from the even-smaller-is-bigger-in-Texas dept.
vik writes "According to this article in the Dallas Business Journal, Zyvex's James Von Ehr is donating $2.5M for a new nanotechnology research center in the University of Texas. The state is also contributing $0.5M to the project."
Additional details about Von Ehr's contribution for the nanotechnology center at the University of Texas can be found in this article from Dallas-Fort.Worth TechBiz (5 March 2001)
TanMauWu writes "Wired has a story about "smart dust" that researchers at UC Berkeley have developed, which are essentially tiny light and temperature sensors that can network together. The suggested use for these sensors is to put lots of them in every room in a building and tie them all to a main computer that can regulate energy usage in the building to save energy. Of course, we can all think of *other* possible uses for this, can't we? Not quite true utility fog, but we're getting there."
from the computing-with-microbes dept.
Patrick Underwood writes "A short New Scientist article describes the work of Michael Simpson, Gary Sayler and James Fleming of Oak Ridge, who have modified _Pseudomonas putida_ bacteria cells to produce AND and OR gates. Online at http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999778"
from the let's-talk-about-this-a-little-sooner dept.
Charles Vollum writes "Michio Kaku was interviewed on Art Bell's May 24th, 2001 "Coast to Coast AM" show. Dr. Kaku was asked about the Gray Goo problem, which had been described in an April 24th interview with Mark Pesce. Basically, his response was not to worry: assemblers are not possible in the near future because we don't know enough to build a self-repicating machine on a table top, let alone at the atomic level. He suggested that "mid-century, we should talk about this again."
Listen to a short clip in MP3, or click here to stream the entire show. (The comments on nanotechnology occur in the show's final minutes.)"
from the World-Watch dept.
According to an article in the Korea Herald ("MOST draws up 10-year plan for nano technology", by Yang Sung-jin, 25 May 2001), the South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has drawn up a ten-year master plan to nurture nanotechnology in that country. The plan, part of a bid to position South Korea as one of the top 10 nations in the field by 2010, includes three stages, "with the government pouring 1.37 trillion won in state and private investments into the project in a bid to pave the way for the introduction of NT infrastructure within five years." The ministry said it would hold a forum on the project plan before finalizing the details in July.
from the looking-ahead dept.
In a brief interview ("Expert Ralph Merkle on nanotechnology", by K. Hearn, 23 May 2001) conducted by United Press International, Zyvex research fellow and Foresight advisor Ralph Merkle , talked about molecular assemblers, applying open source development methods to nanoscience, and the future of nanoscience research.
from the mind-children dept.
A cover story in a recent issue of U.S. News and World Report ("The Age of Robots", by Thomas Hayden, 23 April 2001) takes a look at research and development work on humanoid robots, artificial intelligence, and what they might mean for the future.
As the article concludes, "it seems clear that big changes are coming, and while humans — the flesh and blood type — usually manage to adapt to technological change, the period of adjustment can sometimes get pretty uncomfortable. As with any new technology, there will certainly be some unintended, and quite possibly unpleasant, consequences as robots begin to play a regular role in our day-to-day lives, USC's Mataric [Maja Mataric, a computer scientist and roboticist at the University of Southern California] notes. But she's confident that the potential benefits outweigh the risks. "I hope society is strong and wise enough to stop abuses without stopping science," she says, "but I think all of that is still a long way off." Before anyone has to start really worrying about our place in the future, the techies have a heck of a lot more work to do."
from the World-Watch dept.
Jeremy Tachau sent notice of an interesting overview of nanoscale science, research and technology development in Switzerland that can be found at the TOP NANO 21 Technology-Oriented Program web site, posted by the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. Two graphic charts, with links, (on the web here, and here) show how the program is classifying nanoscale science and research.
bbrelin spotted this item on the Technology Review web site on the work of a team from the University of Cambridge (U.K.) who have developed a method for producing large numbers of uniform nanotubes with predictable properties. According to the article, the "technique for growing nanocrystals yields perfectly aligned, dense groves of single-wall nanotubesóand controls exactly where the crystals are deposited
from the sorting-things-out dept.
alison writes "A recent posting on the Advanced Light Source website describes how UCSF researchers have figured out the structure and mechanism of selective cell membrane channels in E. coli. The channel in question, called GlpF, admits glycerol and water into cells, but not ions. This research has important implications not only for our understanding of how cells regulate their chemical environment, but also for stimulating new ideas about manipulation and selection of molecules for molecular assembly projects."
