updated 2004-01-06.
and molecular modeling software (useful for designing things in atomic detail).
Molecular Nanotechnology (MNT) is a revolutionary design concept. While there is some controversy over exactly when humans will be able to design and construct artifacts atom-by-atom, there are apparently no physical barriers; only the bootstrap problem learning.html#bootstrap .
Already we can do some DNA and protein-based nanotech. STMs combined with fullerene engineering seem close to diamondoid-based nanotech.
This includes
related local pages:
Current news:
David Cary believes that the person who solves the protein folding problem will get a Nobel Prize.
Dance Of The Molecules: New Method Tracking Single Atoms May Lead To Improved Drug Designhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040106073122.htm
Prof. Irit Sagi and her team of the Structural Biology Department ... Weizmann Institute ... "video clips" of enzyme molecules at work. The resolution of these animated clips is so fine that the scientists are able to see the movements of individual atoms within the molecule. ... to capture, step-by-step, the complex process -- the whole of which takes place in a tiny fraction of a second -- that an enzyme molecule goes through as it performs its work.
UUU Phenylalanine UUC UUA Leucine UUG CUx AUU Isoleucine AUC AUA AUG Methionine GUx Valine UCx Serine AGU Serine AGC CCx Proline ACx Threonine GCx Alanine UAU Tyrosine UAC UAA Stop UAG UGA Stop CAU Histidine CAC CAA Glutamine CAG AUU Asparagine AAC AAA Lysine AAG GAU Aspartic acid GAC GAA Glutamic acid GAG UGU Cysteine UGC UGG Tryptophan CGx Arginine AGA Arginine AGG GGx Glycine
The Genetic Code; Figure A-5; -- from _Darwin's Black Box_ by Michael J. Behe 1996 p. 269 [FIXME: don't I have another list from another book ?] [another list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_code ] p. 270:
... The beginning position is generally marked by several special DNA sequences, called ``promoters.'' In prokaryotes a sequence of DNA nucleotides (usually TCTTGACAT) called the ``-35 region'' occurs about 35 nucleotides before a gene; another sequence (usually TATAAT) called the ``Pribnow box'' occurs 5 to 10 base pairs prior to the transcription initiation site. In addition to similar signals, eukaryotes have DNA sequences called ``enhancers'' thousands of base pairs away from the transcription start site; enhancers can greatly affect the rate at which a gene is transcribed.
("start codon", "stop codon" ?)
There is a lot of design effort into making mechanical nanocomputers ("rod logic"). Some people claim that quantum computers quantum_c_faq.html are "super-Turing", and therefore will make "rod logic" (and all other Turing machines, such as electronic "digital logic") obsolete.
NanoTechnology Magazine Web Page: http://nanozine.com (808)737-0628 FAX (808)735-0638 4451 Sierra Dr. Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 USA ... -------------JOIN the NanoSuperComputer Dream Team Project.------------ "To Design and Build the World's First Nanocomputer" http://www.nanocomputer.org
(you might also be interested in "DAV's quantum computing FAQ" )
Better tools need to be written. Look at these and then improve on them -- don't just let people *look* at something, but give them tools to edit it and make their own designs. All the ones I already know about are listed here; please tell me about any other molecular-level modeling tools.
These will, of course, be used to build MEMS and quantum computers and later to build nanotechnology nanotech.html .
see computer_graphics_tools.html#visualization for general-purpose visualization tools.
From: wware@world.std.com (Will Ware) Newsgroups: sci.nanotech Subject: Re: Molecular modeling software. Date: 9 Aug 1995 11:24:42 -0400 Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Lines: 37 Sender: nanotech@foglet.rutgers.edu Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: foglet.rutgers.edu Christian Darkin (christian@darkin.demon.co.uk) wrote: : wware@world.std.com (Will Ware) wrote: : >I think it would be great (not just fun, but a useful contribution to : >society) if somebody wrote [chemistry simulation software] : >and made it either free or very cheap. Presumably an important step in : >getting to nanotech is that ... computer folks will need : >to learn about chemistry : you should go to Usenet. : There's plenty of very good PD programmers out there in the alt. and : comp. programming groups, and they're all looking out for possible : projects to get involved with. There are also experts in physics and : chemistry ... That's a good thought. While I'm thinking about it, I'd like to elaborate the idea a bit. In its coolest imaginable form, it would look like SimCity or SimAnt, and you could design fairly large molecular things and they would move around as accurately as possible. It should be possible to simulate both wet and machine-phase chemistry in this fashion. Over the past few months I've been envisioning something similar for immunology (prompted by some of the exciting bugs floating around these days). Perhaps this could be a limiting case of the chemistry simulator; big things like T cells and white blood cells would be treated as physically large "black box" molecules. I think the best social good can be gotten from such software if its source code is free and widely available, like the Gnu body of software. I've been recently learning about C++, and it looks like its scheme of class inheritance would allow for clean useful definitions of different kinds of simulated objects. -- ------------------------------------------------------------- Will Ware <wware@world.std.com> web http://world.std.com/~wware/ PGP fingerprint 45A8 722C D149 10CC F0CF 48FB 93BF 7289 From: shackle@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu (David Henry Fetter) Newsgroups: sci.nanotech Subject: Re: Molecular modeling software. Date: 9 Aug 1995 11:25:08 -0400 Organization: Campus Crusade for Eris Lines: 24 Sender: nanotech@foglet.rutgers.edu Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: foglet.rutgers.edu Will Ware chiseled onto a granite tablet: [snip] >I think it would be great (not just fun, but a useful contribution to >society) if somebody wrote the software you're envisioning and made it >either free or very cheap. Presumably an important step in getting to >nanotech is that, at some point, computer folks will need to learn about >chemistry, and that sounds like a good way to do it. Perhaps it might be more useful if the chemistry folks, a very practical bunch by and large, were to learn more about computers. It might be more useful in terms of actual developements because chemists are used to working around the many inconvenient quirks of matter at an atomic scale. -- David Fetter 3030 N. Fratney St. shackle@alpha2.csd.uwm.edu Milwaukee, WI 53212 USA (414) 265-0390 "...the championing of the powerful against the powerless is the morality of a thug." - Mark Rosenfelder
See also #protein_folding for more information about one important category of molecules. [FIXME: should that be put in a subheading under this ?] [FIXME: put more "introductory, tutorial" links ... Regina Bailey http://biology.about.com/cs/molecularbiology/ ]
see also what we do know about the brain unknowns_faq.html#brain and unknowns_faq.html#dna_picture and music.html#DNA and the protein folding problem nanotech.html#protein_folding .
