Nanotech Pioneers: Where Are They Taking Us?

Hype, hope, or horror? A vivid look at nanotechnology, written by an insider and experienced science writer.

The variety of new products and technologies that will spin out of nanoscience is limited only by the imagination of the scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs drawn to this new field. Steve Edwards concentrates on the reader's self interest: no military gadgets, wild fantasies of horror nanobot predators and other sci-fi stuff, but presents a realistic view of how this new field of technology will affect people in the near future. He is in close contact with many pioneers in nanotechnology, and includes their backgrounds to allow readers, especially college students considering a career in the field, to better imagine themselves in such positions. However, technology does not develop in a vacuum, and this book also looks at the social, political and economic changes attendant upon the development of nanotechnology.

For the science-interested general public as well as chemists, students, lecturers, chemical organizations, materials scientists, journalists, politicians, industry, physicists, and biologists.

Hype, hope, or horror? A vivid look at nanotechnology, written by an insider and experienced science writer.

The variety of new products and technologies that will spin out of nanoscience is limited only by the imagination of the scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs drawn to this new field. Steve Edwards concentrates on the reader's self interest: no military gadgets, wild fantasies of horror nanobot predators and other sci-fi stuff, but presents a realistic view of how this new field of technology will affect people in the near future. He is in close contact with many pioneers in nanotechnology, and includes their backgrounds to allow readers, especially college students considering a career in the field, to better imagine themselves in such positions. However, technology does not develop in a vacuum, and this book also looks at the social, political and economic changes attendant upon the development of nanotechnology.

For the science-interested general public as well as chemists, students, lecturers, chemical organizations, materials scientists, journalists, politicians, industry, physicists, and biologists.

The nanometer scale is where physicists, chemists, biologists, materials scientists and engineers met to create a new technology - nanotechnology. Scarcely imagined a few decades ago, it will certainly dominate the 21st century and affect our lives in ways not yet fully predictable. By definition, nanotech is far too small to be visible to the human eye, and so its effects may well catch us by surprise.

Although nanotech still has a science-fiction aura, there are actually consumer products already available which employ nanotech - sunscreen, paint, tennis balls, non-staining fabrics, and some recently approved drugs.

The variety of new products and technologies that will spin out of nanoscience is limited only by the imagination of the scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs drawn to this new field - the Nanotech Pioneers. Steve Edwards presents nanotechnology and its leading makers in an easily understandable fashion, suited for all readers regardless of academic background, but with enough facts and details to separate the hype from the real nanotech that is just around the next corner:

- superior materials - stronger, lighter, harder, better

- smart drugs that specifically target infected or malicious cells

- life-like prosthetics, such as limb, joint or organ replacements, even artificial eyes

- brain/computer interfaces

- new computer architectures with immense capacities and abilities

- new kinds of power sources that lessen our fossil fuel dependence

With this book, Steven Edwards brings nanotechnology closer to the science-interested general public as well as scientists, students, organizations, journalists, politicians, and entrepreneurs.

Steve A. Edwards obtained his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California in San Diego in 1980, then spent four years as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Salk Institute at La Jolla, as well as holding a position of assistant professor at the biochemistry department of Meharry Medical College, Nashville. Since 1994, he has been a free-lance writer and from 1997 onwards, he has been a free-lance medical technology analyst for Business Communications Company, Inc., Norwalk. From 1998 on, he has taken on several editorial positions with BCC, serving as Contributing Editor for Medical Materials Update, Managing Editor of Applied Genetics News and Drug Discover/Technology News, and as editor for Nano-Bio Convergence News, Cell Therapy News, and Biomolecular Diagnostics News. From 2002 to date, he has also been Vice President (Technologies) at Phaelixe, Inc.

He received the American Heart Association New Investigator Award (1991-1993) and the NHLBI Minority School Faculty Development Award (1992-1994).

