Nanotechnology // Current

Who will win the 4M$ Space Elevator Challenge 2010?

LaserMotive is the first team to take home the first level challenge for driving a... more

mashdata
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Running electronics using light

(PhysOrg.com) -- "If you open up almost any electronic gadget, you will see various... more

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Technological visionary Ray Kurzweil discusses the future of humanity and its place in a world of super-intelligent machines and super-human intelligence.

...Over the past four decades, Ray Kurzweil has established himself as one of the world's most prolific and influential inventors. His specialty is pattern recognition — teaching machines to classify data and learn. He created the first program to enable computers to read text — the basis of modern scanning — as well as the first program to translate text into speech. Stevie Wonder, a close friend of Kurzweil, calls the inventor's print-to-speech technology a "breakthrough that changed my life." In 1983, with Wonder as an adviser, Kurzweil built the Kurzweil 250 — a synthesizer that revolutionized the music world with its uncannily realistic re-creations of acoustic orchestral instruments.
For his contributions to artificial intelligence, Kurzweil has been enshrined in the Inventors Hall of Fame and has received White House honors from three presidents — including the highest prize in his field, the National Medal of Technology. But nothing he has done in the past has shaken the scientific community as profoundly as his latest prediction. In our lifetime, Kurzweil believes, machines will not only surpass humans in intelligence — they will irrevocably alter what it means to be human. Cell-size robots will zap disease from our bloodstream. Superintelligent nanotechnology, operating on a molecular scale, will scrub pollution from our atmosphere. Our minds, our skills, our memories, our very consciousness will be backed up on computers — allowing us, in essence, to live forever, all our data saved by super-smart machines.
"Right now, people think it's irresponsible not to back up our PCs," Kurzweil says. "But increasingly, we'll be backing up the information in our brains. People will think it was remarkable that we couldn't back up our brains in 2010."
Kurzweil is very specific about when this epic shift will take place. By 2045, he predicts, machines and humans will merge, redefining life as we know it. The moment is known as the Singularity, referring to the term used in astrophysics to describe the point inside a black hole where the ordinary laws of physics cease to apply. To prepare himself and the rest of the world for the era of conscious machines, Kurzweil has turned himself into the chief prophet of the coming Techno Rapture. He crisscrosses the globe to rally top scientists, hosts an annual Singularity Summit that draws leaders from places like Google and MIT, and has even developed his own line of nutritional supplements to extend people's lives until the day when their existence can be endlessly preserved by technology. At 61, Kurzweil pops 150 of his own pills every day, determined to live long enough to see the day when, thanks to machines, he will never age.

To say that Kurzweil's prediction is controversial is to understate the scientific firestorm it has generated. No less a pragmatist than Bill Gates has hailed Kurzweil's vision, calling him "the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence." But to other leading thinkers, Kurzweil has gone off the deep end, venturing into an almost messianic fervor with his promises of life everlasting. "The Singularity is a new religion — and a particularly kooky one at that," says Jaron Lanier, a top computer scientist who pioneered the realm of virtual reality. "The Singularity is the coming of the Messiah, heaven on Earth, the Armageddon, the end of times. And fanatics always think that the end of time comes in their own lifetime."

Kurzweil shrugs off such criticism: He has the self-confidence of a man who is used to being so far ahead of the curve that others can't see where he's headed. The only time he falters is when he's asked if he could be wrong about the Singularity. For a moment he stares blankly into space, as if receiving an otherworldly transmission.

More...Technological visionary Ray Kurzweil discusses the future of humanity and its place in... more

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"Spider Pill"?

"spider pill" when swallowed will allow doctor to us wireless to control the device to... more

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U.S. organic standards board to ban nanotechnology from organic food

The Materials Handling Committee of the US National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has recommended that nanotechnology be banned from organic food production. The committee published a document on the US government’s federal register in September calling for the ban. The document will be open for public comment, and then the full NOSB will vote whether to affirm the ban.

Unanimous support for ban expected

Tracy Miedema, NOSB member and national sales and marketing manager at Stahlbush Island Farms, expects the NOSB to unanimously support the ban. “I think the board will speak with one voice prohibiting nanotechnology,” she says.

If the NOSB votes for the ban, they would then recommend that the National Organic Program (NOP) publish a guidance/policy statement prohibiting nanotechnology in organic food production.

“We will make a recommendation to the NOP, and we hope they proceed with it to rule-making,” says Dan Giacomini, NOSB vice chairman and chairman of the Materials Handling Committee.

Miedema says the NOSB followed a similar approach in 2007 when it voted unanimously to ban cloning of animals in organic production, which led to an NOP policy statement prohibiting cloning.

Miedema was concerned that products of nanotechnology could achieve status as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the US government, which could allow them to be used in organics. However, after discussing this with NOP attorneys she was assured the ban would keep nanotech out of organics. “We tried to build a document that is airtight,” she says.

Overwhelming majority opposed to nanotech

In March, the NOSB asked for public comments about the use of nanotechnology in organics. According to Giacomini, the comments they received led them to vote for the ban. “The overwhelming majority of comments said that nanotech should be banned from the organic industry.”

According to Giacomini, many comments said that nanotechnology should be considered an “excluded method” in organics as is genetic engineering.
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At least something will be safe to eat provided it hasn't been poisoned by transgenic contamination. Another reason to buy organic and support sustainable agriculture.The Materials Handling Committee of the US National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has... more

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Small Technology, Big Energy Solutions

Forgot to charge your cell phone last night? Imagine that you could power it by... more

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Nanotechnology offers disturbing parallels to GMOs

In foods, proponents say nanotechnology can boost and target nutrition, extend food shelf life, improve taste and texture, and detect bacterial contamination.

