Michael Kanellos of CNET News.com writes of a recent lecture by venture capitalist and Foresight Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson: "Nanotech will tap nature's potential, investor says". "Speaking at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University, Jurvetson asserted that nanotechnology–the ability to make products on the molecular level–will usher in the next great wave of innovation despite the recent cancellation of Nanosys' high-profile initial public offering. That revolution will occur, in part, because scientists will be able to harness or imitate the power of nature."
Michael Kanellos writing of a recent lecture by Steve Jurvetson continues:
Researchers at NASA Ames laboratories, for instance, have discovered a virus that lives inside hot springs that exudes a "bizarre heat-shock protein," he said. When extracted, boiled and dried, a sheet of these proteins will leave a small array of metal posts. Conceivably, this material could be used by semiconductor makers.
Jurvetson acknowledged that any commercial implementation of the discovery by NASA is remote, but it underscores how scientists from different disciplines are opening up new avenues of discovery in nature that could result in commercially exploitable technology.
Kanellos reports that Jurvetson cited two other companies developing nanotechnology innovations based on imitating nature.