Very briefly: There are 4 bases ( 4 nucleotides. ).
From smallest to largest, they are: G A T C (not sure?)
The purine bases adenine (A) and guanine (G) are larger and consist of two aromatic rings. The pyrimidine bases cytosine (C) and thymine (T) are smaller and consist of only one aromatic ring. (-- Wikipedia:Genetic_code )
"Within a cell, the enzymes that perform replication and transcription read DNA in the "3' to 5' direction"..." (-- Wikipedia:DNA)
A+T, T+A (2 H bonds), C+G and G+C (3 H bonds) are the only possible combinations.
U.S. scientists have created an artificial form of life from synthetic genes. The form they made is a virus ...
Researcher Craig Venter and colleagues from the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives have now stitched together pieces of commercially available DNA to build an entire functional Phi-X virus in their laboratory near Washington.
... the Phi-X virus took only 14 days to make ...
(humorous discussion: http://www.slashnot.com/article.php3?story_id=315§ion=Home )
Fly Enhancer is a search engine designed to find clusters of binding sites (or any sequences of nucleotides) in the Drosophila melanogaster genome.http://flyenhancer.org/
Plant Enhancer is a search engine designed to find clusters of binding sites (or any sequences of nucleotides) in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome.http://plantenhancer.org/
Worm Enhancer is a search engine designed to find clusters of binding sites (or any sequences of nucleotides) in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome.http://wormenhancer.org/
This website is brought to you by Open Genomics. We are two graduate students: Michele Markstein in developmental biology and Ka-Ping Yee in computer science
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) ... provides free access to the latest sequence information.
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 15:52:32 -0500 (EST) Comment: Hx: Transhuman Technlogies Reply-To: <transhumantech@excelsior.org> Sender: transhumantech@excelsior.org Version: Autolist v0.2 - Copyright 1995 Planet X Engineering From: Eugene Leitl <eugene@liposome.genebee.msu.su> To: Multiple recipients of list <transhumantech@excelsior.org> Subject: FYI:Great News: Bioinformation Search Center Version 3.0 ! (fwd) Status: U ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 12:01:42 -0600 From: Mousheng Xu <mxu@eecs.ukans.edu> To: "bionet.neuroscience mail newsgroup" <bionet-news@dl.ac.uk> Subject: Great News: Bioinformation Search Center Version 3.0 ! Resent-Date: Tue, 27 Jan 98 18:23:31 UT Resent-From: server-daemon@dl.ac.uk Dear Scientists: The Bioinformation Search Center (BSC) 3.0 (http://www.ittc.ukans.edu/~mxu/cgi-bin/thesis/bi.cgi) is now available to the public! Maijor new features of Version 3.0: 1. Partial result display, from the first to the last, step by step; 2. Faster result presentation; 3. A more robust scoring method is used. You can find your desired information more easily. Please give this baby a try! Any comments are highly appreciated! Please see below for the brief introduction to BSC. Thanks a lot. Sincerely, Mousheng Xu BRIEF INTRO to BSC Bioinformation Search Center is a MS thesis project implemented by Mousheng Xu, Department of EECS, University of Kansas. The goal of BSC is help scientists to search for biologically related information stored in distributed biological databases such as GenBank, Human Genome Database, and Protein Information Resource. It has quite a few cool features such as automated distributed database entry interlink, easy expansion to include more databases in the system, easy mainteinance, concise result representation, etc. It is believed to find more and high quality information than any other biological databases.
Earlier this month I met someone from Perkin-Elmer who said that they have plans to put up a web form to allow you to order custom DNA sequences (http://www.perkin-elmer.com:80/ds/230000/dsww0002.html). I was astonished -- then he said that several of their customers (P-E manufactures the equipment) already do this:
"Supersized" DNA Like Nothing on Eartharticle by Gabe Romain 2003-10-30 http://betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-10-30-5
I list Drexlerian MNT companies here, as well as genetic engineering. One proposed path to MNT might be to make machines smaller and smaller ( MEMS ); companies I know of that are going that route are listed under vlsi.html#company .
Yashnanotech ... aims to provide global nanotechnology business intelligence and consulting services to industries and investors worldwide; and to become the leading Indian suppliers of tools, products and services in Nanotechnology that enable adoptable, affordable and molecularly precise manufacturing.http://yashnanotech.com/
Nanogen Inc. currently employs 55 people at its corporate headquarters in San Diego.
CONTACT: Nanogen Inc. Harry J. Leonhardt Esq., 619/546-7700 --SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 1997
tools for looking at all the wonderful (especially biological) things that have atomic precision.
From: alfa@melb.alexia.net.au (Glenn Durden) Subject: Re: homebrew STM.... Date: 21 Oct 1999 00:00:00 GMT Approved: josh@discuss.foresight.org X-Complaints-To: abuse@verio.net X-Trace: dfw-read.news.verio.net 940527654 207.162.143.160 (Thu, 21 Oct 1999 17:40:54 GMT) Organization: Disorganised, as usual... NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 17:40:54 GMT Newsgroups: sci.nanotech X-Psw: Cadmium 0.01 ... > >whatever happened to the Homebrew STM project? very interesting, yet not >updated in a long >time, and not really enough info to build one.......anyone have any >ideas what happened? >any comparable projects out there on the web? You may (or may not) already know of the homebrew STM that I made in the spare bedroom. http://nemesis.com.au/alfa/mystm.htm Thats the state it was December last year - havnt done any more with it since. cheers...
From: juergen_mueller@my-deja.com Subject: Re: homebrew STM.... Date: 21 Oct 1999 00:00:00 GMT Newsgroups: sci.nanotech ... "Douglas J.Martins" wrote: > whatever happened to the Homebrew STM project? > ... > any comparable projects out there on the web? Well, I've been trying to build my own STM for a while now; the (nearly) current status is described at http://www.e-basteln.de. Mechanics and electronics are pretty much complete, but hardly any software yet. (Scanning and feedback are supposed to be controlled by a Motorola DSP 56002 evaluation board.) Which means, of course, that I have not seen any tunneling, let alone STM images, yet -- but I think the project stands a fair chance of reaching completion some time... The site provides more details than the original "Homebrew STM" site in many areas, including complete schematics of my (unproven) design. Any comments and suggestions are appreciated! Juergen Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.
magazines and books about nanotechnology
Using nanotechnology, we can do things that we could never do before. Here are some examples.
unsorted links
An image of the nanogear from a computer simulation http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx/basket/storiesetc/Nanopix.html
A long range goal, according to Globus, is to make materials that have radically superior strength-to-weight ratio. Diamond, for example, has 69 times the strength-to-weight ratio of titanium. A second goal is to make "active" or "smart" materials.