Chapter 1: The Promise of Nanotechnology

DEFINING NANOTECHNOLOGY

TOP-DOWN VERSUS BOTTOM-UP MANUFACTURING

WHAT IS IN SOOT? -

DIFFERENT FORMS OF CARBON

AN ALTERNATIVE NATURE

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO 'ROUND

WHO KNOWS ABOUT NANO?

THE PROMISE OF NANO

SKEPTICS

CONTEMPORANEOUS HISTORY

Chapter 2: The Visionaries

RICHARD FEYNMAN

K. ERIC DREXLER

RALPH MERKLE

RAY KURZWEIL

CRITICISM OF THE DREXLERIAN VISION

JAMES VON EHR

MIKE ROCO

Chapter 3: On the Road to Nano-

LITHOGRAPHY

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

SUPRAMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY

Chapter 4: Nanotools

THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

SCANNING PROBE MICROSCOPES: STM, AFM AND VARIANTS THEREOF

ANGSTROVISION

NANOMANIPULATORS

Chapter 5: Nanoparticles and Other Nanomaterials

DISCOVERING THE BUCKYBALL

CARBON NANOTUBES

DENDRIMERS

Antibodies and anti-antibodies

Dendrimers as sensors

Dendrimers as Drugs

Dendrimeric Displays

QUANTUM DOTS

Colloidal Quantum Dots

Quantum Dots in Biology and Medicine

Quantum Dots in Electronics

Chapter 6: Learning From Old Mother Nature

THE GECKO'S FOOT

THE EYE OF THE STARFISH---THE OPTICAL NETWORK OF THE SPONGE

THE ABALONE'S SHELL

DIATOMS-THE ORIGINAL SILICON CHIPS

NATURAL NANOTUBES

SYNTHETIC NERVE MEMBRANES

CO-OPTING BIOLOGY

Chapter 7: Nanoelectronics

SPINTRONICS

NANOTUBE MEMORY CHIPS: NRAM

NANOWIRES

THIN FILMS OF GLOWING POLYMERS

NANOROBOTICS

Chapter 8: Nanotech Enabled Biomedicine

Stages

DELIVERING DRUGS

MEDICAL IMAGING-X-Ray Tubes

MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR MRI (PLUS SOME OTHER STUFF)

Other Contrast Agents

NANOSHELLS FOR THERAPY

PUMPS

THE STRANGE CASE OF NANOBACTERIA

MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS

Smart Dust

Nanoarrays for Biomedical Assays

MOVING WATER AROUND, A LITTLE AT A TIME

NANOSCALE ANTENNA CONTROLS DNA

ARTIFICIAL JOINTS

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS

The Artificial Retina

Brain/Machine Interface

ARTIFICIAL CELLS

RE-INVENTING BIOLOGY

Chapter 9: Financing Nanotech Dreams

CHARLIE HARRIS, VENTURE CAPITALIST

IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL NANOTECH INITIATIVE

Chapter 10: Mega-Sized Projects that Could Use Tiny Technology--Three Somewhat Grandiose Challenges

ENERGY-INDEPENDENCE FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Green energy

THE SPACE ELEVATOR

BUILDING A QUANTUM COMPUTER

How do you build a quantum computer?

Chapter 11: Fear of Nano--Dangers and Ethical Challenges

THE GREY GOO SCENARIO

THE GREEN GOO SCENARIO

ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE DUE TO INHALEABLE OR INGESTIBLE NANOPARTICLES

PEOPLE WILL LIVE FOREVER LEADING TO OVERPOPULATION

ONLY RICH PEOPLE WILL LIVE FOREVER

NANOTECHNOLOGY WILL TURN US INTO CYBORGS

NANOTECHNOLOGY COULD CREATE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

NANOTECH WILL CREATE MACHINES THAT ARE SMARTER THAN HUMAN BEINGS

NANOTECH WILL HASTEN THE ARRIVAL OF THE SINGULARITY

REGULATING NANOTECH

Chapter 12: Final Thoughts on The Destination