Long-time nanotechnology trackers have assumed that nanotech will be useful for chemical and biological defense, and sure enough, at least one national government is exploring this issue. See the website for the Nanotechnology Initiative at the Special Projects Office at the Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, which falls under the… Continue reading Nanotechnology for chemical and biological defense
Speigel Online reports that nanotechnology work at the University of Texas is leading toward a nanotech “exoskeleton” for military use: Now the superpower’s military is hoping to profit from the findings of nanotechnologist Ray Baughman from the University of Texas. He has managed to develop chemically grown nanotubes, which are like tiny muscles. The microscopically… Continue reading Nanotube yarn targeted for nanotechnology exoskeleton
Somehow we missed the original launch of the 12-minute video describing MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, funded by the U.S. Army. It includes animated sequences depicting combat scenarios and how nanotechnologies could be used in response. Some of these are pretty science-fictiony, which means they have at least some chance of being accurate projections. The… Continue reading Military nanotechnology video is a mixed bag
The Institute for the Future, in a UK-funded study published on the Stanford website, presents eleven outlooks for nanotechnology over the next 50 years: • Better drug delivery through nanotechnology • Carbon nanotubes and lighter vehicles • The coming nanoshell revolution in oncology • The dream of biochemical nanocomputing • Manufacturing with programmable materials “Advent… Continue reading Nanotechnology: eleven 50-year outlooks
A new book by German physicist Jürgen Altmann of Dortmund University looks at Military Nanotechnology: Potential Applications and Preventive Arms Control (Routledge, 2006). Both near-term and long-term applications are examined. From the abstract: NT applications will likely pervade all areas of the military…By using NT to miniaturise sensors, actuators and propulsion, autonomous systems (robots) could… Continue reading Facing up to military nanotechnology
It had to happen somewhere: the first country to publicly state they are planning to use nanotechnology in weapons is…Israel. Before now, to my knowledge, only defensive uses have been discussed in public. From the Sydney Morning Herald: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has given the green light for Israel to set up a special office… Continue reading Israel to pursue nanotechnology weapons
We are only in the very early stages of nanotechnology bringing new abilities to DNA reading, but the latest such nanotech advance comes from New Mexico Tech profs Peng Zhang and Snezna Rogelj, described in an article by George Zamora: NM Tech Researchers Develop Nanomaterial Bio-sensor New Mexico Tech researchers have developed a highly sensitive… Continue reading Nanotechnology DNA sensor promises benefits, possible downsides
The U.S. Navy’s Thomas Vandermolen looks at defense aspects of advanced nanotech in a footnoted paper over at Nanotechnology Now. He argues against a do-nothing strategy: Given MNT’s tremendous potential for both peaceful and violent applications, controlling it with a “do nothing” strategy is analogous to providing nuclear reactors to every country under the assumption… Continue reading National security implications of long-term nanotechnology
From The Chosun Ilbo we learn of a new collaborative effort on nanotechnology between South Korea and…North Korea: South and North Korean scholars are holding a conference on nanotechnology in the North’s Mt. Kumgang resort. For three days from Monday, participants will exchange results of their research and discuss ways to cooperate in improving education… Continue reading South Korea to assist North Korea on nanotechnology
Nanotech Takes on Homeland Terror is the title of a piece by Josh Wolfe and Dan van den Bergh over at Forbes.com. It describes current and near-term applications for nanotech in detecting biowarfare agents and in protecting soldiers: The DOD believed in nano long before the term was mainstream…Current detection tools using nanotechnology allow high-speed… Continue reading Nanotechnology's role in national security
