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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Results for ""molecular manufacturing""

We found 308 results for your search.

Silicon Valley should expect nanotech boom

from the jostling-for-nano-position dept.
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle (Dec. 7) reports that Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a nonpartisan public policy group, is advising Silicon Valley to prepare for the next boom, described as being based on biotech, infotech, and of course nanotech. "Nanotechnology, the development of ultra-small mechanical components is another research area poised to take off. But Silicon Valley is competing with such places as Boston and San Diego to establish itself as the commercial center for these emerging technologies." The "mechanical" slant here reflects Foresight's main interest area of molecular manufacturing, as opposed to the mainstream which currently focuses more on nanoelectronics.

AAAS will hold symposium on national security and scientific freedom

The American Association for the Advancement of Science will hold a day-long symposium on "The War On Terrorism: What Does It Mean for Science?" on 18 December 2001 in Washington, D.C.
K. Eric Drexler, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing and Foresight Board Chair, will be participating in a panel discussion during the symposium.

For some background, read the Foresight Position Statement on Avoiding High-Tech Terrorism, and an open letter from Dr. Drexler on "Nanotechnology: Six Lessons from Sept. 11".

IMM responds to critics in Scientific American

The Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) has posted responses to a pair of articles in the September 2001 issue of Scientific American which attempt to cast doubt on the feasibility of nonbiological molecular assemblers. The issue devoted six articles and a great deal of text to various perspectives on nanotechnology. The issue included various attacks on the feasibility of molecular assemblers and the work of IMM Research Fellow K. Eric Drexler and his research associates. The responses deal with issues raised in articles by Richard Smalley of Rice University and George Whitesides at Harvard University.

Getting at the basics of replicating machines

The August 2001 issue of Scientific American has an interesting article ("Go Forth and Replicate", by M. Sipper and J. A. Reggia) on machine replication. (Unfortunately, it is not available online). The article describes attempts to develop a general understanding of self-replicating systems, with its roots in the work of John von Neumann, Stanislaw Ulam, and others. The article covers research into cellular automata simulations before moving on to describe more recent work by the authors and others that often employ evolutionary methods, including self-replicating systems that do not include an explicit self-description. They also mention the pioneering 1980 NASA study on complex replicating machine systems led by Robert A. Freitas Jr., now a researcher at Zyvex Corp. and author of Nanomedicine.

The authors, aware of the implications, state: "Researchers in the field of nanotechnology have long proposed that self-replication will be crucial to manufacturing molecular-scale machines . . . Recent advances have given credence to these futuristic-sounding ideas." They add that the study of such systems presents a "twofold challenge of creating replicating machines and avoiding dystopian predictions of devices running amok. The knowledge we gain will help us separate good technologies from destructive ones."

Read more for links to a few items related to nanotechnology and self-replicating systems.

Animated view of Drexler

from the fine-motion dept.
Those who want a better look at the molecular fine motion controller designed by Eric Drexler at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, Josh Hall has created an animation of the fine motion controller that allows it to be rotated around one (the vertical) axis. The animation allows you to view the device design from different angles not available in static single-angle views.

Investors assess nanotechnology

from the blind-men-and-an-elephant dept.
A recent article from United Press International ("Investors weigh merits of nanotech", 11 May 2001) reveals that investors are still uncertain about nanotechnology, largely because it is an ill-defined new field. According to the article, investment experts say gauging the level of private investment in nanotechnologies is nearly impossible because no industry statistics are available and because of disagreements over what nanotechnology means.

The article quotes Foresight Senior Associate Steven Vetter, CEO of Molecular Manufacturing Enterprises Inc., a seed capital firm in St. Paul Minnesota: "It's hard to gauge the levels of investment because there is so much confusion over what the term includes . . . What's happened is that the term has become stylish and has been broadened to apply to many more things."

"Nanoscience is a more appropriate term at this stage than nanotechnology," said Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital, an investment firm in New York City.

And even though IMM Research Fellow and Foresight founder Eric Drexler has played a pivotal role in the development of the field, we have to point out that the articleís characterization of Eric as "the world's leading authority on nanoscience" is a bit of an exaggeration!