...
NanoDesign and Related Papers http://www.nas.nasa.gov/Groups/Nanotechnology/publications/MGMS_EC1/
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 1997 00:50:19 -0700 From: cary at agora.rdrop.com (David Cary) Subject: Re: Nanobots and Atomic-Molecular Machines I am fascinated by this sort of thing. The "Newsgroups: sci.nanotech" has a lot of discussion about atomic-scale robots, but right now it seems to be mostly gedanken experiments and computer simulation. _Engines of Creation_, the original nanotech text, is worth reading: "http://reality.sgi.com/whitaker/EnginesOfCreation/" Related web pages are: "http://www.speakeasy.org/~forrestb" "http://nano.xerox.com/nanotech" "http://www.rdrop.com/~cary/html/link_farm.html#Nanotechnology" I subscribe to the _Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems_. It has lots of scanning-electron-microscope photographs of tiny things people have actually *built*, sensors and motors and moving parts on the order of 100 um long. I hear there's some Japanese research "http://scorpio.leopard.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/kameya/soturon-e.html" into small flying robots. Someone at MIT "http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/ants" has built the smallest autonomous robots I know, only a bit larger than a inch on a side. +From: barry humphrey <bah1 at mail.cableol.co.uk> +Newsgroups: comp.robotics.research +Subject: Nanobots and Atomic-Molecular Machines +Followup-To: comp.robotics.research +Date: 17 Mar 1997 21:20:49 GMT ... +I would like to make contact with anyone working with nanomachines or +atomic-molecular robots. What is the present state of development +regarding the miniaturization of robots ? + +I have a device which could be of use with robots of this scale. +If anyone can help me or is interested then please E-mail me on:- +bah1@cableol.co.uk +Thank you. David Cary "mailto:d.cary@ieee.org" "http://www.rdrop.com/~cary" Future Tech, Unknowns, PCMCIA, digital hologram, <*> O-
There's some interesting nanotech discussions on CritSuite html.html#crit
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 02:14:06 -0500 (EST) Comment: Hx: Transhuman Technlogies Reply-To: <transhumantech at excelsior.org> Version: Autolist v0.2 - Copyright 1995 Planet X Engineering From: Mitchell Porter <mitch at thehub.com.au> To: Multiple recipients of list <transhumantech at excelsior.org> Subject: "Seed" page for crit.org discussions of MNT (fwd) ----- Forwarded message from Will Dye ----- ... To: josh at discuss.foresight.org Subject: "Seed" page for crit.org discussions of MNT Cc: nsg-d at world.std.com, nanocad at world.std.com Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 01:43:01 -0600 From: Will Dye <willdye at dsndata.com> Sender: nanocad-approval at world.std.com Precedence: list Reply-To: nanocad at world.std.com As most of you probably know, Foresight has started a hypertext initiative called "CritLink". It's a system that allows people to add annotations to any document on the web. You pick a string on a web page, like "Will Dye is a lightly braised turnip", and you can add an annotation to that text string which will point to your own comments (typically a disagreement). Those who are surfing the web via CritLink will be able to see a little flag beside the original text, pointing the way to your comment on it. It's simple, but very, very promising. Now that Netscape source code is available, I expect that such "backlinking" will soon become a part of the browser. If you want details on CritLink, visit: http://crit.org Anyway, at a recent conference, some people I met wanted to start a discussion on a policy matter (like "if this nanotech stuff really works out, how do we keep from blowing ourselves to extra- tiny smithereens, or starting some regulatory regime that turns out to be a cure worse than the disease"). Unhappy with the limits of traditional formats, we wanted to try having the discussion via a series of documents linked by CritLink, but we weren't sure of a good place to start it. This led to a discussion of the desireability of a "seed page" to act as a starting point for commonly-debated subjects -- a sort of "Top Ten Frequently Questioned Answers". When you want to look up the best thoughts on a particular subject, you'd start from that page. Somehow I got myself volunteered to write it up. Attached below is my first attempt at such a page. It mostly covers nanotech-related stuff, because that's what people wanted when I was asked to write it up. After getting your feedback, I'll attach it somewhere on the crit.org site, and those who wish to can add their own thoughts to it via the CritLink software. This post is to both to advertise the coming existence of the seed page, and to request feedback about this early draft of it. Before people attach a large number of documents to it, it would be nice to make sure that I've picked out a good format. Please review it if you've the time; and e-mail me with any errors you find, or suggestions you have. Depending on feedback, I'll attach it to http://crit.org in the next week or so. One key decision: I broke up discussions of nanotech into "technical" vs. "policy" issues, then broke each half down by time scale: short-term, medium-term, and long-term (roughly meaning pre-singularity, singularity, and post-singularity). I'm still not sure if that's a good idea. For example, sometimes it's hard to separate long-term technical from long-term policy. I'd like some better ideas if anyone has them. Thanks! [Attachment below] --Will P.S. JoSH, I know this post isn't very technical, but could you allow it on the technical sublist anyway? The seed page is specifically set up to help technical (and other) discussions, so I want to make sure that the technical folk hear about it. I trust your judgement on the matter. ___________________________________________________________ William L. Dye \ "Faith is not 'believing, in spite of the willdye at dsndata.com \ evidence'. Faith is 'obeying, in spite of willdye at csealumni.unl.edu \ the consequences'." --Dr. Michael Youssef =-----------------------= ATTACHMENT BELOW =-----------------------= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Willdye's CritLink Seed Page (Last updated February 4, 1998) (Reminder: most annotations should be to another annotation, not to this page directly. Direct annotations to this page should be carefully- thought-out position papers, for others to comment on. You can be more relaxed when it's a comment to a comment to a comment; but even then, remember that this is not a newsgroup or a mailing list. Annotations do not expire! Think twice & write clearly, or just shut up and read.) Item 0 - ABOUT this seed page. History, instructions for use, etc. Please read this __before__ posting, if you've never posted here before. Item 1 - TEST area -- Use this line if you just want to test CritLink. If you've never used CritLink before, this is a great place to make your first annotation. Please don't put "just testing" messages on the other items. See item zero (above) for posting instructions. Item 2 - CritLink-annotated discussions about HYPERTEXT. Item 2-1 - CRITLINK itself. Item 2-1-1 - Comments about CURRENT features. Item 2-1-1 - Features you think should be ADDED. Item 2-1-X - OTHER Critlink issues not listed above. Item 2-2 - Comments/suggestions about THIS seed page. Item 2-X - OTHER Hypertext issues not listed above. Item 3 - CritLink-annotated discussions about MOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY Item 3-0 - The Nanotech FAQ. Here's where to start if you're new. Please