Category: Nanodot

from the nano-vroom-vroom? dept.
Correction from EricDrexler: these are more accurately called actuators, not motors.
From the revised press release : "Scientists from Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies, and the University of Oxford have created the first DNA motors. The devices, which resemble motorized tweezers, are 100,000 times smaller than the head of a pin, and the techniques used to make them may lead to computers that are 1,000 times more powerful than today's machines…The researchers designed pieces of synthetic DNA that would recognize each other during each step of making the DNA motors. As a result, the only necessary ingredients in a laboratory test tube were DNA itself. “Because DNA acts as the 'fuel' for these motors, they are completely self-sufficient and do not require other chemicals to operate, '' [Bell Labs physicist Bernard] Yurke said. The self-assembling aspect of the DNA motors also is crucial for manufacturing nanodevices." See the photo.

from the wonderful-discoveries-promised dept.
An article in Chemical & Engineering News (subscription req'd) reports "The [US] National Institutes of Health is getting ready to jump into the field of nanotechnology…The need for tool development, such as single-molecule detection and nanofabrication methods, was a theme that was sounded repeatedly…" at the NIH Symposium "Nanoscience & Nanotechnology: Shaping Biomedical Research". Harvard chemist George Whitesides called for a separate funding group within NIH: "Tools for nanofabrication are not going to be easily evaluated in the same study section that studies more conventional subjects." Symposium co-chair Lynn Jelinski: "We're saying, 'Here is a small set of scientific priorities, and here is where the investments should go.' With that, I can guarantee you that if you sic really smart people on things, wonderful discoveries will emerge."

from the don't-ignore-scared-folks dept.
BryanBruns writes "The Washington Post has a good story on biotechnology for trees. We talk about how long it may be until nanotech appears, but here is an industry investing in advances that won't pay off for decades. As with other transgenic plants, there is some fierce opposition, scaring off some scientists and companies, and some direct action to destroy test plots.

All this again raises the question of how to improve the quality of public discussion about new technologies. In terms of public relations strategy, focusing on the benefits from nanomedicine and taking safety very seriously may be the best way to go. However, there ought to be ways to improve the whole process of considering new technologies. Science courts don't seem to have taken off, and there is a need for policy recommendations, not just agreement on facts. Maybe deliberative democracy approaches such as citizen's juries are worth trying, for nano and other technologies."

from the free-info-for-the-rest-of-us dept.
For those of us who don't have easy access to the journal Science online, RobVirkus writes "The Zettl group at UC Berkeley published work on nanotube based bearings and springs which may have application to Stewart platforms. The work is published in Science but a press release is available here"

from the keep-them-bearings-rollin' dept.
Senior Associate and IMM researcher Josh Hall writes "An article in the current Science, Low-Friction Nanoscale Linear Bearing Realized from Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes, by John Cumings and A. Zettl, describes recent work that will be very important in terms of building nanomachines with sliding parts. If you have an online subscription, read it here. (for those with access to a paper copy, the ref is Science 289, 602 (2000) )

There is a "perspective" entitled "NANOTECHNOLOGY: Beyond Gedanken Experiments" by Laszlo Forró, which mentions that the technique was foreseen by Drexler and references Nanosystems. It's here.

It's good to see this on the heels of stories such as this cover story in Science News about "stiction", the bane of MEMS microdevices."

from the let's-get-some-of-our-tax-money-back dept.
Senior Associate WesDuCharme writes "The National Nanotechnology Initiative seems to be coming onstream. The NSF just put out program announcement regarding nanotechnology They are interested in proposals on six "research themes". The first five are highly technical, but as a research psychologist I find the sixth one most interesting: Societal and Education Implications of Scientific and Technological Advances on the Nanoscale. Read More for details and an offer to collaborate.

from the snap-to-it dept.
Researchers have used the Van der Waals attraction between two closely spaced perpendicular nanotubes to give the pair two stable mechanical states. In one state the tubes are well separated and unstrained, while in the second they are in close contact and the attraction between them bends the upper tube, holding them together. They were able to both switch between the states and sense them electronically. They calculate potential switching rates of 100GHz and densities of 10¹² bits/cm²

from the where-to-stay-when-you're-REALLY-under-the-weather dept.
Miss the Alcor conference at Asilomar this year? That's unfortunate, but you can get a vague idea of what it was like from this media writeup, which doesn't have too many errors: "Mr Drexler's presence at the conference–he has become something of a media recluse–could be explained by the fact that it was organised by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. He is on the scientific advisory board of Alcor, best known perhaps as the largest US cryonics foundation. At its freezer facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, 38 dead people, including one Australian, are in suspended animation awaiting a miracle of future technology to bring them back to life." We prefer the term "temperaturely-challenged".

from the metanews dept.
Jonathan Desp writes "At Atomasoft we developed a Nanotechnology News Search web page…It's several search engines that search within 300+ news magazines in science and technology. Enjoy the service!" CP: See also Nanospot, covered previously.

from the I'll-have-a-mole-of-moletronics-please dept.
CPhillips reports on story from the July issue of Wired magazine: "It describes the research and potential impact of molecular electronics. Jim Tour (Rice) and Mark Reed (Yale) are the main focus of the article. The article also makes brief mention of the National Nanotechnology Initiative and the research being done at Hewlett-Packard. It's very interesting reading for lay-people like myself. This is almost enough for me to forgive Wired for Bill Joy's story!"