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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: news

MIT Researchers Envision 'NanoWalker' Robots

scionic submitted this item in NewsFactor Sci-Tech covering work by robotics researcher Sylvain Martel at the Nano-Robotics Research Group within the MIT BioInstrumentation Laboratory, who has created small mobile robots, which he calls NanoWalkers. Previous coverage of the NanoWalkers was posted on 20 December 2001.

HP-UCLA team announces another molectronics patent

from the steady-progress dept.
According to a Hewlett-Packard Company press release (23 January 2002), the collaborative research team led by James Heath, a UCLA chemistry professor and staff researcher at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), and Stanley Williams and Philip Kuekes at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories has announced another advance in their research program to develop computing systems based on molecular electronic components, which has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent Office. HP was previously awarded patents for related molectronics work in July 2001 and October 2000.

Additional coverage of the research and the new patent can be found in this Associated Press article ("Advance Made in Molecular Computing", 23 January 2002) posted on the New York Times website (free access with registration); and this article from Reuters News Service ("HP Says Atom-Sized Computer Chips a Lot Closer", 23 January 2002). Many other newsfeeds are reporting the story (and thank you to those who submitted posts), but most are mere rewrites of the HP press release, or the AP or Reuters wire story.

Heath, Williams and Kuekes have been making steady progress toward their goal of developing molecular computing systems (see posts on Nanodot from 26 October, 17 July, 18 July, and 13 April 2001 and 18 August 2000, and articles in Foresight Update issues #44 and #42). The team was jointly awarded the 2000 Foresight Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Experimental Work. Some interesting background on this research team can be found in a profile of Jim Heath ("Speed Demon", by Gary Taubes) that appeared in UCLA Magazine in the Spring 2000 issue (and therefore is about two years out of date); in this interview with Stan Williams (also about two years old) and this feature article ("Molecules that compute") from 1999, both on the HP Labs website.

NanoSpace 2002 conference: Call for abstracts

The Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research, Rice University, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Houston Technology Center, and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute will host the fifth annual conference devoted to the emerging nanoscale and micro technologies for space, medical and commercial applications, NanoSpace 2002: Future Technology Frontiers, to be held from 24 to 28 June 2002, at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston, Texas.

All interested parties from NASA, the medical and scientific community, industry and commercial interests, other government agencies, academia, and the national laboratories are invited to submit abstracts of possible conference presentations. Abstracts on relevant nano/micro/bio technology research and development should be text only and no more than 250 words in length. Please identify whether you are submitting an abstract for presentation or poster session. Abstracts should be sent in electronic form (MS Word or ASCII file) to [email protected].

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is March 1, 2002. For more information, please contact:

National Academies report says U.S. should ban human reproductive cloning

According to a press release (18 January 2002), the U.S. National Academies has released a report that says the United States should ban human reproductive cloning aimed at creating a child. The new report considers only the scientific and medical aspects of this issue, plus ethical issues that pertain to human-subjects research. Based on experience with reproductive cloning in animals, the report concludes that human reproductive cloning would be dangerous for the woman, fetus, and newborn, and is likely to fail. The study panel did not address the issue of whether human reproductive cloning, even if it were found to be medically safe, would be — or would not be — acceptable to individuals or society. Enacting a legally enforceable ban that carries substantial penalties would be the best way to discourage human reproductive cloning experiments in both the public and private sectors, the report says. A voluntary measure probably would not be effective because many of the technologies needed to accomplish human reproductive cloning are widely accessible in private fertility clinics and other organizations that are not subject to federal regulations.

Read more for additional details, links to the report online, and related news on the Presidential Council on Bioethics.

Pulsating Space Hairs

Rocky Rawstern writes "From Space Daily comes a story about about how artificial "hairs" can provide a precise method for steering small satellites. This technology may be useful with picosatellites. The study is being led by researchers at the University of Washington, and is featured in latest issue of the journal Smart Materials and Structures. The full story is here http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanosat-02a.html"

[Editor's note: The article actually just reprints this press release from the University of Washington.]

Workshop on Nanostructures for Electronics, Optics

Torsten Mueller writes "[Here is the] First announcement of the International Workshop on Nanostructures for Electronics and Optics – NEOP, August 18 – 21, 2002, Dresden, Germany.
The organizers would like to inform you about this 3-day workshop. The full, updated information can be found under http://www.neop.de.

Topics are

Organizers and Sponsors are the company ZMD AG, the Research Center Rossendorf, the Center of Competence – Nanotechnology."

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Small Times reports Lieberman will introduce nanotech bill in U.S. Senate

According to an article on the Small Times website ("Lieberman working on U.S. Senate bill that would ensure nanotechg funding", by Doug Brown, 26 December 2001), Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman is working with several U.S. senators to craft the nationís first broad nanotechnology bill, which will probably be introduced in February or March. The article cites an unnamed senior aide to Sen. Lieberman as its source. Other senators involved in drafting the bill were not named.

According to the article, Lieberman is pushing a bill to ensure that nanotechnology receives as much money and overall federal support as it needs and will likely call for some changes in the way nanotechnology gets federal funding, the Lieberman aide said. Federal investments in nanotechnology education and infrastructure, too, will be addressed in the bill. The bill is also intended to ensure that the federal government is aware of precisely what types of nanotechnology research other countries are conducting and how much they are spending. Finally, the bill will also address potential societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology.

Science editors name molectronics top science story of 2001

from the current-events dept.
The editors of the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the leading scientific journals worldwide, have highlighted the field of molecular electronics as this yearís "Breakthrough of the Year" in the a special issue of the journal (20 December 2001). As usual, you cannot access their announcement or coverage online unless you are a subscriber.

However, some spot news coverage is available in articles from Reuters News Service and Associated Press (via the New York Times). Advances in the field have also been covered extensively here on nanodot. Just use the keyword "molectronics" in the search field.

Highlights of nanotech in C&E News

from the from-chemistry-to-nanotech dept.
The December 10 Chemical & Engineering News has an article titled "Highlights 2001" that summarizes the top achievements in various fields of chemistry. It kicks off with three pages on nanotech and molecular electronics.

Interactive Fractal 3d Worlds

from the Friday-frivolity dept.
planetp writes "I just wanted to inform everyone who hasn't already seen this fantasic new software program to give it a look. Its called MojoWorld by Pandromeda and was started by Doc "Mojo" Musgrave who worked with Benoit Mendelbrot and who is credited with being the first to implement multifractals. You can download the Mojo Transporter for free and explore the six planets that come with it. The Real-Time flying alone is worth several all-nighters – of which I can attest! 🙂 With the ability to explore entire planets to scale in detail as little as rocks, rendering to both image and full scale animation in achinging beautiful detail, this program is a genuine breatkthrough. Doc Mojo syas that the program is so power-hungry that he couldn't have released it even a year earlier. Given future speeds in desktop computation REAL VR will have finally arrived.

The site has lots of beautiful, alien and extremely realistic earthlike renderings that will make you drool for the power to create your own planets."

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