Nanotechnology

It took 13 years for researchers to catalog all the information in a human genome the first time. Now IBM believes it can do better--somewhat perversely by equipping a newer genetic sequencing method with brakes.

Big Blue is among those who believe electronics technology can be applied to the task of sequencing a person's genes, thereby bringing genetic testing into the computing era and lowering its cost to something like $100 to $1,000.

IBM is working on prototype DNA-processing electronics that slurps strands of DNA through an extremely small hole called a nanopore, measuring the electrical properties of … Read more

When IBM researcher Don Eigler picked up and moved the first individual atom 20 years ago today, he paved the way for what arguably was the smallest publicity stunt ever: Big Blue's logo made from a precise arrangement of 35 Xenon atoms.

But moving tiny atoms had big consequences by making the idea of assembling devices atom by atom very real. And the company has built on that nanotechnology foundation, storing information on specific gold atoms, collecting carbon monoxide molecules into computer logic circuits, and pursuing a vision for vastly more compact computing technology.

Despite the progress, Eigler is … Read more

I want to live forever. I want to learn how to fly. High. I feel it coming together.

And, thankfully, so does celebrated large brain and, who knows, maybe "Kids from Fame" aficionado Ray Kurzweil.

In an article reported by the Telegraph, Kurzweil says that our technological and genetic know-how is marching at such a furious pace that in 20 years' time we should be holding in our sweaty, excitable hands the nanotechnological secrets of our existence.

This charmingly optimistic view is but another string hanging from the nano-forecasting bow he's been wearing for years, along with … Read more

There are many medical conditions that involve medication with intermittent doses on an as-needed basis, and often, that medication cannot be taken orally.

Scientists have long struggled with how best to deliver medication under these circumstances, where the delivery system might meet three key needs: intermittent dosing, with extreme precision, over the long term.

Research led by Daniel Kohane at Children's Hospital Boston may have hit on an effective new approach: a tiny, implantable device that releases the medication through a membrane whose porousness responds to the switching on or off of a magnetic field.

The membrane is embedded … Read more

IBM already had technology that could measure extremely subtle forces among atoms, but a nanotechnology development a the company's Zurich Research Laboratory shows a new level of sensitivity: the ability to distinguish positively charged atoms from those that are neutral or negatively charged.

Researchers at the Zurich lab, along with colleagues at the University of Regensburg and Utrecht University, used an atomic force microscope (AFM) with a tuning-fork detector arrangement on the tip of its probe to distinguish among gold atoms that were positively charged, neutral, or negatively charged. The researchers describe their approach in the June 12 issue … Read more

An all star research team is developing a putty-like material to help regenerate shattered bones, a technology that could allow soldiers to avoid amputation and quickly regain full use of badly broken legs.

'Fracture putty' is a biocompatible compound designed to be packed in and around non-union fractures. It provides a load-bearing, osteoconductive, bone-like structure to give regenerative growth a chance. Then, once the bone heals, the putty degrades into harmless, absorbable by-products.

"The fracture putty will serve as a bioactive scaffold and will be able to substitute for the damaged bone," said principal researcher Mauro Ferrari. "… Read more

The Appliance and Kitchen Gadgets blog strives to be about more than just what new tools you can buy. We were struck by Steve Boggan's recent article for the Guardian, which reminds us that new food technology can affect us, even if we don't want it to.

A new word popping up all over the place is nanotechnology. There is nanotechnology research into all sorts of things, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, military intelligence and weaponry, and now, even food. But as Boggan explains in his article, this is a revolution that has met simultaneously with generous praise and severe criticism.

This is not surprising, considering the potential fruits of this technology: scientists are boasting that using nanotech in foods could completely change the way we think about food. Using nanotechnology, foods like burgers and ice cream could be changed on the atomic level to taste just as good without the fat or the calories. Boggan's article also mentions how nanotech might provide protection against allergic reactions. He writes, "If you are allergic to peanuts, perhaps you'd like to fix your food so that any nut traces pass harmlessly through your body."

Many so-called "nano-futurists" predict a future where nanomachines in food will supply farmers with information about each plant in a crop, shoppers with information about the ripeness of a fruit, and crops with pest-specific smart pesticides. … Read more

A company has been formed to commercialize the thermoelectric research that CNET News.com wrote about on Thursday.

The CEO of GMZ Energy, Mike Clary, told VentureBeat that the company has received seed funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and described the Newton, Mass.-based start-up's plans.

Researchers at Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of technology have found a way to more efficiently convert electricity from heat, a breakthrough they claim could make a wide range of products more energy-efficient.

The thermoelectric effect has been understood for a long time, but the researchers were able to use … Read more

You may be surprised to learn that a molecule 2 billionths of a meter across can be programmed to dispatch and command machines. Scientists at Japan's International Center for Young Scientists have created a molecule of duroquinone fitted with "docking stations" where nanomachines can attach and receive instruction from a molecular CPU (central processing unit). It's not the fastest computing molecule, but it's the only one that can act as a dispatcher to 16 other molecules simultaneously.

Read the full story at BBC News:"Chemical brain controls nanobots"