Nanotechnology 2003: The year in review

What do you think were the most important nano-related developments of 2003? What were the downsides and upsides of nanotechnology's breakthrough into the mainstream?

Phillip Ball from Nature magazine makes his case, from a British perspective, here.

Nanotech Investor Conference – Foresight Discount Available

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Nanotech Investing Conference (3rd Annual)
February 2-3, 2004
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NanoBusiness Alliance downplays role in MNT study deletion

Formerly implying they played a primary, or at least major, role in getting the MNT study taken out of recent legislation, NbA is now downplaying their part in the process. Perhaps they got some flak about it? See Howard Lovy's blog item. Note to Mark M.: it is a risky thing to make fun of bloggers–they can make a difference. Just ask Trent Lott, the former Senate majority leader.

But Siriusly, folks … The Neofiles Interview

HLovy writes "R.U. Sirius, who has an impressive track record of spotting cultural and technological trends years before the rest of the media pick up on it, has posted an interview with me on his neofiles Webzine.

More on Howard Lovy's NanoBot."

The Most Expensive Nanotubes in the World?

Roland Piquepaille writes "Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) in Israel have produced a new type of nanotube made of gold or silver. These nanotubes, which are produced at room temperature, don't have the mechanical strength of the more common carbon nanotubes. But they have unique electrical and optical properties, making them ideally suited "to form the basis for future nanosensors, catalysts and chemistry-on-a-chip systems." The story doesn't give any clues about availability for future products. It doesn't mention prices either. But considering that carbon nanotubes cost between $500 and $900 per gram, I wonder what will be the price for nanotubes made from gold. This summary contains more details and a spectacular image of gold nanoparticle nanotubes obtained with a scanning electron microscope."

Carbon Nanotubes Grown on Plastic

JohnFaith writes "Technology Research News reports that Researchers from the University of Cambridge have grown nanotubes on plastic substrate. From the pictures in the article, the structures look more like tall thin cones, but maybe the tips are single tubes?"

Nanoscaffoldings Help Growing Neurons

Roland Piquepaille writes "Scientists at Northwestern University have designed the smallest scaffoldings in the world made of self-assembling structures built from synthetic molecules. This news release says that these nanostructures can promote neuron growth. This could lead to "the reversal of paralysis due to spinal cord injury." This research has important potential because, as says Nature, "every year in the United States alone, about 15,000 people damage their spines [and] few recover fully." The results of this research work have been published by Science (free registration needed to read the abstract). This summary contains more details and excerpts."

Squid's Flashlight May Lead to New Nanolights

Roland Piquepaille writes "Several articles appeared yesterday about how a small Hawaiian squid is using reflective plates to confuse predators, paving the way for a new generation of optical nanotechnology tools. Here are two short stories from Scientific American, "Squid May Inspire New Nanolights," and from Ananova, "Nature's 'searchlight' could leave inventors squids in." Scientific American says that this small squid has "a built-in flashlight made up of a previously unknown type of protein." The authors of the study called it "reflectin". I'm not sure if this will lead to future nanolight tools, but Ananova reports that "the structure of the reflecting plates could offer inspiration to nanotechnology designers." This overview contains more details and includes a picture of the cute three-inch-long Hawaiian bobtail squid."

Nanotech Aesthetics Abstract

JeremyTurner writes "Here is an abstract I proposed in 2003 about MNT's potential impact on the contemporary artworld. I was hoping to get some feedback from Nanodot users about the subject and advice as to the types of venues and resources that are currently available for me to publish this abstract and develop the research in further detail.

Nano's 'No GMO' Mantra

HLovy writes "It's obvious that business and government have a bad case of DNA PTSD, or genetic shell shock, which is why they certainly won't get fooled again when it comes to nanotechnology. I've heard the mantra many times during the past few years: "No More GMO." But the chanters wear pinstripes and not patchouli oil.

Public outcry (especially in Europe) against genetically modified organisms was the result of a determined effort between science, business and government to completely misread the public. It took some serious brainpower, collusion and planning to so totally miss the point on what gets the masses all fired up, and the important role public perception plays in the introduction of any new technology. The biggest mistake was the arrogant assumption that the public will accept as inherently good anything that helps big biotech companies succeed and farmers increase their yields. What was missing from the equation, of course, was consideration of how the public "feels" about genetic manipulation.

More on Howard Lovy's NanoBot."

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