ChrisPhoenix writes "Robert Freitas and I have published a paper on a rather aggressive nanomedical device that lines your blood vessels and replaces the blood. The paper covers benefits, requirements, installation, and more, with tons of medical information from Robert's amazing bank of knowledge. It's almost a megabyte and has 587 references. You can find it at The Journal of Evolution and Technology.

(I'll be doing a Friday night SIG on this at the upcoming Senior Associate Gathering.)"

Gina Miller writes "In Dispute Over Cloning Experiments Intensifies, The New York Times reported on the debate in the Senate, as of March 6, 2002, on a proposal to ban all human cloning, including therapeutic cloning (also called 'somatic cell nuclear transfer', or SCNT), in which nearly microscopic balls of a few hundred cells are produced to provide stem cells for medical treatments that might cure diseases that are today incurable. The total ban has already been passed by the House and is being pushed by Pres. Bush. Actor Christopher Reeve argued passionately that therapeutic cloning should go forward because '…we have a moral responsibility to help others. Time is absolutely critical.' Supporting Mr. Reeve was Nobel laureate molecular biologist Paul Berg and Jerry Zucker, a movie producer who hopes that therapeutic cloning will provide a cure for the diabetes his daughter suffers from. Proponents of a ban railed against 'human embryo hatcheries.' United Press International Opposition grows to total ban on cloning provides additional detail about the same Senate testimony, quoting Reeve 'I'm here today because I'm very concerned we're about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory … It is amazing to me that we have to be here today, because it's so clear that embryonic stem cells … are a miracle that could be available to us, yet there's a fear factor in this country that's really very disturbing to watch.'

A month later, as reported by Reuters on April 10 (Bush Backs Ban of All Human Cloning) and by The New York Times on April 11, 2002 (Bush Makes Fervent Bid to Get Senate to Ban Cloning Research) Bush urged the Senate to pass the bill outlawing all forms of cloning. A counter plea from 40 Nobel laureate scientists urged support of legislation that would allow therapeutic cloning."

Read more for an extensive set of links to background pieces on the developing debate over human cloning.

Eliezer Yudkowsky writes "The Singularity Institute has released a draft of the paper "Levels of Organization in General Intelligence", to appear as a chapter in "Real AI: New Approaches to Artificial General Intelligence" (Goertzel and Pennachin, eds., forthcoming). A flat-file version is available (382K).

Everyone has been patiently waiting for science to cough up a general theory of intelligence. This paper contains the Singularity Institute's shot at the problem. The paper's goals are to describe intelligence as a complex supersystem of interdependent, internally specialized subsystems; to structure our understanding of cognition using levels of functional organization; and to integrate our understanding of general intelligence with our understanding of neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and evolutionary theory. The final part of the paper also includes a discussion of recursive self-improvement and seed AI."

from the nanocommerce dept.
An article on the Small Times website ("New European association will try to move nano from the lab to market", by Genevieve Oger, 17 April 2002) reports on the establishment of the European Nanobusiness Association (ENA), a group meant to advance Europeís role in nanotechnology, and encourage the emerging nanotech economy in Europe. ìOur end goal is the commercialization of nanotechnology in Europe,î said Tim Harper, chief executive of the nanotechnology consulting group CMP Cientifica and the new associationís executive director. ìHow do we make sure that good European research in this area doesnít end up getting exploited in the United States or in the Far East?î

According to the article, îThe associationís key objective is to act as a matchmaker of sorts, or at least an introduction service. The idea is to connect nanotechnology researchers with industry types who have the know-how and business sense to turn ideas and scientific discoveries into viable businesses. Underlying the venture is an oft-repeated criticism about Europeís innovation track record. Despite its top-notch facilities and research, Europe is seen as having difficulty translating its scientific and technical prowess into commercial successes.î

Harperís comments about making sure good European research doesnít end up getting exploited in the U.S. or Far East notwithstanding (though presumably he would not be opposed to it being marketed in those regions?), the new ENBA has formal ties to the U.S.-based NanoBusiness Alliance (NBA) in the United States and the Asia-Pacific Nanotechnology Forum (APNF). The European association has partnered with both. Mark Modzelewski, the founder and executive director of the NanoBusiness Alliance, also sits on the advisory board of the new European group.