There are 150-600 nano food and 400-500 nano food packaging applications on store shelves. Toddler Health is a nutritional supplement containing nano iron particles that claims to offer toddlers increased bioavailability. Canola Active cooking oil contains NutraLease, a nutraceutical technology that uses nano-capsules to enhance the delivery of nutrients. A preservative known as AquaNova contains nano capsules of water insoluble substances to increase absorption in the body. McDonald’s burger packages contain nano-spheres that require less water and less time and energy to dry. Miller Beer bottles are made from Imperm, a plastic imbued with clay nanoparticles that are as hard as glass but stronger and provide longer shelf life.

Major food companies, such as General Mills, Kraft, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Cadbury-Schweppes, and Unilever, are researching and developing nano food and food packaging applications building what is expected to be a $6 billion market by 2010.

There are nano agricultural applications. Syngenta has developed a plant growth treatment, PrimoMaxx nano emulsion. Cornell scientists developed a cloth with saturated nano fibers that slowly release pesticides and herbicides when it is planted with seeds.

Other agricultural giants conducting nanotechnology research include Dupont, BASF, and Cargill, but, surprisingly, not Monsanto.

Health risks

Like genetically modified foods, products of nanotechnology pose risks to human health and the environment. Nanopaticles are more chemically reactive than larger particles. Because they are so small, they have greater access to the human body than larger particles. They can be inhaled, penetrate skin, gain access to tissues and cells, and cross the blood-brain barrier.

Assessing the risks of nanotechnology is lagging far behind. “There is virtually no data on chronic, long-term effects on people, other organisms or the wider environment,” wrote British scientist John Lawton, author of a report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

Initial studies raise red flags. A recent study published in Nature showed that carbon nanotubes may exhibit the same cancer-causing potential as asbestos. In tests on rats, nanosilver has also been shown to be toxic to liver, brain, and stem cells and may harm beneficial bacteria.

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Another techno-fix

As a result of the dangers, the National Research Council has called for more research on the health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology. The Action Group on Erosion, Technology, and Concentration and Friends of the Earth are calling for a moratorium on products containing nanoparticles until safety laws are established and the public is involved in decision making.

Like genetic engineering, nanotechnology is viewed as a techo-fix to solve the worlds’ food challenges. However, it is likely to further entrench fossil fuel and chemical intensive industrial agriculture and encourage continued reliance on large monoculture farms, resulting in the loss of small farms and biodiversity.In foods, proponents say nanotechnology can boost and target nutrition, extend food... more

JanforGore
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Anticancer Nanotech

Technology.am (Sept. 17, 2009) — Tiny particles of albumin, a protein found in the... more

Anyother
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Nanoparticle Gel Heals Injured Brain and Bone in Lab Animals

[Brains] and broken bones can both be healed with a new nanoparticle-infused... more

jmsrmy
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Deaths, lung damage in workers in China linked to nanoparticles

Seven young Chinese women suffered permanent lung damage and two of them later died... more

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The detailed chemical structure of a single molecule has been imaged for the first time, say researc

The physical shape of single carbon nanotubes has been outlined before, using similar... more

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3 months ago
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An Answer to Vanguard's "World Without Water"?

Michael Pritchard explained in detail his Lifesaver Bottle last week at TED's 2009... more

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Nanoparticles inspire plasmonic solar cells - nanotechweb.org

Nanoparticles inspire plasmonic solar cells

BUILDUSMAXIMUS
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Nanotech Batteries - A New Energy Future

People want to use clean and green energy and live easy on earth’s resources. Many... more

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4 months ago
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New Nanocrystals Could Help Mitigate Global Warming

"Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic magnesium oxide nanocrystals that efficiently emit blue light and could also play a role in long-term storage of carbon dioxide, a potential means of tempering the effects of global warming.

Using an organometallic chemical synthesis route, scientists at the Molecular Foundry have created nanocrystals of magnesium oxide whose size can be adjusted within just a few nanometers. And unlike their bulk counterpart, the nanocrystals glow blue when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Unlike conventional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, solid-state lighting makes use of light-emitting semiconductor materials-in general, red, green and blue emitting materials are combined to create white light. However, efficient blue light emitters are difficult to produce, suggesting these magnesium oxide nanocrystals could be a bright candidate for lighting that consumes less energy and has a longer lifespan.

These minute materials do more than glow, however. Along with their promising optical behavior, these magnesium oxide nanocrystals will be a subject of study in an entirely different field of research: Berkeley Labs’ Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2, designed to “establish the scientific foundations for the geological storage of carbon dioxide.”

Experts say carbon dioxide capture and storage will be vital to achieving significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, but the success of this technology hinges on sealing geochemical reservoirs deep below the earth’s surface without allowing gases or fluids to escape. If properly stored, the captured carbon dioxide pumped underground forms carbonate minerals with the surrounding rock by reacting with nanoparticles of magnesium oxide and other mineral oxides.

“These nanocrystals will serve as a test system for modeling the kinetics of dissolution and mineralization in a simulated fluid-rock reservoir, allowing us to probe a key pathway in carbon dioxide sequestration,” said Jeff Urban, a staff scientist in the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry who is also a member of the EFRC research team. “The geological minerals that fix magnesium into a stable carbonate are compositionally complex, but our nanocrystals will provide a simple model to mimic this intricate process.”"Berkeley Lab researchers have produced non-toxic magnesium oxide nanocrystals that... more