NIST conference sessions will examine future of technology

from the setting-standards? dept.
The Advanced Technology Program of the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is sponsoring a special program on "Technology at the Crossroads: Frontiers of the Future" at its 2001 national meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, 3-5 June 2001. Two session of high interest include:
– "Replication of Nanodevices", presented by Ralph Merkle of Zyvex and J. Storrs Hall from the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing. This session will cover molecular replicating systems, including replications of more complex structures on the nanometer scale and exponential assembly into larger devices at the micron scale.
– "The Challenge of Molecular Electronics: Focusing Nanotechnology on the Future Computer", presented by Christopher B. Murray, Manager, Nanoscale Materials and Devices, IBM, T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY; and Dr. Paul Weiss, Professor of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University. This Frontier session will explore recent notable achievements that show the promise of molecular scale electronics. Anticipating a stream of new advances, such as molecular wires, molecular switches and molecular sensors, particular attention will be placed on the enabling, spillover possibilities for this rapidly moving field.

Other sessions will cover virtual reality in medicine, regenerative medicine (tissue regeneration & stem cell research), information technology, and a discussion by a panel of venture capitalists.
There will also be a keynote address on "Ten Ideas that Have Already Decided the Future", by Foresight Advisor Peter Schwartz, Cofounder and Chairman, Global Business Network, and author, The Long Boom: The Coming Age of Prosperity.

Financial Times describes nano-machines, but needs history lesson

from the journalistic-double-standards dept.
An article in Londonís Financial Times ("Inside Track: Nanotechnology", by Fiona Harvey, 23 April 2001) presents a generally optimistic overview of ongoing efforts to develop machine-based nanotechnology, but gets it really wrong when assigning proper credit for the development of these concepts.

Read more to see why . . .

Nanomedicine author describes medical nanorobot to digest microbes

from the digest-and-discharge dept.
In a recent technical paper, Robert A. Freitas Jr., author of Nanomedicine and a research scientist at Zyvex, describes an artificial mechanical phagocyte called a microbivore — the nanorobotic equivalent of a major class of natural blood cells — the white cells. Major antimicrobial defenses include circulating white cells capable of phagocytosis (engulfing and digesting other cells).

In his paper, Freitas presents a theoretical nanorobot scaling study for artificial mechanical phagocytes of microscopic size, called "microbivores," whose primary function is to destroy microbiological pathogens found in the human bloodstream using a "digest and discharge protocol". Freitas concludes microbivores would be up to 1000 times faster-acting than either natural or antibiotic-assisted biological phagocytic defenses, and about 80 times more efficient as phagocytic agents than macrophages, the white blood cells that are the primary cell-digesting agents in humans. He also notes: "Besides intravenous bacterial scavenging, microbivores or related devices may also be used to help clear respiratory, urinary, or cerebrospinal bacterial infections; eliminate bacterial toxemias and biofilms; eradicate viral, fungal, and parasitic infections; disinfect surfaces, foodstuffs, or organic samples; and help clean up biohazards and toxic chemicals."

A brief summary of the paper was published by the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing in Foresight Update #44. For much, much more information on the potential medical applications of advanced nanotechnology, see the Nanomedicine pages on the Foresight website.

Rand report examines technology trends

from the well-worth-reading dept.
A Rand Corporation "foresight" report on "The Global Technology Revolution: Bio/Nano/Materials Trends and Their Synergies with Information Technology by 2015" examines the potential effects of several technological trends over the next 15 years.
As described by the authors in their introduction, the report covers "[a] number of significant technology-related trends appear poised to have major global effects by 2015. These trends are being influenced by advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials technology, and information technology . . . [the] implications are varied and can include social, political, economic, environmental, or other factors. In many cases, the significance of these technologies appears to depend on the synergies afforded by their combined advances as well as on their interaction with the so-called information revolution."

Although the authors feel "the present period in molecular manufacturing research is extremely exciting", their basic conclusion about advanced nanotechnology is rather cautious:
"Although molecular manufacturing holds the promise of significant global changes . . . it remains the least concrete of the technologies discussed here. Significant progress has been made, however, in the development of component technologies within the first regime of molecular manufacturing, where objects might be constructed from simple molecules and manufactured in a short amount of time via parallel atomic force microprobes or from simple self-assembled structures. Although the building blocks for these systems currently exist only in isolation at the research stage, it is certainly reasonable to expect that an integrated capability could be developed over the next 15 years . . . A series of important breakthroughs could certainly cause progress in this area to develop much more rapidly, but it seems very unlikely that macro-scale objects could be constructed using molecular manufacturing within the 2015 timeframe."

The full report is available online, and as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

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