A lengthy article in the Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal ("Small Miracles: Micromachines are being developed that may offer mankind great benefits – or threaten its very existence", by Kevin Begos, 14 April 2002) rehashes much of the mass media shorthand on nanotech weíve seen so often before: "Many researchers, government officials and venture capitalists are saying that over the next few decades, the effect of such inventions on society may dwarf what has happened in the computer or telecommunications revolutions. Skeptics see a dark side to such a future. Humans may well be able to make such products, they say — but may not be able to control them after they're unleashed on the world." We get warmed-over visions of advanced nanotech applications, Bill Joyís worries over human obsolescence, government funding, venture capitalists ñ the usual stew.

Read more for some of the more interesting bits.

The 19 April 2002 version of Jennifer Darwinís Technology Beat column in the Houston Business Journal includes this brief item:

The original investors in Molecular Electronics Corp. (MEC) have pumped additional money into the Houston-based nanotechnology company.
Company officials made that announcement two weeks ago, but did not disclose who the angel investors are, nor how much they provided in bridge financing.
This same group of investors put up $7.65 million to help launch the company in 1999. Since that time, Molecular Electronics also has received $23 million in funding directed toward its research work.
The company was created by five scientists, including Jim Tour and Mark Reed. The firm's research and development in nanometer-scale electronics creates the potential for constructing electronic devices and information processing capabilities that are far less expensive, consume less power and are thousands of times smaller per device than existing technologies.
Timothy Belton, Molecular Electronics' president and chief development officer, says the proceeds will be used to strengthen industry relationships that will help with development of the company's devices.

For background information on MEC, see Foresight Update issues #41 (June 2000) and #42 (September 2000).

According to a press release (16 April 2002), the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has begun ramping up its nanotechnology research efforts at the UTD NanoTech Institute established last year, on news that it won two grants worth a total of $1.8 million in initial annual funding from the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The projects being funded will involve collaboration among researchers at UTD, as well as at major universities and research institutes throughout the U.S. and in other countries.

Additional coverage, though not much, is available in an article from the Dallas Business Journal ("UTD NanoTech Institute gets $1.8M in grants", 15 April 2002), which basically reprinted the UTD press release with a few additional details thrown in. "This is leading-edge science and precisely what we had in mind when we brought two of the top nanotechnology experts in the world to UTD last fall," Franklyn Jenifer, president of UTD, said in a statement. "Now that the UTD NanoTech Institute is up and running, the university is in a position to begin playing a pivotal role in helping realize the potential of nanotechnology."

from the death-by-committeee dept.
An article in the Philadelphia Business Journal ("Coalition aims to aid startups", by Peter Key, 29 March 2002) tells of yet another organization aimed at fostering economic development being established in Pennsylvania. According to the article, "five Philadelphia universities, a business incubator and an economic development organization have joined forces to boost the number of technology and life-science startups in the region. Called the Commercialization Working Group, its first task will be to help the Port of Technology incubator in University City bring technological innovations to market." One of the efforts to be supported is the Nanotechnology Institute, a venture among the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, a state-funded economic development organization. An official said the timing for the group is right because it comes after smaller efforts by the region's schools and tech organizations to work together, such as the Nanotechnology Institute.

Well, maybe. For all the organizational dithering over the past year or two, Pennsylvania hasnít yet got much real results to show from its nanotechnology programs (see Nanodot posts from 30 July and 17 December 2001, and 9 November 2000.

waynerad writes "A chemical-vapor deposition technique has been applied to carbon nanotubes to give them unusual electronic properties, according to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The treated nanotubes could be used by chip makers to interconnect single-electron transistors with high-efficiency wires. The group aims to build a nanotube architecture that will exhibit near-superconducting speeds at room temperature, plus the ability to pack devices tighter and control quantum effects."

Mr. Tejano writes "Space Daily has a great article about a group of researchers at Virginia Tech that are developing flexible solar cells [using nano-structured thin films] that they hope will replace their silicon equivalents. It can be read here: http://spacedaily.com/news/materials-02i.html"

Ralph Merkle, Foresight Vice President for Technology Assessment and Principal Fellow at Zyvex Corporation, will be speaking at the following upcoming events:

• May 9, 2002 (Rockville, Maryland): Merkle will speak on "Nanotechnology and replicating manufacturing systems" at the TIGR Distinguished Lecture Series: Defining the Boundaries of 21st Century Science.
• May 15, 2002 (San Jose, CA): Merkle will give a keynote address on "Nanotechnology: Near And Long Term Possibilities" at the Nanotech Planet Spring 2002 Conference and Expo.

