from the a-singularity-is-coming dept.
Robin Hanson gave an informal talk titled "The Next Really Big Enormous Thing", which argues that there are reasons, based on historical models to expect that the pace of change may increase soon. He seems to be trying to convince economists and social scientists to take our concept of Singularity seriously, and to start doing active research into what the effects might be.
from the really-tiny-scrubbing-bubbles dept.
GinaMiller (and others) wrote "Simulation shows that liquid jets a few nanometers in diameter might have the potential to produce ever-smaller electronic circuitry, inject genes into cells, or etch tiny features. Writing in the August 18 issue of Science, Georgia Tech researchers suggest that jets as small as six nanometers in diameter may be possible — though they will require special conditions to operate and be sensitive to effects not of concern to macroscopic jets. As a next step, the researchers would like to create nanojets experimentally and use them to apply patterns that could replace current lithographic processes in the manufacture of nanoscale miniaturized circuits. They could potentially also be used as "gene guns" to insert genetic materials into cells without causing damage. The researchers produced some nice graphics "
Multiple alert Nanodotters wrote in about the Chicago Tribune article describing Dieter Gruen's work at Argonne National Laboratory leading to ultrananocrystalline diamond film. Gruen was honored by the Materials Research Society with the MRS Medal Award. EddieWehri writes, " Preliminary tests show that ultrananodiamonds are 1,000 more wear-resistant than silicon, and 1 million times denser than conventional crystals. This makes them a practical base material for micromachines and other devices that had only been theoretically possible before. Maybe this will mark the real beginning of Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age."
from the garden-of-pure-ideology dept.
Found on Slashdot: A not-so-fantastic extrapolation of current IP trends called "Letter From 2020" by Mark Summerfield. "The saddest subversive I met claimed to be a programmer. He said that he was writing a program using Basic.NET. He must have been insane. Even if his program worked he wouldn't be allowed to run it. How could one person possibly check every possible patent infringement in a program they wrote? And even if he hadn't infringed he couldn't sell it without buying a compatibility license from Microsoft.NET and who could possibly afford that?"
from the "a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing" dept.
Saturn Graphix writes "In Daily Telegraph Full Article Here
'Why science may bring curse of immortality' by Roger Highfield
Better treatment of disease could lead to 'generational cleansing' as people live longer, an ethical expert warned last week [in the journal Science]. The elderly could be condemned to death by suicide or euthanasia after an allotted lifespan as medical advances raise the maximum age beyond 120, according to Dr John Harris, professor of bioethics at Manchester University. Professor Harris said a side-effect of research to treat the diseases of old age, such as dementia, cancer and arthritis, could be to extend the maximum age to immortality…He said it was unlikely that we could stop the progression to longer lifespans and even immortality. 'We should start thinking now about how we can live decently and creatively with the prospect of such lives.' " CP: Some of us are already doing so.
from the where-oh-where-is-good-software dept.
Senior Associate Michael Butler writes "At the just-past Foresight Gathering, mention was made of extant MEMS fab CAD software packages and how bad they are. Alternatives mentioned include, e.g., recycling mature finite element FORTRAN code and stitching it together with other things. It happens that Matra open sourced a bunch of CAD/CAM code last year. (Slashdot article). I suggest that interested people at Zyvex and elsewhere check out Open Cascade and see if what they're doing can be bent to your purposes. Have any nanodotters worked with this code?
from the your-objection-to-the-lightspeed-limit-is-overruled dept.
Found on Slashdot: A Maryland legislative task force has proposed the creation of "a special court for high-technology cases." The New York Times story does not mention Arthur Kantrowitz's 1967 proposal of what came to be called science courts (a concept advanced in Engines of Creation as "fact forums").
from the name-to-live-up-to dept.
eeex brings to our attention the Nanomechanical Research and Development Center opened in Quebec by NanoWorld Projects Corporation. Staffed by 15 researchers, they plan to commercialize applications of their self-assembling monolayer technology. The company website points out that "We are not at the point of creating some of the fantastic nano-machines that some enthusiasts see as an eventual result of monolayer research. But there are other technological applications of monolayer technologies that seem within our grasp or just around the corner." CP: The enthusiasts cited may be confused; I haven't heard of a monolayer pathway to nanomachines. Also: how are these monolayers "nanomechanical", anyone have thoughts on this?
from the motherhood-apple-pie-and-pure-water dept.
Pat Delany writes "A problem ahead for nanotechnology? The possible backlash from two groups, one the growing number of people mistrustful of science and the changes it brings, and the other bureaucratic institutions that might balk at funding a technological revolution with the ability to unseat them from their position of power. A solution? Turn nano development toward an early and obviously beneficial goal: the desalinization and purification of water, allowing us to use our abundance of saltwater and polluted water for agriculture and consumption…We, the folks at nanospot.com, offer this idea for the nanotechnology community to consider, and would like to help jumpstart such an effort…" Read More for the full post.
from the let's-help-change-Mr-Tom-to-Dr-Tom dept.
Senior Associate Tom McKendree writes "I am wrapping up the last substantive chapter of my dissertation [on space applications of molecular nanotechnology]. After that, I still have the conclusions chapter to finish, and the introduction to write, but there is a lot of content in what is already done. My target is to actually defend and complete this year. So, in the spirit of parallel processing, I am looking once again for people interested in reviewing sections of the dissertation." Read More for the outline.
