Kurzweil during a panel discussion on whether humans are an endangered species held in Washington, D.C. on 19 December 2001. Kurzweil proposed a major new national program to develop defensive strategies, technologies, and ethical standards to address the dangers of emerging genetic, nanotechnology and robotics (GNR) technologies. The panel also included Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems, environmentalist Bill McKibben, and theologian Ann Foerst. Responding to calls for a halt or relinquishment of development of GNR technologies, Kurzweil said, "I believe that implementing such a choice would require a Brave New World type of totalitarian government in which the government uses technology to ban the further development of technology," said Kurzweil. An outright ban "would be destructive, morally indefensible, and in any event would not address the dangers."

Kurzweilís comments were reported in a news item on the KurzweilAI.net website. In addition to a brief news item on the panel, you can read a briefing paper on the issues that have been raised in the debate on how to deal with GNR technologies, as well as a set of questions posed to Kurzweil during panel discussion and his responses.

Recent work in DNA biocomputing

According to a press release, a team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel a simple biocomputer (a programmable two-state, two-symbol finite automaton) using DNA molecules and enzymes. The work was reported in the 22 November 2001 issue of Nature. According to the press release, ìCollectively, the computers perform a billion operations per second with greater than 99.8% accuracy per operation while requiring less than a billionth of a Watt of power. This study may lead to future computers that can operate within the human body, interacting with its biochemical environment to yield far-reaching biological and pharmaceutical applications.î

Additional coverage is available on from Reuters, the BBC Online, and the Nature Science Update website.

Scientists design molecules that mimic nanostructure of bone

According to a press release, scientists at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois report they have been able to create nanoscale fibers that encourage mineral crystal growth and self-assemble into a matrix that resembles real bone. According to the researchers, the designer molecules hold promise for the development of a bonelike material to be used for bone fractures or in the treatment of bone cancer patients and have implications for the regeneration of other tissues and organs. Their research was reported in the 23 November 2001 issue of Science. Additional coverage is available in an item on the Nature Science Update website.

A recent nanotechnology seminar in Iran

A.M. Soltaani submitted this brief summary of a recent nanotech seminar in Iran: "Iran centre for industrial research and development affiliated to Industrial development and renovation organization in Iran, and Nanotechnology Policy Studies Committee affiliated to Presidential Technology Cooperation office have [held] a seminar on nanotechnology opportunities for Iranian industry in Teheran on Tuesday. Please see for more: http://www.tco.gov.ir/nano/English/events/Idro.htm"

[Editor's note: This item was submitted on Wednesday, 21 November 2001, so "Tuesday" presumably refers to 20 November, or perhaps 13 November 2001; no date is given on the linked web page. See also the recent post on nanotech in Iran.]

Chinese mull obstacles to nanotech leadership

from the World-Watch dept.
An article in the Taipei Times ("Nanotechnology's promise hailed", by Chiu Yu-Tzu, 16 November 2001) in Taiwan reports on comments made by Liu Jong-min, general director of the Industrial Technology Research Institute's (ITRI) material research laboratories, at a recent international conference on nanotechnology held in Taipei. Liu said that Taiwan's manufacturing industry was one of the nation's great strengths, but that the shortage of highly-trained professionals in the nanotechnology field was worrisome. ITRI is the lead agency for Taiwanís program to establish a Center for Applied Nanotechnology Institute, as reported here on 18 July 2001.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, at a conclave of Hong Kong-based academics and researchers, concern was expressed over the lack of government funding for nanotechnology-related research efforts. This according to a report from the South China Morning Post (20 November 2001) was reprinted on the Small Times website.

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