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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Nanodot

Researchers culture brain cells from cadavers

from the ambiguous-significance dept.
Patrick Underwood writes "An ABC News web story describes how scientists revived brain cells from dead people."

According to a press release, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California say the cells grew after they extracted brain tissue from human cadavers and surgery biopsies and put it in petri dishes with chemical nourishment. The study used brain tissue harvested from 23 individuals ranging in age from 11 weeks to 72 years old within 20 hours after death. Cells from each sample grew, but the tissue from older individuals yielded fewer viable cells. The recovered cells had the ability to differentiate into different types of brain cells. The cell types observed include neurons, the cells that form the "wiring" of the nervous system; astrocytes, which nourish and protect neurons; and oligodendrocytes, which insulate neurons with a myelin sheath. The Salk team's report appeared in the 3 May 2001 issue of Nature.

There is also an article on the BBC web site.

Microsoft launches formal campaign against open source movement

from the feeling-the-heat dept.
An article in the New York Times ("Microsoft Is Set to Be Top Foe of Free Code", by John Markoff, 3 May 2001) describes Microsoftís attempts to counter the growing global open-source software movement.

According to the article, "Microsoft is preparing a broad campaign countering the movement to give away and share software code, arguing that it potentially undermines the intellectual property of countries and companies. At the same time, the company is acknowledging that it is feeling pressure from the freely shared alternatives to its commercial software . . . [The campaign is] an effort by Microsoft to raise questions about the limits of innovation inherent in the open-source approach and to suggest that companies adopting the approach are putting their intellectual property at risk." A particular target of the company, according to quotes from Microsoft executives, will be the General Public License (GPL) distribution model that is favored by many open source advocates.

Financial Times describes nano-machines, but needs history lesson

from the journalistic-double-standards dept.
An article in Londonís Financial Times ("Inside Track: Nanotechnology", by Fiona Harvey, 23 April 2001) presents a generally optimistic overview of ongoing efforts to develop machine-based nanotechnology, but gets it really wrong when assigning proper credit for the development of these concepts.

Read more to see why . . .

Cyborgs, AI addressed calmly by Christian Science

from the getting-used-to-the-future dept.
In a surprisingly early adjustment, the Christian Science publication Sentinel (not online, see Jan 8, 2001 issue) includes two articles that reconcile the coming era of smart robots and human/machine blends with Christian Science beliefs. Both are responding to Ray Kurzweil's book The Age of Spiritual Machines. Instead of fighting the future, these articles thoughtfully integrate technology and religion. Read more for excerpts.

Open web archive is "transforming" scientific research

from the working-examples dept.
A pair of articles in the New York Times profile the Los Alamos electronic archive, an electronic, Web-based archive centered at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The archive provides a venerable example of the sort of free, open source library of scientific papers that has recently been covered here on nanodot (see posts from 13 April and 25 April). As the main NYT article ("Web Archive Opens a New Realm of Research", by James Glanz, 1 May 2001) notes, the archive was founded 10 years ago by Los Alamos particle theorist Dr. Paul Ginsparg. According to the report, The archive is transforming the quality of scientific research at institutions around the world that are geographically isolated and, in many cases, small and financially precarious. Besides spreading new ideas and concepts, the archive has encouraged multinational collaboration.
The archive is somewhat limited in scope, focusing primarily on disciplines in the physical sciences, including astronomy, astrophysics, condensed matter physics and particle physics. But in the areas covered, virtually all important developments find their way to the archive. One researcher described the archive as so influential that he is sure most citations of papers written in his institute refer to the archive number rather than to the published version in the journal.

An accompanying sidebar ('The Archives Are More Democratic') presents the views of 21 scientists outside the United States responded to a reporter's questions about the archive.

Note: access to the NYT site is free, but requires registration.

UW, PNNL form academic/government partnership for NT research

from the Go,-Huskies! dept.
In an agreement signed 19 April 2001, the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington announced they have formed the Joint Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. The new institute is described in a UW press release. Additional details are available in an article from the Tri-City Herald.