don't embarass yourself by posting a statement which loudly trumpets to all: "I haven't even read the FAQ yet, but I still like to spout off what I think I know". Item 3-2 - TECHNICAL discussions (i.e. what __can__ we do?). Remember, this is the technical area. It speaks of what we are able to do & what we might be able to do. It is not intended to address what we __should__ do. The "should" stuff is in the policy area, below. Item 3-2-1 - SHORT TERM: Current and very near-future "bootstrapping" efforts at the nanometer scale. This is for discussions of how to make an assembler and other nanoscale machinery with capabilities we have today and in the very near future. "Nanoscience" items such as buckytubes and MEMS belong here. This section is intended to be __very__ technical and specific. Item 3-2-2 - MEDIUM TERM: Concerning what we will be able to do in the first few years after self-replicating "assembers" are available. Diamondoid rocket ships, Utility Fog, Cell repair machinery, and such belong here. Uploading, transhumanism, and machines-smarter- than-us belong in the long-term section, even though they may become available quite quickly, because the implications tend to naturally lead out into the long- term arena (and because I have a sneaking suspicion they'll get delayed by regulatory concerns anyway). Item 3-2-3 - LONG TERM: This asks the question "What is possible in the very long term? "Long-term" roughly means over 10 years after nanotech is initially developed. If you plan on building a ringworld or harvesting stars, here's the place to flesh out your ideas. The "Omega Point", uploading, and super-human- AI discussions belong here. Please remember this is still the technical area; policy goes elsewhere. Item 3-2-X - OTHER nanotech technical issues not well-suited to the above categories. Item 3-3 - POLICY discussions (i.e. what __should__ we do?). Item 3-3-1 - SHORT TERM: Policy concerns about current "bootstrapping" efforts. Things like: "Should governments fund a large direct effort with tax money", "Which technical paths should get the most funding?", and "What do we do about dictatorships that try to fund a secret project to build an assembler?", etc. Item 3-3-2 - MEDIUM TERM: Regarding the first few years after MNT. This is the place to talk about your hopes and fears (don't forget to include the "hopes" part) about what we should do in the wake of the expected leap in technical capabilities. Please don't rant here. This is one of the most difficult yet important discussions that has ever taken place. Treat it seriously, do your homework before posting, and maintain courtesy in the face of the inevitable extreme disagreements. A lot of lives and freedoms are at stake, so don't just add to the noise level. Item 3-3-3 - LONG TERM: Policy issues regarding centuries or more down the road. The long-term fate of life from Earth and their progeny. Note: alien encounter policies belong here, even though there's a (slim) chance it will happen in the short-term or medium-term timescales. Item 3-3-X - OTHER nanotech policy issues not well- suited to the above categories. Item 3-X OTHER discussions about molecular nanotechnology, not well-suited to the above categories. Item 4 - CritLink-annotated discussions about COMPUTERS. Item 4-1 - Computer SECURITY. Item 4-X - OTHER computer-related issues not listed above. Item 5 - CritLink-annotated discussions about CRYONICS. Item 6 - CritLink-annotated discussions about CURRENT EVENTS that may be of interest to the "molecular nanotechnolgy" crowd. Item 6-1 - RECENT discoveries. Item 6-2 - GENETIC engineering (includes cloning). Item 6-3 - PRIVACY. Item 6-X - OTHER current events, not listed above. Item X - CritLink-annotated discussions about OTHER STUFF not listed above. If an item becomes popular enough, let me know and I'll add a separate category for it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [ "Item 0" will be a link to the following page: ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Greetings! If you're wondering "What is this 'seed page' thing anyway?", you've come to the right place. It's just a convenient starting point for CritLink-annotated discussions about various topics. You can start a discussion from any document that's accessible from the CritLink server. That's great, but sometimes we may want a little more structure in the debate. Even a table of contents would be nice. So by request of some friends I met at a Foresight conference, I've provided some "seed" lines below. The idea is that it will serve as a commonly- used place to start a discussion. In this first draft (February, 1998), I've tried to emphasize things that would be of interest to the people who requested that I do this -- just in case no one else even cares. :-) To use this page, just find a topic of interest (or select the "other topics not listed above" topic), and look at the existing annotations. Usually you just read the annotations (and the annotations of annotations added by others), then add you own comments if you like. This sort of format is good for well-thought-out position papers, and comments on those papers. It's really not very good for question and answer sessions, since the person you want an answer from may never even bother to check back on their page to see what others have added. If you have a question, or are still , you'd do better to send some e-mail, or post it on a mailing list or UseNet. If you want to start a new stream of thought on a subject, add an annotation to the subject on this page. For example, suppose you wanted to start a new stream of thought on the subject: Item 4-1 - Computer SECURITY. To get it started, add an annotation to the item identifier, which in this case is the text string "Item 4-1". Don't annotate the string with the surrounding characters around it, e.g. "Item 4-1 - ", because that will become a separate flag, and people may not look there. I'll try to make sure that the item identifier appears in only one location on the page, so that your annotation is sure to be attached to the right place. Do *NOT* annotate the description text that follows the identifier (in this case, "Computer SECURITY"). The idea is that the user can click on a single flag, "Item 4-1", and get a comlete list of the postion papers on that topic. If instead you annotate the decription text, then: 1) To get the complete list of position papers on that topic, people will have to click on several different flags instead of just one. 2) The text you select may not be unique, especially as the seed page evolves. 3) The text you select may get deleted altogether in some future version of the seed page. So if you see little flags all over the description text, this is a sign unto you that some bozo posted an annotation without knowing what they were doing, and you can probably ignore it because who cares what they have to say anyway. Yes, there it will wave, never expiring, loudly proclaiming to all who pass by that here is a mistake made by the author. Accountability, thy name is low-cost digital storage. :-) Remember: if you want to comment on what someone else has said, add your annotation to __their__ posting, don't just add a new annotation to the "Item 4-1" string. Adding a comment to "Item 4-1" is for starting a brand new line of discussion, not for commenting on an existing line of discussion. This is to keep your comment next to what you are commenting on, so that people can find it. It's also to keep the seed page from getting cluttered up with random comments instead of those well-thought-out postion papers I'm hoping for. You can be less cautious when you're just adding a comment to a comment to a comment, but even then remember that what you say will stick around indefinately. I'm not very happy with the limitations of this format. It's pretty pathetic, really. After writing all this I just want to throw the whole thing in the bit bucket and start fresh with some entirely different and better approach. But what the hey, it's a step foreward. Well, it's a step anyway. Maybe what we learn here will help us as we design something better. Oh, and if you find some stupid mistake on this, or have a really good suggestion, please e-mail me. Happily, if you don't like my response, you can complain as you like, by adding an annotation to this page! You can put it right here: Will, you should have listened to me, you corpulent geek! There now, doesn't that feel better? --Will (yes, that's my real name) Dye willdye at dsndata.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ----- End of forwarded message from Will Dye -----