Brent Magnan writes "Nanotechnology, or any newly emerging technology, is sure to change the way we live our lives. For those who want to be involved with technology, are there other ways to become part of it other than going through some kind of science degree? I'm currently in first year Engineering but want to go into Business (bachelor of commerce). Is switching faculties a huge mistake if I want to be involved with technology? Or are there lots of promising opportunities for a business student looking to be active in cutting edge technology? Please e-mail me with any suggestions or comments: send to: brentmagnan@shaw.ca"

Vik writes "Rice University in cooperation with the Russian Academy of Science develop a way to add fluorine to nanotubes. This gives a handle to which functional groups can be attached with obvious repercussions. The process involves temperatures of 500C and pressures of 60,000 ATM. Press release from Rice is here."

Patrick Underwood submitted an article from Space Daily that provides some additional coverage of this annoucement.

from the World-Watch dept.
The Asahi Shimbun in Japan ran an interview Koji Omi, Japanese State Minister in Charge of Science and Technology Policy ("Koji Omi: Unite nanotechnology with biotechnology", 8 April 2002), about the government's future strategy and outlook on the subject of nanotechnology. Some interesting comments by Mr. Omi:

• Although Japanese nanotechnology is said to be advanced, actually, I am very worried about its future. While companies are conducting research that looks five years ahead, none of them is directed at 20 years into the future. Traditionally the Japanese idea of nanotechnology has been molecular-level processing to expand the capacity of integrated circuits by reducing the size of circuit elements used in information technology. Silicon is the material currently used to make circuit elements. When I visited the United States in January and exchanged views with top-class researchers in Washington and elsewhere, they all agreed that the days of silicon as circuit element material are numbered. The question is how can we beat the limits of silicon. I think nanotechnology can serve as a means to overcome the problem.
• I visited the newly established Beckman Institute at the California Institute of Technology. Specialists in physics, chemistry, biology and computer science are doing research in the same room. I also met with researchers at such top-level U.S. universities as Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and University of California, Berkeley. They all shared the view that from now on, such interdisciplinary research will become increasingly important. . . . In Japan, however, research systems are sectionalized. Physicists study physics, chemists concentrate on chemistry and biologists engage in biological research. Researchers don't even know what their colleagues in other field are doing in the lab next door. At this rate, I am worried that we would eventually lose the competition as all-around players. Even when capable talent enters an important field of research, they may be able to lead the race up to a point but could soon run into a wall.
• [A planned graduate school university in Okinawa] will have a 500-strong faculty and the same number of students. In keeping with European and American universities, the school year will start in September and all classes will be held in English. In terms of education and research, the central subject will be biology but it will be merged with physics, chemistry and information technology. In other words, it will be a fusion of nanotechnology and biotechnology.

from the You-go,-girls! dept.
According to an article in the Tri-Valley Herald ("Students in finals of science competition", by Rebecca Emmerich, 20 March 2002), a local newspaper for the city of Dublin, California, a team of four fifth-grade students at the Quarry Lane School in Dublin have been named regional winners in the Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision competition. Their entry was a conceptual design for a "Nano Snippit-bot", a medical nanorobot that would operate in swarms to cut off the small blood vessels supplying cancer tumors. Their entry was one of only 24 selected from among those submitted by 4200 teams comprising 13,000 students from the United States and Canada to advance to the final round of the competition.

Two of the ten-year-olds on the Quarry Lane School nano-design team, Alejandra Dean and Nicole Rumore, have shown a strong interest in nanomedical robotics. In 2000, they and two other third-grade students at the Dorris Eaton School in Walnut Creek entered the design for a "Nano FatBuster" to fight atherosclerosis and heart disease; their visit with Foresight President Chris Peterson to gather information for the project was described in Foresight Update #42 (September 2000). The Nano FatBuster design also fared well: Out of 12,000 contestants, the quartet from Dorris Eaton School received an Honorable Mention Award. Only 2,000 of those were awarded.

Foresight applauds the dedication of Ms. Dean and Ms. Rumore, and wishes them and their team the best of luck in the final round of this yearís ExploraVision competition.

from the Institutional-innovation dept.
According to an article in the Houston Business Journal ("Nanotech funding foundation to be established in Bayou City", by Jennifer Darwin, 12 April 2002), "A unique endeavor is under way to fund nanotechnology research in Texas, and help turn the Lone Star State into the worldwide center for nanotechnology activity. NanoTex is being established as a foundation designed to fund nanotech research at Texas-based institutions. The Houston-based organization is still in the early launch phase, so its legal structure is not complete and fund-raising has not yet started."

"We truly have an opportunity in Texas to create something that would be the Silicon Valley of the 21st century," says Conrad Masterson, who developed the concept. "It's an area where we have a unique leadership advantage worldwide."

from the Natural-Nanomachines dept.
An article in Science News ("Channel Surfing: Atomic-resolution snapshots illuminate cellular pores that control ion flow", by John Travis, 9 March 2002) describes the work of researchers who have been uncovering the details of the structure and function of ion channels — protein complexes that act as natural, highly-specific atom sorting devices.

