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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Author: Foresight Editor

More investor interest

Two items join the drumbeat of coverage on the increasing interest by investors and venture capital firms in nanotechnology.

The first, from Small Times, covers a report issued by investment brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to its clients ("Merrill Lynch report bullish on nanotech as an investment", by Jeff Karoub, 7 September 2001). The report follows in the wake of a number of similar investment-oriented analyses of nanotechnology that have been issued in recent months.

A second report, from Tornado Insider ("Small is Big", by Alan R. Katz, 31 August 2001) provides a European perspective.

Economics and Abundance

DavidMasterson writes "Being relatively new to the issues of nanotechnology, I have no story to offer, but I would like to see a greater discussion of the economics associated with a world of abundance that (supposedly) nanotechnology (and related technologies) will provide. In particular, I wonder what all the billions of people on Earth will do to "make a living" when their needs are taken care of through nanotechnology. It's obvious that there will be a small number of people who will be able to "profit" (for lack of a better word) from the development of nanotechnology, but what about the millions (or billions) of other people whose jobs will be displaced by nanotechnology? Where will these people make their living?"

Business groups expressing interest, caution on nanotech

from the nanobusiness dept.
Advances in nanoscience research and development are spurring intense interest among investors and corporations, but many are also wary of "nano-hype" in the wake of the dot-com meltdown. An article describing these mixed views appeared in Red Herring magazine ("Nano a nano", S. Herrera, 31 August 2001). The article also describes the efforts of Mark Modzelewski in creating the NanoBusiness Alliance, an international nanotechnology trade association to lobby congress, commission white papers, and conduct symposia. Similar coverage appeared in The Boston Globe ("Nanotechnology emerges as the next new frontier", by Beth Healy, 3 September 2001

The first symposium sponsored by the NanoBusiness Alliance will be held in New York City on 3 October 2001, and will bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, policy makers, journalists and the public at large to examine the emerging ìbusinessî of nanotechnology.

Spiral nanotubes create

While much recent research news about nanotubes has focused on their electronic properties, this report in Applied Physics Letters (3 September 2001), by researchers at the University of Idaho, describes helical nanotubes that act as springs. The nanosprings could serve as positioners, or even as tiny conventional springs, for nanomachines of the future.

Directors have big plans for UTD nanotech center

from the deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas dept.
A flurry of news about the Nanotechnology Institute at the University of Texas-Dallas (UTD) appeared during August 2001 surround the appointment of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Alan G. MacDiarmid as chairman of the advisory board of UTD's new NanoTech Institute. MacDiarmid, who was awarded the Nobel in chemistry last year for his discoveries in conducting polymers, has been on faculty of the University of Pennsylvania since 1955, but will join UTD as a scholar in residence. Coverage appeared on Bcentral (20 August), Scripps-Howeard Reporter News (21 August) and Small Times (22 August) websites. According to the reports, MacDiarmid will also act as senior adviser on science and technology to UTD president Franklyn G. Jenifer.

Small Times also published an extensive interview (29 August) that included comments from MacDiarmid and the UDT Nanotech Instituteís new director, Dr. Ray Baughman, on their plans for development of the institute. Another interview with Baughman appeared on the Nanotech Planet website. Baughman assumed his post as director on 4 September 2001.

Issues raised by Bill Joy still being debated

from the reverberations dept.
Pondering the question of whether one can have too much Joy, a set of commentaries on the issues raised by Bill Joy in his (in)famous article in Wired Magazine (April 2000) have been posted on the KurzweilAI website.

(Oh, very well — Joy's original article is still available on the web. Some of the earlier reactions to Joyís arguments were covered in the "Media Watch" column in Foresight Update 41, 42, and 43.)

Superconducting buckyballs

brian wang writes "Lucent scientists have inserted chloroform and bromoform between buckyballs and got them to superconduct at 117K. Up from 55K with previous mixes of buckyball. Read about it here."

Additional coverage of this research is available on the PhysicsWeb site.

U.S. firm offers personal DNA patent service

from the what-about-licensed-copies? dept.
Despite calls or actual legislation to ban human cloning around the globe, at least some people seem to believe itís inevitable — and that people need legal protection for their personal DNA patterns. The DNA Copyright Institute (DNACI) is trying to persuade famous individuals to copyright their DNA to prevent unwanted duplication.

According to the companyís website, DNACI provides services for high-profile individuals such as actors, models, athletes, musicians, scientists, and others seeking to show ownership of their Personal DNA Pattern in order to protect it against future actions such as DNA theft and misappropriation, cloning, and other unauthorized activities.

Press coverage of DNACI can be found from BBC News and New Scientist.

Bush administration bioscience policies criticized

from the presidential-punditry dept.
United Press International has recently run a number of interesting — and largely critical — commentaries on President Bushís policy decisions regarding embryonic stem cell research and human cloning with terms that range from "unworkable" to "embarrassingly stupid."

Read more for a sampling.

Micrometer-scale sculpture has implications

from the bull? dept.
Colin Jacobs writes "Wired News have a story, and more importantly pictures, of a 10 by 7 micrometer sculpture made by a team of engineers in Osaka. They used a process called two-photon photo-polymerization, which might have important implications for the production of nanoscale machine components — not to mention pushing the boundaries of animal art."

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