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 16:06:34 -0500 (EST) Comment: Hx: Transhuman Technlogies Reply-To: <transhumantech at excelsior.org> Sender: transhumantech@excelsior.org From: Eugene Leitl <eugene at liposome.genebee.msu.su> To: Multiple recipients of list <transhumantech at excelsior.org> Subject: NANO:Foresight Electronic Newsletter #4 (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 13:03:25 -0800 From: Elaine Tschorn <office at foresight.org> To: office at foresight.org Subject: Foresight Electronic Newsletter #4 Foresight Institute Electronic Newsletter #4 January 27, 1998 This is a quarterly email update on nanotechnology from Foresight Institute. To stop receiving it, send email to inform@foresight.org. In this issue: ** US R&D agencies compete to fund nanotechnology: NSF vs. NIST ** ** Foresight Conference - dazzling progress in nanotubes, other areas ** ** Foresight presents "The Other Half of Hypertext": Third-Party Comments, Two-Way Links, Graphical Display ** ** Redesigned Foresight Web site offers easier navigation ** ** Recent Technical Progress toward Nanotechnology ** ** New issue of Foresight Update on web ** ** To get active in nanotechnology ... ** ======================= ** US R&D agencies compete to fund nanotechnology: NSF vs. NIST ** US research funding agencies have finally noticed that the molecular nanotechnology field is wide open for bureaucratic sponsorship, and the race has begun. The first two competitors are NSF and NIST: - National Science Foundation announces nanotechnology research initiative http://www.foresight.org/hotnews/index.html#NSF - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program (ATP) holds a workshop on Microsystem and Nanosystem Technology http://www.foresight.org/hotnews/index.html#NIST ======================= ** Foresight Conference - dazzling progress in nanotubes, other areas ** The Fifth Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology, was held from Nov. 6-8, 1997, with a tutorial on Nov. 5. Substantial progress was reported in several enabling technologies for nanotechnology, but the greatest excitement centered around nanotubes, with molecular electronics perhaps a runner-up. - For overviews of the Conference, see: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.1.html#5thConf http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.2.html#Appreciation Nobel Laureate Richard E. Smalley opened the conference announcing progress that will soon lead to carbon nanotubes being produced in bulk, modified at will to make derivative structures, and with their unique properties exploited to make novel and useful devices. This theme was amplified by dozens of other speakers presenting theroetical and experimental studies of physical, chemical, and electronic properties. Potential applications of other organic molecules to molecular electronics were considered by some speakers, and others reported on direct physical manipulations of molecules with scanning probe microscopes, while still others talked about using biomolecules for molecular engineering. Because of the unprecedented number of talks, all but the first day of the Conference was divided into two parallel scientific sessions. - For technical reports on the conference, see: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.1.html#Track1 http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.2.html#Track2 - A highlight of the first day of the Conference was the presentation of the 1997 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Experimental Work to a three-member European team for work that included making a "molecular abacus", and the 1997 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Theoretical Work to an eleven-member NASA team for computer modeling of nanomachinery that might be built with chemistry available today, or very soon. http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.3.html#Prizes ---------- - The archive for the conference is available at http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT05/Nano5.html - Abstracts are available for the 102 talks and posters presented at the conference: http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT05/Abstracts/index.html - Full papers have so far been submitted for 32 of the above presentations. Links to these papers will be found with each abstract, and a complete list of the currently available full papers can be found at: http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT05/Papers/index.html ---------- - With the accelerating pace of nanotechnology progress, you'll need to get your next conference abstract in by June 30, 1998, because starting this year the meetings go annual instead of every other year. Get the meeting dates on your calendar now: November 12-15, 1998 at the Westin Hotel in Santa Clara, CA. For more information and to stay current with plans for next year's conference, visit the 1998 Conference Web page at: http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT6/index.html ======================= ** Foresight presents "The Other Half of Hypertext": Third-Party Comments, Two-Way Links, Graphical Display ** Developed by Foresight Institute to enable critical discussions and enhance productivity for those using the web, CritSuite takes vital steps toward a truly connected and interactive Web structure. CritSuite consists of three pieces of integrated software which allow individuals to comment on and view existing hypertext documents (CritLink), to navigate the Web using a graphical interface (CritMap), and to archive email exchanges using the features of hypertext (CritMail). - A description of the new CritSuite programs can be found at: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.3.html#Backlink - Reactions to CritSuite from outside commentators can be found in the "Inside Foresight" and "Media Watch" columns, located respectively at: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.3.html#insideFI http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.5.html#MediaWatch - To use CritSuite to insert your own comments directly onto any web page text, visit the CritSuite Web site at: http://crit.org/ - For answers to your questions about CritSuite, visit the new FAQ page at: http://crit.org/~peterson/CritFAQ.html - The question is sometimes asked "What does enhancing the quality of discussions on the Web have to do with nanotechnology, and why is Foresight involved?" The answer is that Foresight's mission is "Preparing for nanotechnology", and preparation requires "improving public and private policy decisions". These issues