Prof. Morinobu Endo of Shinshu University in Japan, widely regarded as a Nobel candidate for his work with carbon nanotubes, speaks out bluntly in an article in RedNova News: ” ‘Nanotechnology is certain to play a crucial role in creating technological innovations in the 21st century,’ says Endo, who is believed to be a Nobel… Continue reading Nanotube pioneer calls nanotech a matter of life or death for developed nations
SmallTimes Online Managing Editor David Forman takes on the question of the definition of nanotechnology in SmallTimes Direct, their free email newsletter: “Should sub-100 nanometer integrated circuits be considered nanotechnology? And, other than for the purposes of allocating National Nanotechnology Initiative dollars, does it matter? “The responses were entertaining, to say the least. Some went… Continue reading Does nanotechnology's definition matter?
The Center for Bioethics and Culture, which sponsors the Technosapiens conference series, has published an essay by CBC Fellow Jodi Lamoureux on hype in nanotech. After critiquing comments by Richard Smalley, she summarizes: “It is not technology that gives mankind freedom from evil, but mankind that puts technology to good use. The corollary is that… Continue reading Bioconservatives express hope for nanotech
Check out the work of the Computational Nanotechnology Group at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia: “molecular computing is a practical use of nanotechnology for generating glitch and error.” Nanotechnology can now be used to mess up pictures of Superman, Popeye, and James Brown. It can mess up music too. I wonder whether the folks… Continue reading Nanotechnology takes on distressing new meaning in Australia
The Institute of Nanotechnology is sponsoring a nanotech debate at the Surface Science Summer School in the UK. Organized by Philip Moriarty of Univ. of Nottingham, topics to be debated include: Are nanofactories capable of manufacturing virtually anything with little or no environmental impact really just a few decades away, as some groups are claiming?… Continue reading Nanofactories, molecular nanotechnology to be debated in UK
Robert F. Service writes an accessible summary in Science on How Far Can We Push Self-Assembly? On the current achievements of chemists using covalent bonding: “Using that trick, they have learned to combine as many as 1000 atoms into essentially any molecular configuration they please.” On the status of work using noncovalent bonding: “Chemists have… Continue reading Limits of self-assembly for nanotechnology
Recently there have been a spate of media articles triggered by a July 13 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office to the effect that, as an LA Times piece put it: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect the public from tens of thousands of toxic compounds because it has not gathered… Continue reading Let's put nanotechnology in larger chemical context
In an Alternet article called The Evolution of Frankenfoods?, there’s a comment on voluntary controls on nanotech: “Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council worries that industry will get its way on voluntary, rather than enforceable, regulations. ‘Having these kinds of joint partnerships and collaborative efforts is a good thing,’ she says, ‘But without… Continue reading Nanotechnology controls: Voluntary or required?
Signal, the publication of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, has a Special Report on nanotechnology in their July issue, including: (1) Small Matters: Nanotechnology could lead to the next arms race; experts debate how to prepare, (2) a piece on the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium, and (3) a story on photo-activated porphyrin nanotubes.… Continue reading Nanotech arms race debated
My first column is up over at Always On, and you can rate it on a scale from “Way Off” to “On the $”. Excerpts: “So there’s a big international race on to see which country will lead the Nanotechnology Revolution. How will the U.S. do?…you can have lots of venture capital looking to invest… Continue reading Nanotech in U.S.: Find more molecule geeks soon or lose out
