Donate
Donate

Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Nanodot

Spiral nanotubes create

While much recent research news about nanotubes has focused on their electronic properties, this report in Applied Physics Letters (3 September 2001), by researchers at the University of Idaho, describes helical nanotubes that act as springs. The nanosprings could serve as positioners, or even as tiny conventional springs, for nanomachines of the future.

Directors have big plans for UTD nanotech center

from the deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas dept.
A flurry of news about the Nanotechnology Institute at the University of Texas-Dallas (UTD) appeared during August 2001 surround the appointment of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Alan G. MacDiarmid as chairman of the advisory board of UTD's new NanoTech Institute. MacDiarmid, who was awarded the Nobel in chemistry last year for his discoveries in conducting polymers, has been on faculty of the University of Pennsylvania since 1955, but will join UTD as a scholar in residence. Coverage appeared on Bcentral (20 August), Scripps-Howeard Reporter News (21 August) and Small Times (22 August) websites. According to the reports, MacDiarmid will also act as senior adviser on science and technology to UTD president Franklyn G. Jenifer.

Small Times also published an extensive interview (29 August) that included comments from MacDiarmid and the UDT Nanotech Instituteís new director, Dr. Ray Baughman, on their plans for development of the institute. Another interview with Baughman appeared on the Nanotech Planet website. Baughman assumed his post as director on 4 September 2001.

Issues raised by Bill Joy still being debated

from the reverberations dept.
Pondering the question of whether one can have too much Joy, a set of commentaries on the issues raised by Bill Joy in his (in)famous article in Wired Magazine (April 2000) have been posted on the KurzweilAI website.

(Oh, very well — Joy's original article is still available on the web. Some of the earlier reactions to Joyís arguments were covered in the "Media Watch" column in Foresight Update 41, 42, and 43.)

Superconducting buckyballs

brian wang writes "Lucent scientists have inserted chloroform and bromoform between buckyballs and got them to superconduct at 117K. Up from 55K with previous mixes of buckyball. Read about it here."

Additional coverage of this research is available on the PhysicsWeb site.

U.S. firm offers personal DNA patent service

from the what-about-licensed-copies? dept.
Despite calls or actual legislation to ban human cloning around the globe, at least some people seem to believe itís inevitable — and that people need legal protection for their personal DNA patterns. The DNA Copyright Institute (DNACI) is trying to persuade famous individuals to copyright their DNA to prevent unwanted duplication.

According to the companyís website, DNACI provides services for high-profile individuals such as actors, models, athletes, musicians, scientists, and others seeking to show ownership of their Personal DNA Pattern in order to protect it against future actions such as DNA theft and misappropriation, cloning, and other unauthorized activities.

Press coverage of DNACI can be found from BBC News and New Scientist.

Bush administration bioscience policies criticized

from the presidential-punditry dept.
United Press International has recently run a number of interesting — and largely critical — commentaries on President Bushís policy decisions regarding embryonic stem cell research and human cloning with terms that range from "unworkable" to "embarrassingly stupid."

Read more for a sampling.

Micrometer-scale sculpture has implications

from the bull? dept.
Colin Jacobs writes "Wired News have a story, and more importantly pictures, of a 10 by 7 micrometer sculpture made by a team of engineers in Osaka. They used a process called two-photon photo-polymerization, which might have important implications for the production of nanoscale machine components — not to mention pushing the boundaries of animal art."

UK, US researchers working on self-assembling solar cells

from the fun-in-the-sun dept.
Patrick Underwood writes: "Here is an article from newscientist.com on self-assembling solar cells ("Self-assembling solar cells developed", by Ian Sample, 9 August 2001). Reminds me of Unbounding the Future. This comes pretty close to the idea in that book of paving streets with solar collectors."

The New Scientist article describes solar cells that "self assemble" from a liquid developed by scientists at the University of Cambridge. The method could make it cheap and easy to cover large areas, like roofs, with efficient, ultra-thin solar cell coatings.
Related research is being conducted at the University of Arizona, as described in this detailed press release from 28 August 2001. UA researchers have received nearly US$ 1 million from two separate federal grants to develop organic molecules that "self assemble," or self-organize, from liquid into efficient solar cell coatings. Some of the UA researchers had previously collaborated with the U Cambridge team.

Update on California NanoSystems Institute

The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) hasnít been much in the news since it was established in December 2000, even though it is the largest government-supported research program (in terms of funding) after the federal National Nanotechnology Initiative. These two reports provide an update:

VC firm issues investment-oriented report on nanotech

from the pay-per-view dept.
Lux Capital, a venture capital firm based in New York, has released "The Nanotech Report," a 269-page overview of the field. The report provides a conceptual framework for understanding nanotechnology and its implications for business, including both startups and established firms, and focuses on near term prospects. The lead author was IMM Senior Associate Josh Wolfe, one of the founding partners in Lux Capital.
Additional information about the report can be found in an article from the Wall Street Journal ("Investors Should Eye How Feds, Researchers Handle 'Nanotechnology' " by D. Hamilton, 27 August 2001), as well as an article from the Small Times website ("New VC firmís report outlines nano challenges, opportunities", by T.Henderson, 29 August 2001) and a profile of Wolfe.
Apparently based on the principle that you must be able to spend money to make money, the report is currently available only to the investment community and sells for $4,750.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin Podcast Spotify
0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop
    Continue Shopping

      Search Foresight Institute