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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Results for "protein design"

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Squid's Flashlight May Lead to New Nanolights

Roland Piquepaille writes "Several articles appeared yesterday about how a small Hawaiian squid is using reflective plates to confuse predators, paving the way for a new generation of optical nanotechnology tools. Here are two short stories from Scientific American, "Squid May Inspire New Nanolights," and from Ananova, "Nature's 'searchlight' could leave inventors squids in." Scientific American says that this small squid has "a built-in flashlight made up of a previously unknown type of protein." The authors of the study called it "reflectin". I'm not sure if this will lead to future nanolight tools, but Ananova reports that "the structure of the reflecting plates could offer inspiration to nanotechnology designers." This overview contains more details and includes a picture of the cute three-inch-long Hawaiian bobtail squid."

UCLA researchers propose detailed mechanism for ribosome function

from the Natural-Nanomachines dept.
The translation of DNA/RNA instructions and the synthesis of proteins is arguably the most complex single-site operation carried out by biological systems at the molecular level, and it's done by relatively huge molecular machines called ribosomes. Insight into the operation of these naturally evolved molecular assembly devices could be invaluable to the design of artificial molecular machines.

According to a press release [new URL for archived press release], two UCLA molecular biologists propose a solution in the 21 March 2002 issue of the journal Nature. In their paper, James A. Lake, UCLA professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology, and UCLA graduate student Anne B. Simonson attempt to explain the molecular details of the protein synthesis process, including the location and movement of more than 10,000 atoms. In addition, they have located a novel binding site for transfer RNA (tRNA) when it enters the ribosome.

The research, which involved sophisticated computer simulation, was federally funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy and the Astrobiology Institute

Previous research aimed at working out the structure and function of the ribosome was noted here on Nanodot on 4 April 2001 (with links to earlier posts).

Review: "Evolution Isn't What It Used To Be"

from the nanotech-defined-as-protein-only dept.
David Coutts writes about the book Evolution Isn't What It Used To Be: The Augmented Animal and the Whole Wired World by Walter Truett Anderson: "In his brief mention of nanotechnology he says: 'The third generation, which – depending upon what you read – may never come or may be just around the corner, is nanotechnology: miniscule protein computers, submicroscopic protein machines that will sail through the bloodstream to fight disease or repair damage to the body'…He has limited the nanotechnology vision to a third generation protein building tool…This is either laziness, ignorance or a peculiar form of psychological blindness or phobia I shall dub nanophobia. So, whilst I would agree that skepticism of a largely unproven technology is entirely healthy, the author should try and present the full picture or at least clearly state that the working definition of nanotechnology (for any book or article) is deliberately limited by the author." Read More for the full post.

Copying Virus Armor For Nanomachines?

from the what-the-well-dressed-virus-is-wearing-this-season dept.
Sentharus pointed out an article at ScienceDaily entitled "Discovery Of Armored Viruses May Inspire New Designs For Nanotechnology," on research reported in the September 22 Science (registration required): "Now scientists have discovered that one type of virus actually comes equipped with an armored coat made of interlocking rings of protein…. remarkably similar to chain mail suits worn by medieval knights…. The armored virus was detected by an international team of scientists from Stanford, the Scripps Research Institute, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Uppsala in Sweden."

Researchers gain insight into function of ribosome…

from the Reverse-engineering-3billion-years-of-R&D dept.

The translation of DNA/RNA instructions and the synthesis of proteins is arguably the most complex single-site operation carried out by biological systems at the molecular level, and it's done by relatively huge molecular machines called ribosomes. Insight into the operation of these naturally evolved molecular assembly devices could be invaluable to the design of artificial molecular machines.

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reported in the 20 July 2000 issue of the journal Nature that they have have "detected a ratcheting rotation deep inside the cell's tiny protein-making 'factory' at a key point in the protein construction process." An overview of their work, as well as some animations of ribosome operation, appear on the HHMI web site.

Idea Futures Activity at the 2000 Senior Associates Gathering

from the never-too-late dept.
At the Foresight Senior Associates gathering in 1999, an Idea Futures market was set up for attendees to "put their money where their mouths were" on a variety of questions related to Foresight's goals. The market is now available on an ongoing basis for those who've opened accounts. This article reports on events at this year's gathering: Two new claims were added concerning how and when AI will appear. The most contentious claims during the gathering were those related to the date that the Feynman Grand Prize will be awarded. The odds on those claims have see-sawed back and forth as people with different viewpoints have weighed in on the question. Senior Associates can join by sending money to the Foresight office.

Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative

from the a-nanogram-of-sugar-helps-the-nanomedicine-go-down dept.
Robert Freitas writes "NIH is issuing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants for projects on nanotechnologies useful to biomedicine. The grants provide funding to develop near-term nanomedical applications involving primarily engineered nanomaterials and biomaterials. While the goals are admittedly modest by MNT standards — nanomedicine with a small 'n' — at least they are experimentally accessible now. The level of federal interest in this area is clearly growing. Here, NIH appears to be bending the usual federal rules a bit to help jumpstart the 'nano' sector of biomedicine. I've excerpted the most important parts of the announcement [Read More below]; the full text is at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-00-018.html."

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