are explored in detail in Chapter 14 of _Engines of Creation_ and in Eric Drexler's essay "Hypertext Publishing and the Evolution of Knowledge": http://www.foresight.org/EOC/EOC_Chapter_14.html http://www.foresight.org/WebEnhance/HPEK0.html - For updates on CritSuite and Foresight's Web Enhancement project: http://www.foresight.org/WebEnhance/index.html ======================= ** Redesigned Foresight Web site offers easier navigation ** - New map of the whole site available at: http://www.foresight.org/sitemap/index.html Along with the new navigation menus at the top and bottom of each page, which show how that page fits into the site organization, and the search engine (http://www.foresight.org/ghindex.html) added last quarter, the site map makes it easier than ever to find the nanotechnology-related information sought. The appearance and user interface for the Foresight Web site was redesigned by E-Spaces, with the new version of the site replacing the old this past November. The splash page (http://www.foresight.org) provides access to two versions of the site. Only the low bandwidth "fast version" is available at this time. Available in the near future will be a "rich version" that will add more graphics, frames, and dynamic html to provide a more modern Web interface. ======================= ** Recent Technical Progress toward Nanotechnology ** Jeffrey Soreff's current "Recent Progress" column on technical progress toward nanotechnology can be found at: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.4.html#Progress Topics covered this quarter include: * Simulation: how accurate are current modeling methods? what do they tell us about how molecular gears would work? * Proximal Probe Techniques: probing nanotubes and nanorods; demonstrating AFM-based information storage; towards single electron tunneling devices * DNA as a route to nanofabrication * Single Molecule Electronics ======================= ** New issue of Foresight Update (31) on web ** The most recent issue of Foresight Update was published in December and is available in its entirety on the Web (in fact the Web version contains material not available in the printed version). - For additional topics (nanotechnology in the media, events, etc.) not covered here, see the Table of Contents of Update 31: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/index.html ======================= -The Alcor Third Annual Cryonics Conference will be held April 3-5 in Scottsdale (near Phoenix) Arizona. Registration by March 3rd is $149. More info at http://www.alcor.org/eventsb.html#con or call Alcor at 1-800-367-2228. ** To get active in nanotechnology ... ** To get active in nanotechnology -- to support it, invest in it, get a job in it, or just figure out what it will mean to you and yours -- check out: http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/index.html for more information about Foresight's Senior Associates program. - Next event for Senior Associates is a Gathering to be held May 30-31, 1998,in Palo Alto, CA. For a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what goes on when we meet, see: http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/97MiniGathering.html http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/96SrAssocGathering.html This message prepared for Foresight Institute by webmaster Jim Lewis, http://www.halcyon.com/nanojbl/
-------------- a - A description of the new CritSuite programs can be found at: http://www.foresight.org/Updates/Update31/Update31.3.html#Backlink ... - To use CritSuite to insert your own comments directly onto any web page text, visit the CritSuite Web site at: http://crit.org/ ... - For updates on CritSuite and Foresight's Web Enhancement project: http://www.foresight.org/WebEnhance/index.html ... ** To get active in nanotechnology ... ** To get active in nanotechnology -- to support it, invest in it, get a job in it, or just figure out what it will mean to you and yours -- check out: http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/index.html for more information about Foresight's Senior Associates program. - Next event for Senior Associates is a Gathering to be held May 30-31, 1998,in Palo Alto, CA. For a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what goes on when we meet, see: http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/97MiniGathering.html http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/96SrAssocGathering.html This message prepared for Foresight Institute by webmaster Jim Lewis, http://www.halcyon.com/nanojbl/ -------------- end a
The Naval Research Laboratory's Electronics Science & Technology Division http://estd-www.nrl.navy.mil/ "...surface and interface sciences; microwave components and techniques; microelectronic device research and fabrication; nanoelectronics science and technologies; and cryoelectronics."
T a s t y B i t s f r o m t h e T e c h n o l o g y F r o n t ________________ ..A carbon nanotube transistor Shaving-close to the cutting edge of research Unless you're on a private mailing list with the researchers, you won't find more timely dispatches from the frontiers of physics than those served up by Physics News Updates service of the American In- stitute of Physics. Last week's email brought this story [23] on work toward a transistor on the scale of single molecules (graphic [24]). To subscribe to Physics News Update, email listserv@aip.org with any subject and with message: add physnews . > An electronic device based on a single rolled-up sheet of > carbon atoms has been built by researchers in the Netherlands, > providing a demonstration of room-temperature, carbon-based > electronics at the single-molecule scale. A semiconducting > carbon nanotube (only about 1 nm in diameter) bridges two > closely separated metal electrodes (400 nm apart) atop a sil- > icon surface coated with silicon dioxide. Applying an electric > field to the silicon (via a gate electrode) turns on and off > the flow of current across the nanotube, by controlling the > movement of charge carriers onto it. Although carbon nanotubes > are robust and durable molecules, they can't yet be made uni- > formly. While this can provide disadvantages (a slight dev- > iation from the desired radius can give the nanotube metallic > properties), it can also bring about advantages -- such as the > possibility of a metal-semiconductor junction made completely > of carbon nanotubes. (S.J. Tans et al., Nature, 7 May 1998) [23] http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/1998/split/pnu371-3.htm [24] http://www.aip.org/physnews/graphics/html/tubefet.htm ________________
http://crit.org/~pcm/nano/tech/ ???
"Teramac reconfigurable fault-tolerant computer Hewlett-Packard Philip Kuekes Jim Heath"
http://www.nanothinc.com/Cornell/Promise/nano.html [DAV: suggest less misleading text instead of "branch out into space where resources and room to grow is plentiful"]
Is http://www.havendam.worldonline.nl/story/5.html for real ? Or is this a April Fools joke ?
NYU Researchers Develop Simple, Predictable And Precise Technique For Arranging DNA Molecules Into Two-Dimensional Crystals http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/08/980814070053.htm which refers to August 6th Issue Of Nature and to http://seemanlab4.chem.nyu.edu
nanotech http://www.spokaneoutdoors.com/joel/nanotech.html nanotech article http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980508S0019
Ralph C. Merkle's nanotechnology web site http://nano.xerox.com/nanotech/ lots of good stuff.
One application of nanotechnology is to build a aircar http://crit.org/~josh/aircar/ .
