When can we expect advanced nanomachinery to be commercialized? Will any technologies not be affected in some way by advanced nanotechnology?
A tutorial review addresses the distinction between the many simple artificial molecular devices that are currently available and truly effective artificial molecular machines that would mimic the ubiquitous molecular machines present in living systems.
In a lecture at Oxford Eric Drexler argued that atomically precise manufacturing will be the next great revolution in the material basis of civilization, and discussed how we can establish reliable knowledge about key aspects of such technologies.
A new polymer that disintegrates in response to harmless radiation that can penetrate several inches into human tissue may lead to nanoparticles that release their drug cargo only at a desired time and place.
To counter the threat of evolved or engineered resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics, Darpa proposes to use nanotechnology to develop “Rapidly Adaptable Nanotherapeutics”.
Adding a new molecular recognition code to structural DNA nanotechnology—a pattern of projecting and recessed blunt-end DNA helices can be used to code the assembly of DNA origami tiles into larger DNA nanostructures.
Small DNA molecules fluoresce in the presence of specific transcription factors, sensing which genes are being expressed in that cell, potentially allowing cancer treatments to be personalized, and the quality of stem cells to be monitored.
This contribution has been forwarded by Ivo Rivetta. The primary forces on the nanometer scale are scaled versions of what we experience on a day to day basis. Instead of gravity, surface forces such as water tension and electric charge dominate. As an example, compare wet basketballs and wet sand. The weight of the basketballs… Continue reading Leveraging nanoforces to increase biosensor sensitivity
The oscillating synthesis and degradation of regulatory RNA molecules was used to produce a molecular clock to control the opening and closing of a DNA tweezers, and also to control the production of another RNA molecule to alter the fluorescence of a dye molecule.
Yarn woven from carbon nanotubes provides a thousand times more rotation than is obtained from other artificial muscles, and could be made into motors to provide propulsion for micrometer-sized medical nanorobots.
