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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: news

BBC looks at AI, robots, and nanotech

from the British-bravery dept.
Skevos writes "The current online version of the BBC's In Business radio program is a feature looking at the future of robotics, and the program deals with nanotechnology and AI as well. The content is probably nothing new to readers of nanodot, but it's interesting to hear these issues being explored (rather cautiously) by a mainstream broadcaster. The host speaks to Hans Moravec, Ray Kurzweil, Bill Joy, and others, and runs for just under 30 minutes.

You can find the Real Audio link to In Business here, or a direct link to the real audio file is here. I believe the program updates every Thursday, so the link probably won't work after Thursday 16 November 2000, or else it may lead to a different edition of the program. I recorded the show to a 6.6meg mp3 file for my own purposes, but I'm unaware of any easy or legal way of making it available to nanodot readers who miss out on it."

Packard Foundation goes nano

from the money-with-no-strings-attached-that's-very-nice dept.
Carrying on the David Packard tradition of innovation, the Packard Foundation gave many of its prestigious Fellowships in Science and Engineering to nano-oriented projects this year, according to this press release : "Twenty-four of the most promising science and engineering researchers at 22 universities across the United States have been awarded five-year fellowships worth $625,000 each from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation…It is one of the nation's largest non-governmental programs of unrestricted grants to young university faculty in science and engineering. From the study of galaxies, the earth, and its atmosphere, to cell biology, to nanotechnology and materials design, to theoretical mathematics and physics, the Fellows' research covers a multitude of disciplines in science and engineering." (Emphasis added) CP: At least a quarter of the grants listed have a "nano" orientation.

"Nanotech Valley" gets $10 million in Pennsylvania

from the go-East-young-nanotechies dept.
From a press release: Ridge Administration Announces Funding For Nanotechnology Center; Delaware Valley on Its Way to Becoming `Nanotech Valley'
HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ — On behalf of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, Community and Economic Development Secretary Sam McCullough today announced more than $10.5 million over three years to help position Southeastern Pennsylvania as a leader in nanotechnology research and development… “Gov. Ridge is continuing his commitment to bringing the technology revolution to all of Pennsylvania,'' McCullough said. “And we know that nanotechnology is the wave of the future. Thanks to this groundbreaking collaboration, Pennsylvania will be at the crest of that wave. We congratulate the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania for coming together on such an important initiative.'' Read More for the full release, which seems to have disappeared from Yahoo but can be found by searching on PR Newswire.

Risky nanobusiness? Get insurance

from the better-insured-than-sorry dept.
Recognizing that some nanotech risks are not dissimilar to biotech risks, McManamey, Brettler & Associates — biotech insurance specialists — have issued a press release that makes clear their willingness to take on the insuring of nanotechnology-based businesses. While it's true that buying insurance doesn't by itself decrease risk, it does set up a financial incentive for all involved to identify and then work to reduce potential safety problems. Makes sense to us.

Nanotech helps ABB to environmental sustainability

from the pollution-is-just-atoms-in-the-wrong-place dept.
The corporate world is starting to notice that nanotech is clean tech. From a story on Yahoo News: Global technology group ABB said today that it has been named number one in corporate sustainability among the electric equipment industry by the SAM Sustainability Group… “We are pleased that our efforts are recognized,'' said Goran Lindahl, President and CEO of ABB. “This ranking acknowledges the fine work that is done throughout our global organization – in ABB sustainability is a core value for all our activities.''…ABB invested US$ 865 million on research and development and US$ 1,212 million on order-related development activities, for a total of some eight percent of Group revenues in 1999. ABB's technology innovations during that time included advances in molecular-scale nano-technologies… [Emphasis added]

Novastar to incubate nanotechnology

from the the-other-name-Acme-Widgets-is-better dept.
They aren't the first, but they are early — here's a story from Yahoo News : Acme Widgets Research & Development, LLC, a Florida-based high-tech incubator, today announced the formation of Novastar Technologies, Inc., a technology commercialization firm, as its wholly owned subsidiary… “Novastar provides a turnkey approach for all services needed to develop, patent, and commercially exploit new technologies with large markets.''… To date Novastar has received private financing and has hired a New York City investment banking firm to pursue additional financing of between $15 to $25 million through a private equity offering. Proceeds from previous funding have been used to acquire emerging technology and its attendant intellectual property protection. A portion of future funds will also be used to construct a state-of-the-art R&D center and a pilot plant for the early stage development of commercially viable new technologies. Novastar focuses on exciting emerging technology markets that include…Nanotechnology

New Nanotechnology Center in Beijing

from the nanotech-has-no-nationality dept.
JosephSterlynne writes "A short article at ChinaOnline reports that "The Chinese Science Academy (CSA) announced that China's largest research-and-development center for nanotechnology is to be built in Beijing" with [the equivalent of] US$3 million in funding."

Confocal microprobe planned to view living cells

from the now-open-wide dept.
Mark Baltzegar brings our attention to plans for a confocal imaging "scanning microprobe" using MEMS technology which would enable imaging of living cells deep within the human body. "Currently we have no way to effectively study the real living behavior of cells in detail because we lack the advanced visualization tools to see them in their natural environment," commented Dr. John Liddicoat, Cardiac Surgeon at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. "The opportunities for real-time visualization down at the cell level would be incredibly valuable. We could realize a broad range of uses in medicine. For example, by applying this technology, we may be able to accurately direct pharmacological and mechanical interventions in such diverse fields as cardiology, pulmonolgy, oncology, and transplantation, just to name a few. This type of visualization tool would be enormously valuable."

E&Y biotech report: Drexler & Kauffman on nanotech

from the biotech-today-nanotech-tomorrow dept.
A story in the San Francisco Chronicle reports on a new Ernst & Young "State of the Industry" report on biotech and some nanotech ($50). From the news story: "Biotech is also shaping up as a template for futuristic fields like nanotechnology, the effort to build machines of sub-microscopic size. Much of the E&Y report is organized as a series of conversations between visionaries including Eric Drexler, a leading proponent of nanotechnology, and Stuart Kauffman, a co-founder of the Santa Fe Institute and a guru of complexity theory. At one point in the report, Drexler and Kauffman suggest that nanomachines will have to be 'self-organizing systems,' governed by some inner logic…Of course, such pie-in-the-sky stuff always sounds more persuasive coming from an industry that's flush."

UC Berkeley & LBNL attempt to reverse aging

from the hurry-up-some-of-us-are-wrinkling dept.
Not until recently has it been acceptable in the medical research community to attempt to defeat the aging process, per se. (Instead one was supposed to view it as natural, and learn to live with it as healthily as possible.) Now, UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have teamed up on the Center for Research and Education in Aging, with an endowment from BioTime: "Among the challenges that greet the dawn of this millennium is how can we maintain good health and postpone or reverse old age [emphasis added] along with its debilitating diseases…Research into the process responsible for aging remains seriously neglected…At CREA, innovative research, which too often goes unsupported, will be of prime interest." Donations are being accepted; tell 'em Foresight sent you.

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