Molecular Nanotechnology ("nanotech")

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:

introduction

the protein folding problem

David Cary believes that the person who solves the protein folding problem will get a Nobel Prize.

nanocomputers

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.

Molecule modeling software

(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

interesting molecules

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/ ]

DNA information

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.

buckyballs

bucky tubes (nanotubes)

other molecules

nanotechnology companies

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 .

microscopy

tools for looking at all the wonderful (especially biological) things that have atomic precision.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopes

paper references

magazines and books about nanotechnology

applications

Using nanotechnology, we can do things that we could never do before. Here are some examples.

unsorted

unsorted links 

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."

unsorted

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/

[FIXME: this page is way too long. Delete obsolete stuff; perhaps re-organize into multiple pages.]

This NanoTechnology "NanoRing" site owned by David Cary. . NanoRing:
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