In addition to revealing the operating principles of natural sorters, the research has provided insights into the design of de novo sorter designs, as shown in another online article on the Nature Science Update website ("New channel built: Chemists copy from cells to make a tunnel for salt", by Philip Ball, 13 March 2002), which describes work by George Gokel and colleagues at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, who created a synthetic peptide-based channel can be opened and closed by applying a voltage.

Additional details of research into ion channels and other types of natural atom sorters can be found in Nanodot posts from 17 January 2002 and 2 November 2001.

Gina Miller writes "Genetically-modified crops spotlight issues of safety, openness, and intellectual property that will become even more important with molecular nanotechnology. Some similar concerns are reflected in the Foresight Guidelines on Molecular Nanotechnology.

UK report says gene crops could create superweed. Cross-pollination of seeds spilt during harvest allowed three varieties of genetically modified rapeseed plants to exchange herbicide resistance genes, creating a "superweed" resistant to all three herbicides. To avoid these superweeds that would be difficult to eliminate, the recommendation is that only one variety of herbicide resistance be used in genetically modified plants.

Panel Urges U.S. to Tighten Approval of Gene-Altered Crops. The caution recommended by the UK panel was reflected by a panel convened by the US National Academy of Sciences. Noting that biotechnology companies are developing new plants containing combinations of genes, or genes that cause the plant to produce industrial chemicals or other exotic materials, the panel concluded that testing of genetically altered plants should be made "significantly more transparent and rigorous." The panel's conclusion implies that public access to data should take precedence over the ability of companies to keep data confidential.

Can a company still profit from data it releases to the public? Swiss Firm Unveils Plan for Sharing Rice Genome One company poised to publish a "draft" (not completely finished) sequence for the genome of a variety of rice announced a compromise in which the company 'would freely share the information with researchers, but keep the right to license and patent commercial developments'. Other companies preparing sequences of other varieties of rice have promised completely free access to the information. How access to scientific information developed by for-profit entities will be handled is clearly an issue very much in flux: from open source software to biotechnology and gene patents. What will be the trade-offs as nanotechnology matures?"

brianwang writes "The longstanding promise of superfortified heat-conducting materials has become a reality. University of Pennsylvania scientists have determined that adding a relatively small number of carbon nanotubes to epoxy yields a compound three-and-a-half times as hard and far better at heat conductance than the product found in hardware stores. The researchers report their successful tinkering with the commonplace adhesive in the April 15 issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. Led by Penn physicist Alan T. "Charlie" Johnson, the team created a composite of 95 to 99 percent common epoxy mixed with 1 to 5 percent carbon nanotubes, filaments of carbon less than one-ten-thousandth the width of a human hair. "These findings add considerably to carbon nanotubesí luster as possible additives to a variety of materials," said Johnson, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Penn. "In addition to adhesives such as epoxy, we are looking at nanotube-based greases that might be used to carry heat away from electronic chips." Johnsonís group determined that epoxy doped with nanotubes showed a 125 percent increase in thermal conductivity at room temperature. "This is the first published report of enhanced thermal conductivity in a material owing to the addition of carbon nanotubes and the first demonstration of simultaneous thermal and mechanical enhancement of a real-world material," Johnson said. Epoxy is an attractive target for fortification with carbon nanotubes, Johnson said, because itís relatively easy to mix the minuscule filaments into it, and there are clear industrial benefits in a harder, better-conducting epoxy. Other scientists have attempted to fortify epoxy with carbon nanotubes, but Johnsonís group succeeded in dispersing the nanotubes more evenly. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-04/uop -net041502.php"

from the Plan-ahead dept.
Upcoming speaking engagements by Foresight Chair K. Eric Drexler and President Chris Peterson include:

• 3 May 2002 (Scottsdale, AZ) Eric Drexler will speak on nanotechnology at Congress on the Future of Engineering Software.
• 13 May 2002 (Palo Alto) Christine Peterson will speak on nanotechnology at the Swiss Nano Team Reception, sponsored by Swiss Science & Technology Office and nanoSIG.
• 27 June 2002 (Palo Alto) Eric Drexler will speak on nanotechnology at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Forum. Check the PARC Forum website to verify date as it approaches.
• 28 June 2002 (San Francisco) Christine Peterson will speak on nanotechnology at Nanotech Investor 2002 (Acrobat PDF file).