The UW, home to the Center for Nanotechnology Research, of has established a strong presence in nanotechnology. Last summer, it became the first university in the nation to launch a doctoral degree program in the field. PNNL is located on what used to be known as the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington state. Both UW and PNNL will contribute $500,000 in the first year for administering the joint institute and setting up new programs.

"Together, we can leverage our research capabilities to assemble a stronger scientific team than either of us would have individually," said Bill Rogers, associate laboratory director of PNNL's Fundamental Science Division and director of its Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative. "Nanoscience is an area that requires teams of scientists from various disciplines to work together to solve problems. PNNL excels at multidisciplinary research, and we're taking that teaming approach one step further by signing this agreement."

Ray Kurzweil receives Lemelson-MIT Prize

from the invention-and-innovation dept.
The Lemelson-MIT Program announced on 24 April 2001 that its annual $500,000 prize — world's largest single award for invention and innovation — is being presented to futurist Raymond Kurzweil According to the award citation, Kurzweil is being honored as "a pioneer of pattern recognition technologies who has made a career of helping others, while showing a flair for integrating technology and the arts. Over the past 35 years, Kurzweil has produced a lengthy list of achievements and innovations that have enriched society, including: advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies; founding, developing and selling four successful companies; and writing two best-selling books that support his predictions for the 21st century." His controversial views on the future notwithstanding, Kurzweil is being recognized by the Lemelson-MIT Program for the breadth and scope of his inventive work, and for his commitment to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through technology.

It is also notable that this year's Lemelson-MIT Student Prize goes Brian Hubert, a Ph.D. candidate who has already done significant work in the field of nanotechnology. Hubert plans to finish his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, with a concentration in nano-assembly techniques. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Nanotech report argues "uploaded" AI, nanobots implausible

from the it's-not-a-nightmare-if-you're-awake dept.
Politech gives a pointer to the final report of an NSF conference on "Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, NSF". Politech's editor said "This is an important report, though the Viola Vogel comments are from someone who is in part a nanotechnology critic. For instance, Vogel calls simulating a human mind on a computer a "nightmarish scenario," though it seems to me to be an inevitable and unobjectionable step."

Nanomedicine author describes medical nanorobot to digest microbes

from the digest-and-discharge dept.
In a recent technical paper, Robert A. Freitas Jr., author of Nanomedicine and a research scientist at Zyvex, describes an artificial mechanical phagocyte called a microbivore — the nanorobotic equivalent of a major class of natural blood cells — the white cells. Major antimicrobial defenses include circulating white cells capable of phagocytosis (engulfing and digesting other cells).

In his paper, Freitas presents a theoretical nanorobot scaling study for artificial mechanical phagocytes of microscopic size, called "microbivores," whose primary function is to destroy microbiological pathogens found in the human bloodstream using a "digest and discharge protocol". Freitas concludes microbivores would be up to 1000 times faster-acting than either natural or antibiotic-assisted biological phagocytic defenses, and about 80 times more efficient as phagocytic agents than macrophages, the white blood cells that are the primary cell-digesting agents in humans. He also notes: "Besides intravenous bacterial scavenging, microbivores or related devices may also be used to help clear respiratory, urinary, or cerebrospinal bacterial infections; eliminate bacterial toxemias and biofilms; eradicate viral, fungal, and parasitic infections; disinfect surfaces, foodstuffs, or organic samples; and help clean up biohazards and toxic chemicals."

A brief summary of the paper was published by the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing in Foresight Update #44. For much, much more information on the potential medical applications of advanced nanotechnology, see the Nanomedicine pages on the Foresight website.

IBM initiative aims at greater computer system autonomy

from the am-I-blue? dept.
Sharad Bailur calls attention to a number of news reports of plans announced by IBM to design computers that would adjust to changing workloads, recognize faults and repair themselves without human intervention. A longer-term goal includes a sort of digital immune system to fight off computer viruses and other attacks. Although these goals are not radically new, some reports do mention Ray Kurzweil and ask whether such systems would have a sort of limited self-awareness.
A report appeared in the New York Times ("I.B.M. Project Seeks to Reduce Need for Human Action", by B.J. Feder, 27 April 2001). According to the article, I.B.M.'s research arm had already singled out such autonomous computing technology as a major focus for its work.

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