Lab-on-a-chip technology, Disposable microchips, microfluidics. http://chem.external.hp.com/cag/feature/8-98/feature.html
Cepheid http://www.cepheid.com/ DNA Analysis and Microfluidics
Ultra Electronics: DARPA Nanoelectronics http://web-ext2.darpa.mil/eto/ULTRA/ "The goals of the Ultra Electronics program are to explore and develop material, processing technologies, quantum and conventional devices and device architectures for a next generation of information processing systems and subsystems. The program seeks improved speed, density, power and functionality beyond that achieved by simply scaling transistors." lots of cool stuff, and reports on building real devices. "Three-Dimensional Self-Assembly: Crystals and Porous Structures of Mesoscale Objects" "A penny size Nano-CD will store 180 Gbits information, which is equivalent to 30 conventional 5-inch diameter CDs, bringing to the horizon ultra-high density CD drives of wristwatch size." "Lab-On-A-Chip: Microfabrication on Polymer Chips." "The first single hole transistors have been developed in the NanoStructure Laboratory at the University of Minnesota " "Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have demonstrated a functional line of quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) cells. " http://web-ext2.darpa.mil/eto/ULTRA/Weeklies.htm#73 "Under the sponsorship of the DARPA Ultra Electronics program, the USC/LSU MURI team has developed modeling/simulation methodologies to determine atomic-level stresses using multimillion atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on massively parallel computers. The parallel MD approach is based on a space-time multi resolution algorithm that includes the fast multi pole method (FMM) for the computation of the long-range coulomb interaction in O(N) operations. " http://web-ext2.darpa.mil/eto/ULTRA/Weeklies.htm#50
Molecular Machines http://www-lmmb.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/molecularmachines.html includes source code !
Brad Hein http://www.public.iastate.edu/~bhein/nanotechnology.html has a random collection of nanotech links, much like this one.
Molecular Assembly Sequence Software (MASS) Release 1.0 http://www.carol.com/mass.shtml
The nanoManipulator http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/nano/nanopage.html using Force-Feedback "joystick" and Atomic Force Microscope to get a hands-on feeling for direct manipulation of nanoscale materials.
[nanotech] http://www.chem.ethz.ch/~wtrabe/nano/nano.htm has nifty "submit URL" form. Perhaps let him maintain all my nano links ? Nanotechnology Random Link Directory http://216.22.131.16/cgi-bin/gl.exe?list
"System gives artificial 'nerve' to robotic soldiers" By R. Colin Johnson EE Times http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG19981026S0015 "nanotechnology device based on the resonant tunneling of electrons ... The distinction between memory and processing is merged with the ANS architecture into a single processor capable of correlational operations on pulse-coded data from many different inputs simultaneously. ... The analog correlation operations occur inside each processor; all external communications signals among processors use digital pulsecodes. "We are using each technology where it works best," said Raytheon's Penz. The nanotechnology processors will be so small, according to Cauller, that it will be possible to put 1,000 parallel processors inside a conventional chip package. But Raytheon plans to prove the architecture using simulations before committing to producing the nanotechnology processors. Initial implementations will use networks of conventional digital microprocessors to simulate the behavior of future, nanotechnology-sized processors. "Our first big hardware problem will be cooling the 350 Pentium processors we intend to network together in the simulation," said Penz."
Protein Crystallography http://www.dl.ac.uk/SRS/PX/
Molecular Nanotechnology http://www.metanet.org/mnt/ Software and Source Code Library
Promega http://www.promega.com/ "Molecular Technologies" "Protein and Genetic Engineering"
http://www.alumni.gatech.edu/news/alummag/fall96/memory.html "If you could write three-dimensional holograms optically, then you would really have something worthwhile." "a reversible, light-activated optical switch utilizing liquid crystal, which could become the basis of a three-dimensional, "holographic" memory cube for computers ... Dr. Gary Schuster"
The Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM) http://www.simhq.org/
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/022critters/archaea.html "the ability of organisms like bacteria to transfer groups of genes among themselves, or even to engulf other organisms and incorporate their genes."
Computational Chemistry List (CCL) http://ccl.osc.edu/chemistry.html mailing list archives
Network Science Corporation http://www.netsci.org/ "All issues of NetSci ... remain on-line and are instantly available to readers. Examples of topics ...:
and other topics." (there is a search engine to search through back issues)
"The Scientific and Artistic Uses of Molecular Surfaces" http://www.netsci.org/Science/Compchem/feature15.html by TJ O'Donnell
Nanotechnology info collected by Brad Hein. http://www.nanosite.net/
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 03:43:44 +0100 To: transhuman at logrus.org From: Andrew Hennessey <pegasus at easynet.co.uk@ Subject: >H new road to singularity ?? Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: transhuman at logrus.org Transhuman Mailing List >From Ric Carter # New Luminescent Films May Be A Key To Photonic Computers. Materials chemists at the University of Toronto have created a new kind of silicon film that could lead to entirely photonic computer and telecommunications systems. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/06/990628171733.htm **???
Physicists at the University of California, Berkeley, have peeled the tips off carbon nanotubes to make seemingly frictionless bearings so small that some 10,000 would stretch across the diameter of a human hair. The minuscule bearings are actually telescoping nanotubes with the inner tube spinning about its long axis. When sliding in and out, however, they act as nanosprings. Both the springs and bearings, which appear to move with no wear and tear, could be important components of the microscopic and eventually nanoscale machines under development around the world. ... Micromachines, called MEMS devices, for microelectromechanical systems, are on the scale of a human hair. Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) are a thousand times smaller, on the scale of a nanometer or a billionth of a meter. ... For further information on the research, check out the group's Web site at http://physics.berkeley.edu/research/zettl.
"When something goes sour on a telecom net or a power grid, people get pissed off and can lose significant amounts of money. When a chemical plant goes sour, you get The Fireball: large pieces of white-hot metal go flying everywhere at high speeds, and you can lose a hundred-million-dollar investment in four seconds. That's if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, you get Bhopal."
"Chemical companies compensate for these characteristics in the same way chefs do - by carefully watching the pot, using a technology that could be described as A Lot of Old People Who Know How to Make Teflon Without Wiping Out Wilmington. This is expensive ... Meanwhile, big chemical concerns are under increasing economic pressure ... "
"In general, computer people don't know how to talk to brain people," Jim Schwaber says. "There's an absent middle ground. The computer people try to make neurons into simple switches - which, of course, they're not - and the brain people sort of throw up their hands and say you can't really get anything useful in analytic terms out of the brain because it's far too intricate and complex. But we're doing it."
