It is always a pleasure when those whose work toward Feynman’s goal for nanotechnology—molecular manufacturing, defined as the construction of atomically-precise products through the use of molecular machine systems—whom we have recognized with a Foresight Institute Feynman Prize are subsequently also recognized by the wider community for the importance of their contributions. For example, Sir… Continue reading 2015 Feynman Prize winner named 2018 Australian of the Year
Protein design has been one of the major paths from current fabrication technology toward the goal of general purpose, high-throughput atomically precise manufacturing since Foresight co-founder Eric Drexler proposed it in 1981. It also produced some of the earliest promising results. Although de novo protein design was at first slow, progress has accelerated since David… Continue reading Design of hyperstable constrained peptides
Since winning the 2007 Foresight Institute Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, Theory category, Professor David Leigh FRS FRSE FRSC MAE, and since 2012 at the University of Manchester, has continued to achieve major milestones on the road to complex systems of molecular machinery. Contributions we have recently cited here: First direct measurement of force generated by… Continue reading Molecular robot builds four types of molecules
Our previous post announced a race around a 100 nm course of six NanoCars, each a unique concept created from only several dozen atoms and powered by electrical pulses. The race was run a few weeks later and two winners declared, due to two different tracks being used. From Swiss news “Swiss team wins shortest… Continue reading USA-Austrian and Swiss Nanocars finish first in first Nanocar race
Six NanoCars, each a unique concept created from only several dozen atoms by one of six teams representing six nations, and powered by electrical pulses, will compete to complete a 100 nm course within 38 hours.
A molecule with two unpaired electrons too unstable to be made by chemical synthesis was fabricated using a scanning probe microscope to remove two hydrogen atoms from a single molecule adsorbed to a copper surface at ultra low temperature and ultra high vacuum.
A review from the group leading recent rapid progress in de novo protein design describes the successes, identifies the remaining challenges, and heralds the advance “from the Stone Age to the Iron Age” in protein design.
Ten designs spanning three types of icosahedral architectures produce atomically precise multi-megadalton protein cages to deliver biological cargo or serve as scaffolds for organizing various molecular functions.
Atomically precise chevron-shaped graphene nanoribbons were purified after solution synthesis, cleanly placed by dry contact transfer on a hydrogen-passivated Si surface, imaged and manipulated by scanning tunneling microscopy, and covalently bonded to depassivated surface positions.
Computational recombination of small elements of structure from known protein structures generates a vast library of designs that balance protein stability with the potential for new functions and novel interactions.
