Drawing a nano-sized line in the sand

HLovy writes "I can tell from my Web stats that I do have some readers in Iran, which has nanotechnological goals of its own. To them, I'd like to extend an invitation to contact me and see how we can get a battle plan together for an all-out war on inequitable distribution of resources such as fresh water and arable land, brandishing nanotech-enhanced weapons. Having spent much of my journalism career writing about the Mideast conflict, I'm certainly not blundering into this subject under the influence of any kind of naive daydream that historical, cultural, religious and political barriers will simply melt into the desert. But it couldn't hurt to set up a tent.

For the complete commentary, please see Howard Lovy's NanoBot."

Molecular manufacturing graphic on cover of C&E News

The Dec. 1, 2003, issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the primary newsweekly for chemists, featured not just the Drexler/Smalley debate but also a great illustration of molecular manufacturing on the cover. Enjoy.

TNT Weekly: deletion of MNT study from nano bill is "a farce"

Issue #13 of TNT Weekly (which will be archived here), the leading nanotech industry e-newsletter, covers the recent deletion of a molecular manufacturing study from the new U.S. nanotech legislation:
" –The plot thickens and the nanotech bill gets sillier–
Last week we had some fun with the recent nanotech bill in the US, especially the plan for a one-time study to determine the feasibility of making things using molecular self-assembly, which makes about as much sense as conducting a one-time study into the feasibility of sharpening a stick with a sharp knife. With a combination of cynicism and naiveté, we assumed that the bill had got away from those who actually understood nanotech and ended up in the hands of politicians who didn't understand the difference between self-assembly and molecular assemblers, the result being a terminological boo-boo in the part that was meant to direct figuring out whether Drexlerian-style molecular nanotechnology (MNT) and molecular manufacturing are actually feasible.
We were not alone. Quite a few people, it seemed, thought that the MNT crowd had been given the chance to make their case or forever hold their peace. Even the sceptics seemed to think this was fair dinkum."
Read More for the full story.

More on Smalley-Drexler debate

Nobel Winner Smalley Responds to Drexler's Challenge,
Fails to Defend National Nanotech Policy

Rice University Professor Richard Smalley responds to a longstanding challenge by Foresight Chairman Eric Drexler to defend the controversial direction of U.S. policy in nanotechnology. Their four-part exchange is the cover story of the Dec. 1 2003 Chemical & Engineering News. This could mark a turning point in the development of the field.
Press release
Foresight comments and FAQ
Full text of the exchange
Technical commentary from CRN

Smalley/Drexler debate MNT in C&E News cover story

Nobel Winner Smalley Responds to Drexler's Challenge
Fails to Defend National Nanotech Policy

Rice University Professor Richard Smalley has responded to a longstanding challenge by Dr. Eric Drexler to defend the controversial direction of U.S. policy in nanotechnology. Their four-part exchange sponsored by the American Chemical Society is the Dec. 1, 2003 Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) cover story. As described by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Rudy Baum, the controversy centers on "a fundamental question that will dramatically affect the future development of this field." This could mark a turning point in the development of the field.
Press release
Foresight comments and FAQ
Full text of the exchange
Technical commentary from CRN

2003 Advocate of the Year: Steve Jurvetson

Foresight Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson, a leading nanotech venture capitalist and frequent speaker at Foresight events, has been named Small Times Magazine 2003 Advocate of the Year. "…he is nevertheless one of a small group of VCs happy to associate with the sector's most far-thinking members. He is hardly averse to being quoted speaking of nanobots floating in human bloodstreams and other scenarios considered way too long-term for VC involvement." Steve's suggestion for the NNI Grand Challenge? "Whether conceptualized as a universal assembler, a nanoforge, or a matter compiler, I think the `moon-shotí goal for 2025 should be the realization of the digital control of matter, and all of the ancillary industries, capabilities, and learning that would engender." We at Foresight like Steve even more than Small Times does.

Cross-disciplinary perspective on nanotechnology

Imaging and Imagining Nanoscience & Engineering – An International and Interdisciplinary Conference, March 4-7, 2004, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC USA. "This Conference will explore theoretical, pictorial and textual representations of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE) from cross-disciplinary perspectives, including microscopy, molecular modeling, scientific illustration, philosophy, science studies, art theory, and literature studies."

Foresight Institute Awards Feynman Prizes

Nanotechnology researchers, journalists and a student were honored at the 11th Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology, Oct. 9-12, 2003. The Feynman Prize awards were covered by Small Times and Nanotechnology Now. A UCLA press release announced that Carlo Montemagno, UCLA professor and chair of bioengineering, received the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology (Experimental).

IBM builds circuits out of molecular dominoes

from the cool-things-to-do-with-an-STM dept.
Mr_Farlops writes "Researchers at IBM have built and operated the world's smallest working computer circuits using carbon monoxide molecules that move across an atomic surface like toppling dominoes. Unfortunately, these circuts are assembled by moving one molecule at a time using an ultra-high-vacuum, low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. It takes several hours to set up the most complicated cascades. Since there is no reset mechanism, these molecule cascades can only perform a calculation once. We're not quite there yet but, the development is interesting."

European Spending Double the US on Nanotech

from the upping-the-ante? dept.
Tim Harper writes "A new report from the European NanoBusiness Association analyzes EU funding and finds that Europe is already way ahead with spending almost double that of the US." It's Ours to Lose: An Analysis of EU Nanotechnology Funding and the Sixth Framework Programme, available for free download from www.nanoeurope.org as a PDF file.

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