[FIXME: consider moving to #brain, or #morbid, or learning.html, or ... ]
links to "Speeding Up Computation via Molecular Biology" paper by Richard Lipton ftp://ftp.cs.princeton.edu/pub/people/rjl/bio.ps "the blueprint and manifesto for universal molecular computing." and to "On Constructing a Molecular Computer" paper by Leonard Adleman ftp://usc.edu/pub/csinfo/papers/adleman/molecular_computer.ps .
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000090547nov12.story?coll=la-news-science archive: http://web.archive.org/web/20011123173008/http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-000090547nov12.story?coll=la-news-scienceBuilt into the starfish's tough, calcite skeleton are arrays of microscopic crystals that focus light 10 times more precisely than any manufactured micro-optics, Joanna Aizenberg and her colleagues at Lucent Technologies and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History recently determined. ... said molecular biologist Daniel Morse, who directs the marine biotechnology program at UC Santa Barbara. "It's significant because it demonstrates that living organisms control nanostructures ... with a precision beyond the reach of present-day engineering."
...
Linked by networks of nerve fibers, the thousands of micro-lenses together appear to form a kind of single compound eye that covers the creature's entire body in all-seeing armor.
...
said Aizenberg, an expert in biomaterials. ... "The actual optical performance of these lenses is far beyond current technology."
Indeed, for microengineers trying to craft infinitesimal lenses for faster optical computers, sensors and switches, the brittlestar eye is a living blueprint. It could lead to better crafted and more efficient telecommunication systems and optical networks.
...
Whenever the brittlestar is exposed to light, pigmented cells expand to slide out and cap the lenses like sunglasses. In darkness or shadow, the cells contract, slipping back into holes around the lenses. ...
"It was really a great surprise," she said. "In a relatively simple organism, nature has suggested to us a very clever design solution to a very complex problem in optics materials science.
...
Average lens width 50 microns
Average diameter of human hair follicle, 60 microns ...
catalytic RNA molecules have subsequently been termed "ribozymes." ...
...
However, ribozyme engineering ... techniques ... allow molecular biologists to manipulate RNA to whatever extent the molecule will allow. Thus, the catalytic repertoire of RNA can be expanded beyond the naturally occurring activities -- in the main, by two broad strategies of ribozyme engineering.
One strategy involves the direct modification of existing species of ribozymes, to produce better or even novel catalysts. This has been called the "rational design" approach. The other strategy employs pools of short (often 50-100 nucleotide units) randomized RNA molecules, which are subjected repeatedly to a selection process designed to enhance the concentration of RNA molecules with the desired functional activity. The few selected molecules are then multiplied a million-fold or more by using the polymerase chain reaction, which uses activated nucleotide precursors and enzymes. This has been termed the "irrational design" method.
Judging from the progress in ribozyme engineering in recent years, it seems likely that new and improved types of RNA catalysts will be produced in years ahead.
"... a three-dimensional image ... With this method, we can do it without destroying the rock," said UC Davis geology professor Charles Lesher.
Researcher Martin Wilding, geology assistant professor Dawn Sumner and Lesher have already used the method, called neutron tomography, to find bacteria living inside rocks collected in the Mars-like environment of Antarctica's dry valleys and Israel's Negev desert. ...
Neutron tomography could also be used for biology experiments, such as filming water movement inside plants, Wilding said.
"We're just scratching the surface of what we can do," he said.
Neutrons are very sensitive to water and light elements such as the hydrogen and carbon, which are major components of living things. But they can pass right through a steel container. In contrast, water and most living tissue are fairly transparent to X-rays, but X-rays are stopped by heavier elements. That means that neutron beams can be used to scan a Martian rock for traces of life even while it is sealed in a metal container.
... The sample rotates in the neutron beam and a series of pictures are taken with a digital camera system. ... images are reconstructed, using the same equations used for CT scans ...
http://discuss.foresight.org/critmail/sci_nano/0005.htmlJames Logajan (jamesl at jamesl.slip.netcom.com)
... the Jul/Aug 1990 issue of Computers in Physics, page 427, "A Scanning Tunneling Microscope For Undergraduate Laboratories" by R.K. Sears, B.G. Orr, and T.M. Sanders, Jr. of U of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
... About the only "major" change I would suggest for the amateur scientist with a MS/DOS PC is to buy an inexpensive Soundblaster 16 compatible audio card. These come with two 8/16 bit A/D ports and two 8/16 bit D/A ports suitable for acquistion up to audio frequencies. Unfortunately, the only book I have on programming Soundblaster cards ... covers only 8 bit AD/DA for the standard Soundblaster card. If anyone knows of a better reference on sound cards, please let me know. The alternative is to purchase a more expensive AD/DA card from a "real" data acquistion card manufacturer.
I don't know how the Soundblaster compares with "real" data acquistion cards, but it can't be beat for cost effectiveness (assuming you already have the computer).
Using the two-photon optical beam induced current (TOBIC) effect, they have been able to get 3D profiles of integrated circuit components on a silicon flip chip, with resolutions of 1 micrometer or better in all three dimensions.
"Ultimate Alchemy: Research into artificial atoms could lead to one startling endpoint: programmable matter that changes its makeup at the flip of a switch." article by Wil McCarthy http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.10/atoms.html [FIXME: move to quantum_faq.html; cross-link ?]
-- http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/Factoids/factoids.htmlBOND, HELIUM BOND University of Minnesota chemists have become the first to use a mechanical tool to measure the length of a chemical bond, between helium dimers. A tiny sieve containing nanoscale holes revealed the bond length as 62 angstroms. SOURCE: Journal of Chemical Physics, 1/15/96
"Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends: How new technologies are modifying our way of life" http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/
"Rice engineers make first pure nanotube fibers"
HOUSTON, Dec. 9, 2003 -- Researchers at Rice University have discovered how to create continuous fibers of out of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes...
"New printer produces 3D objects on demand" http://www.gizmo.com.au/public/News/news.asp?articleid=2578 links to
Z Corp. http://zcorp.com/ 3D printer does not require support structures since the loose powder acts as a support structure.
[FIXME: this page is way too long. Delete obsolete stuff; perhaps re-organize into multiple pages.]
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