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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Nanodot

Mussel protein crosslinking agent

Senior Associate RobertBradbury writes "Eurekalert has a story about scientists at Purdue who are starting to unravel how mussels can stick to almost anything. It appears that iron is used as an essential crosslinking agent between the protein(s) in the adhesive. The common crosslinking agent in proteins is sulfur but the bonds may be weaker than those that iron provides. This may give nanotechnology oriented chemists an additional strategy for producing cross-linked polymers to develop Stages 2 & 3 of one nanotechnology development path as discussed by Drexler in Table 16.1 of Nanosystems."

2003: The Year of the Straw NanoMan

HLovy writes "Since everybody is doing a "year in review" piece, here's mine in a "nanosecond." Nanotech purists cannot see how nanotechnology could be treated as merely a business proposition, while businesspeople cannot see how it could be treated as anything else. And that brings us to 2004." The complete commentary can be found on Howard Lovy's NanoBot.

Molecular memory startup gains Intel co-founder

Foresight Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson let us know of molecular memory start-up ZettaCore's coup: getting Intel co-founder Les Vadasz onto their board of directors. Said Vadasz: "I haven't joined any other boards since retiring…This was the only one I thought could have a high-enough impact that it piqued my interest." Jurvetson's firm DFJ is an investor in ZettaCore.

Message from Iran: why Drexler/Smalley debate matters

Sam Ghandchi, Editor/Publisher of Iranscope, explains why he finds Drexler & Kurzweil's views more persuasive than Smalley's, and why this matters to the developing world: "The same way, the nanotechnology can be the most important technology that may replicate fuel cells, to put an end to the age of oil, and not only it would impact the economy of oil producing countries like Iran, but it can change the whole economy of energy production in the world, which is the basis of all industrial production worldwide, and can make a huge impact on poverty and wealth worldwide."

Kurzweil rebuts Scientific American on machine intelligence

Foresight advisor Ray Kurzweil has responded to a critique of his views on machine intelligence by Scientific American: "If you do the thought experiment of considering the implications of multiple generations of technology, the availability over the next several decades of enormous increases in the capacity of our computational andcommunication tools, the advent of molecularnanotechnology, and far greater insight into the principles of operation of the human brain, I believe that our perspectives will converge.
Ray is always so polite…Note that SciAm's views on Bjorn Lomborg were recently (and vehemently) overturned by the Danish Minstry of Science. This is not the SciAm we remember from our youth.–CP

'How The Schmirk Stole Nanotechnology'

Here's a must-read piece about the new nanotech bill, with a fun illustration, by popular demand on Howard Lovy's NanoBot:
"'How the Schmirk Stole Nanotechnology'
(A Fantasy of Science)
With abject apologies to Dr. Suess
by J. Storrs Hall"
Enjoy! and Happy Holidays from all of us at Foresight Institute. –CP

Nanotech: Pro-Progress vs Pro-Caution debate rages on

Ronald Bailey of Reason Magazine offers a nanotech pro-progress essay: "As for unintended consequences, someday something will go wrong with nanotechnology, as it has with electricity, cars, and computers. But we shouldnít deny ourselves the benefits of a new technology just because we cannot foresee every consequence. We should proceed by trial and error and ameliorate problems as they arise. Thatís how the dramatic progress humanity has seen during the last two centuries was accomplished. If an ICENT [International Convention for the Evaluation of New Technologies] had existed in the 19th century, we probably would still be riding horses, using candles for lighting, cooking on wood stoves, and gulping whiskey for anesthesia."

Merry Christmas, (nano)peace on Earth?

TimHarper writes "http://www.nanotechweb.org/articles/column/2/12/2/ 1 Merry Christmas, peace on Earth? 19 December 2003 This week we took the first steps towards using nanotechnology for something that would benefit not only business but humanity in general, with the Inaugural Forum at Israel's Weizmann Institute on ìNanotechnology in the Service of Desalination, Remediation, and Purification of Waterî. Nanotechnology in the service of humanity is an issue that has been cropping up all year, from the meeting on nanotechnology and health care in Thanjavur, India, in January, through conference calls to Accra and Kabul, to Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shimon Peres's speech on nanotechnology and water at the World Nano-Economic Congress in Washington DC." Read More for the rest.

Let the Nanotech Wars Begin!

David B. Hughes writes "The debate over whether molecular manufacturing and nanoassemblers are feasible has turned into a PR war. With billions of dollars of research funding and industrial profits at stake, both sides are taking their ideological clash to the public. So far, Eric Drexler and the Foresight Institute own the moral and scientific high ground. But his critics at the National Nanotechnology Initiative hold the purse strings. And they don't play by the same rules."

Nanofibers Evolving From Drop Break-up?

Roland Piquepaille writes "Engineers and physicists working together have discovered that under certain conditions liquid drops and gas bubbles were breaking at two separate points instead of one, leaving an extremely thin thread in between. This could lead to the creation of nanofibers and nanowires and to numerous applications, such as new kinds of composite materials, electronic circuits and pharmaceutical products. Nanotechweb.org reports on this discovery in "Nanowires drop out of fluid research." I'm not totally convinced that this discovery can lead to solid industrial processes, but it sure looks promising. You'll find more details and references in this overview which also includes an image of the break-up of a water drop in oil."

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