Nanotechnology is not simply a pie-in-the-sky dream of the
future. It is a scientific reality which is already showing
advances. In 1990 IBM researchers spelled their corporate logo by
positioning 35 xenon atoms on a nickel surface. Hundreds of
nano-scale devices have already been fabricated at the National
Nanofabrication Facility at Cornell University.
At the University of Utah, biologist David Blair is studying a
25-nanometer-wide molecular motor that powers bacteria flagella,
spinning at 300 revolutions per second. Blair is compiling a
"parts list" as a step towards designing machines for
nano-engineering applications.
Stuart Hameroff at the University of Arizona is using a
scanning tunneling microscope to gather information on
intracellular coding systems. He wants to construct custom-made,
self-replicating white blood cells that could seek-out the
neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's Disease, and destroy them
with enzymes. The September 2001 issue of Scientific
American gives more examples of the possibilities of
biomedical engineering with nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology is also seen as one of the necessary advances
if cryonics, the freezing of individuals pronounced brain dead in
order to preserve their bodies for future resuscitation and
repair is ever to become possible. Given the overcrowding of the
planet which is already threatening the environment and using up
natural resources at an ever-increasing rate, what do you think
about this new field of nanotechnology? Vote in our poll
now:
