Interactive view of Graphene Moelcule

Here's a pretty neat way to explore one of the next big things that will transform most of the everyday stuff in our lives. An Interactive Graphene Molecule
In 2010 the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene".

Light up your brain

How the Brain Cell Works: A Dive Into Its Inner Network
ScienceDaily (Dec. 21, 2011) — University of Miami (UM) biology professor Akira Chiba is leading a multidisciplinary team to develop the first systematic survey of protein interactions within brain cells. The team is aiming to reconstruct genome-wide in situ protein-protein interaction networks (isPIN) within the neurons of a multicellular organism. Preliminary data were presented at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting, December 3 through 7, 2011, in Denver, Colorado.
Neurons are the cells that are mainly responsible for signaling in the brain. Like all other cells, each neuron produces millions of individual proteins that associate with one another and form a complex communication network.

Protest or lose your rights to Freedom of Speech

This message is an immediate call for a day of action. On January 3rd, the collective is calling upon the citizens of the united states to protest against the new sections in the national defense authorization act that were passed a short while ago. This law will strip away many rights; including, but not limited to, Free speech, Free press, Free access to information, and the right to protest, assemble, and bear arms. This law cannot be changed according to the Feinstein Act.

Sections Ten thirty one and ten thirty two of the national defense authorization act grants unlimited powers to the executive branch of the government to indefinitly detain suspects, even American citizens, without trial. All a person has to do is to commit a belligerent act.
There's the real danger; what is a belligerent act? Is protesting a belligerent act? When is any kind of protest not a belligerent act? Who decides? How will YOU be able to judge whether any kind of protest you want to make - to any authority about their conduct or treatment of yourself or another mistreated citizen is fair and legitimate?

Is being Anonymous a belligerent act?

U.S Citizens sign the petition here
From Wikipedia:

Controversy

Section 1021 and 1022, controversial to the general public, were perceived as threats to the Bill of Rights and the freedoms of America. They allow for the indefinite military detention of potential terrorists, challenging the general judicial status of "innocent until proven guilty." This most recent addition of the NDAA has critics that say it puts not only civil liberties in danger but also that it is an aggressive but futile attack in the War on Terror. Despite the act passing overwhelmingly, it is viewed by many as a large threat to the privileges of American citizens. Addressed by many major publications negatively, it also received a direct video message from Anonymous in an attempt to expose the chicanery of the act and its potential consequences. ^[22] [23] In addition, an online petition requesting that President Obama veto the bill was created on the "We The People" section of the White House website. As of December 27, 2011, the petition required 7,730 signatures by December 30th to reach the site's petition threshold. ^[24]

Mind Control using light wavelengths

Oh Dear, the paranoids nightmare  - forget the Aluminum caps, hacking and tapped phones. 'They' just need to dose you with DNA that creates the Neuron triggers to respond to the wavelength signals.
You'll eat pure organic and never watch another advert again now will you?


(Nanowerk News) Since the dawn of optogenetics, scientists can turn nerve cells on and off using pulses of light. A research team at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt am Main has developed a molecular light switch that makes it possible to control cells more accurately than ever before (see paper in Nature Methods: "A gene-fusion strategy for stoichiometric and co-localized expression of light-gated membrane proteins").
The combination switch consists of two different light-sensitive membrane proteins – one for on, the other for off. The method used by the scientists to connect the two components can be used with different protein variants, making it highly versatile. Optogenetics is a new field of research that aims to control cells using light. To this end, scientists avail of light-sensitive proteins that occur naturally in the cell walls of certain algae and bacteria. They introduce genes with the building instructions for these membrane proteins into the DNA of target cells. Depending on which proteins they use, they can fit cells with on and off switches that react to light of different wavelengths.

Enter the nano-world

You really must check this out. Nanoreisen had an interactive guide that takes you step by step into the nanoworld in your body and technology.
A virtual discovery journey into the worlds of micro- and nano-cosmos. On various routes you can gradually "shrink yourself" into worlds invisible to us and penetrate into the smallest known dimensions of our universe.

The Inner Life of a Cell.

The Inner Life of a Cell, an eight-minute animation created in NewTek LightWave 3D and Adobe After Effects for Harvard biology students. Created by XVIVO, a scientific animation company near Hartford, CT, the animation illustrates unseen molecular mechanisms and the ones they trigger, specifically how white blood cells sense and respond to their surroundings and external stimuli.

Climate Change & Big Ecosystem Shifts - NASA

"ScienceDaily (Dec. 18, 2011) — By 2100, global climate change will modify plant communities covering almost half of Earth's land surface and will drive the conversion of nearly 40 percent of land-based ecosystems from one major ecological community type -- such as forest, grassland or tundra -- toward another, according to a new NASA and university computer modeling study....

While Earth's plants and animals have evolved to migrate in response to seasonal environmental changes and to even larger transitions, such as the end of the last ice age, they often are not equipped to keep up with the rapidity of modern climate changes that are currently taking place. Human activities, such as agriculture and urbanization, are increasingly destroying Earth's natural habitats, and frequently block plants and animals from successfully migrating."

More on the >Jump Here<

Decisions decisions, Neuroeconomics.

Would you sacrifice a life to save four?
If you had to choose which orphan ate and which did not, what would guide your judgements?

You will be nano-assimilated sooner than you think.

Free DNA Nanotechnology Podcast

From a biological perspective, DNA is the language for life. But what may be less widely known is DNA’s potential as a programmable building block at the nanoscale. In this podcast, Hughes discusses DNA’s potential as an engineering material for building structural scaffolds for nanoelectronic devices and biochemical tools for diagnosing disease. With grants from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the National Institutes of Health , the National Science Foundation , and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Hughes and his colleagues in the Nanoscale Materials & Device Research Group are pursuing DNA nanotechnology as a future manufacturing process.

Okay, so if you've read the other postings here, you'd know about the ease with which nanoparticles can enter our system, right through our skin or by being breathed in.
So what the hell is going to happen when these DNA manufactured nanoparticles find their way into our system? Theyr'e gonna love the variety of warm soupy goo under our skin and who knows what they'll start mutating up just 'cos they can.

It's bad enough that with all the toxins we come across in everyday products, things like bleaches, household cleansers, fire-retardants in fabrics, chemicals in fuel, packaging - it's easy enough to scoop up more than the maximum limit. And as we all know the deadliest of all the hundreds of toxic additives in cigarettes - all help make our bodies little cancer factories.

But now we have to look to the possible DNA-nanotechnolgy mash ups that might find our bodies a useful little playground to mess around in.

Is there a regulatory body with sufficient resources and legal clout to make sure the corporations don't put profit before public health?

Ability to Love Takes Root in Earliest Infancy

Sure, I'm an old romantic. So I couldn't avoid posting this one

ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2011) — The ability to trust, love, and resolve conflict with loved ones starts in childhood -- way earlier than you may think. That is one message of a new review of the literature in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science.
""Your interpersonal experiences with your mother during the first 12 to 18 months of life predict your behavior in romantic relationships 20 years later," says psychologist Jeffry A. Simpson, the author, with University of Minnesota colleagues W. Andrew Collins and Jessica E. Salvatore. "Before you can remember, before you have language to describe it, and in ways you aren't aware of, implicit attitudes get encoded into the mind," about how you'll be treated or how worthy you are of love and affection."

Richard Dawkins Foundation for Research and Science

A rich resource of articles and videos. bookmark it and add the rss to your feeds.

What is a Higgs Boson?

Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln describes the nature of the Higgs boson. Several large experimental groups are hot on the trail of this elusive subatomic particle which is thought to explain the origins of particle mass

Nano-Electric Power Generation

http://nanoholdings.com/ - Justin Hall-Tipping CEO of "Nanoholdings" Explains how nanotechnology is set to change the future of energy and replace fossil and nuclear fuels: 

Scientists close to 'Matrix' style instant learning

Scientists say they’re getting closer to Matrix-style instant learning

What price effortless learning? In a paper published in the latest issue of Science, neuroscientists say they've developed a novel method of learning, that can cause long-lasting improvement in tasks that demand a high level of visual performance.

And while the so-called neurofeedback method could one day be used to teach you kung fu, or to aid spinal-injury patients on the road to rehabilitation, evidence also suggests the technology could be used to target people without their knowledge, opening doors to numerous important ethical questions.
Read the mere-mortal friendly article here

New Research: E produces lasting brain toxicity

Ecstasy drug produces lasting toxicity in the brain

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2011) — Recreational use of Ecstasy -- the illegal "rave" drug that produces feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth -- is associated with chronic changes in the human brain, Vanderbilt University investigators have discovered.

Cowan and colleagues reported earlier this year that Ecstasy increased brain activation in three brain areas associated with visual processing, which suggested a loss in brain efficiency. Together, the two studies provide compelling evidence that Ecstasy causes lasting changes in brain serotonin function, Cowan said.

Quantum computers - a big step closer

Multi-purpose photonic chip paves the way to programmable quantum processors

(Nanowerk News) A multi-purpose optical chip which generates, manipulates and measures entanglement and mixture - two quantum phenomena which are essential driving forces for tomorrow's quantum computers - has been developed by researchers from the University of Bristol's Centre for Quantum Photonics. This work represents an important step forward in the race to develop a quantum computer.

More on the >Jump Here<

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2011) — University of California, Berkeley, astronomers have discovered the largest black holes to date ‑- two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system.

The New Soft-Machine

The Soft Machine was published by Willaim S Burroughs in 1961. The title of the book refers to the human body.
In the present day, the possibility nanotechnology offers to ways of manipulating the human body and the way it repairs itself, how we communicate with others and with technology, increase our physical and mental abilities - all truly reframe our bodies as nothing more than a Soft Machine; an instrument to be engineered and enhanced according to our wishes and desires. It is no longer science fiction. It is happening.

NeuroScience - watching your brain at work.

Neuroscience is on a steep research learning scan with Functional Imaging, watching the brain at work in real time to see what's going on where in the brain when we are thinking or reacting to situations.
There are moves to have such results 'analysed' and presented in a court as evidence.
But there are greater dangers ahead.
Nanotechnology is developing targeted treatments for a whole host of diseases and conditions.
It is feasibly possible that behaviour modifying treatments  - including DNA engineered nanoparticles that can target specified parts of the brain to modify 'abnormal' reactions will be developed in the near future. Treatments for epilepsy, Parkinsons and paralysis are already being explored.

Here's a link to the MP3 file
Scanning the brains of psychopathic 'callous'  / unemotional children, and criminals - 



David DiSalvo offers a strong argument outlining the dangers of rushing into using a new science to assist the legal system in determining 'The Truth' "Five Reasons Neuroscience is not ready for the Courtroom."

Fancy Nanoparticles cleaning your blood?

Researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, are developing nanomagnets that could someday strip potentially harmful substances from the blood. The technology might be used to treat people suffering from drug intoxication, bloodstream infections, and certain cancers.

Tiny Magnets Could Clear Disease from the Blood

New Software for nanoscale designs target global industries

(Nanowerk News) Accelrys, Inc  has announced the release of Materials Studio® 6.0 a State-of-the-art modelling and simulation environment that combines the accuracy of quantum methods with the speed of atomistic methodologies. 

"Nanoscience will play a key role in the next generation of materials used in automobiles, aircraft, electronics and many other industries," said Professor Bjoern Winkler of the University of Frankfurt. "Materials Studio provides us with the computational science we need to help understand and develop these materials and this release is the most powerful yet."
Read the full article
Accelrys' Materials Studio Makes Big Impact with "Small" Science

For a wealth of information and resources, check out The Accerlys Website

Carbon nanotube forest camouflages 3-D objects

Carbon Nanotube Forest Camouflages 3-D Objects

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2011) — Carbon nanotubes, tiny cylinders composed of one-atom-thick carbon lattices, have gained fame as one of the strongest materials known to science. Now a group of researchers from the University of Michigan is taking advantage of another one of carbon nanotubes' unique properties, the low refractive index of low-density aligned nanotubes, to demonstrate a new application: making 3-D objects appear as nothing more than a flat, black sheet.

Aww, Real Little Cyborgs - or is that Cybugs?

Efforts to create an army of cyborg insects are being pursued by a team of US-based engineers.
The group is investigating ways to harvest energy from the creatures to power sensors and other equipment fastened to their bodies.
The team has created an energy scavenging device that is attached close to the insects' wings.

From the BBC News Website

LHC antimatter anomaly hints at new physics

LHC antimatter anomaly hints at new physics - physics-math - 23 November 2011 - New Scientist

"The Large Hadron Collider has turned up differences in how particles of matter and antimatter decay that the reigning standard model of physics may not be able to explain
WE ARE here thanks to a curious imbalance in the universe. To the best of our knowledge, the universe began with equal, or nearly equal, amounts of matter and antimatter. Because these particles annihilate on contact, they should have destroyed each other long ago in a blaze of radiation, leaving little if anything behind to form stars, planets and people. Clearly, that didn't happen.
The hunt for the special something that might have skewed the universe in favour of matter occupies the best minds in physics. Compelling signs of such lopsided physics have emerged at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva in Switzerland. It is the first sign of new physics at the LHC and could provide a boost for the theory of supersymmetry, which adds a zoo of new particles to the ones we already know. "We are getting excited," says Yuval Grossman of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York."

Can't get enough reality?

From the BBC

A new generation of contact lenses that project images in front of the eyes is a step closer after successful animal trials, say scientists.
The technology could allow wearers to read floating texts and emails or augment their sight with computer-generated images, Terminator-style.Initial safety tests in rabbits have gone well, with no obvious adverse effects, the researchers have renewed faith about the device's possibilities.
They envisage hundreds more pixels could be embedded in the flexible lens to produce complex holographic images. For example, drivers could wear them to see journey directions or their vehicle's speed projected onto the windscreen. Similarly, the lenses could take the virtual world of video gaming to a new level."

More from the BBC Article here

Illinois water system easily hacked

Hacker busts water supply by getting in via the 3 letter password.
Bet it was H2O!

Hackers 'attack' US water system

The Infinite Monkey Cage

Science and humour podcast.
An inspired and inspiring mix. Ideal brain food for scifi writers and readers.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/timc/rss.xml

More Extreme Weather On The Way

Brace yourself for more extreme weather. A group of more than 200 scientists convened by the United Nations says in a new report that climate change will bring more heat waves, more intense rainfall and more expensive natural disasters.
Have we gone beyond the tipping point or is there time to start cleaning up our act and save the planet?

Yes - Faster than speed of light!

Neutrino experiment repeat at Cern finds same result

The team which found that neutrinos may travel faster than light has carried out an improved version of their experiment - and confirmed the result.

If confirmed by other experiments, the find could undermine one of the basic principles of modern physics.

News from the BBC website

The Ultimate 'stand out from the crowd' accessory!

 Want a proper phone accessory for your smartphone?

Manufacturer's Description

Developed by renowned French designer David Turpin, the MoshiMoshi 01H Retro Handset combines high style with high functionality, uniting the comfort and safety of a handset telephone with the convenience of the mobile phone. The chic design combines classic style with modern elegance, resulting in a fashionable and comfortable handset finished with a soft luxurious texture.

Turn back the clock with the MoshiMoshi 01H Retro Handset. Click here for a larger image.
Key Features
Compatible with all 3.5mm jack mobile phones and computers, including iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad, and the latest MacBooks.
One touch button for convenient pick-up/hang-up directly from the handset (not all mobile phone support function).
Noise-reducing technology for a crisp and polished sound.
Luxurious soft-touch finish for ultimate comfort and feel.
Eliminates up to 99 percent of the radiation absorbed compared to a direct use of mobile phones.

Using DNA To Shape Nanostructures

Using DNA To Shape Nanostructures
Chemists and materials scientists are trying to learn to build ultra-small, precisely ordered structures for use in optics, electronics, and other applications. Writing in the journal Science, Chad Mirkin and colleagues describe a way to use snippets of DNA to tailor the shape and size of crystal structures, tweaking them to fit specific uses.
"we can program DNA and building blocks to do that. So the idea here is to take tiny bits of matter, nanoparticles, and to attach strands of DNA that have a preconceived and designed code that then guides them through an assembly process based upon known DNA recognition properties to assemble into macroscopic structures that have properties that are defined by the arrangement of those particles within the extended structure."


Looking ahead
When I was writing the first 'Cloud' Book, I was just hypothesising that at some point DNA models could be used to create nanoparticles.I didn't think that the design of the Nanoparticles created by Alister's mother, modelled on the structure of adolescent neurons - fast learning and creative -was closer to reality that I'd imagine.  This opens up a whole new world of genetic and nanotechnology. Meanwhile other people are working on nanotechnology that mimics the way parts of the brain works.

The paths of DNA science, nanotechnology, computing, neuroscience are converging with greater frequency and variation at an increasing rate.
Why is all this possible?
Simply because if you go down far enough into the any science - biological or material and it's all chemistry, if you go down even further and it's all physics. And it's the knowledge about and ability to manipulate matter on such a nano and chemical scale, where you are down to the common ground of Stuff, that allows this convergence.

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light

New 'smart' material could help tap medical potential of tissue-penetrating light

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) — Scientists
are reporting development and successful
initial testing of the first practical "smart"
material that may supply the missing link
in efforts to use in medicine a form of
light that can penetrate four inches into
the human body. Their report on the new
polymer or plastic-like material, which has
potential for use in diagnosing diseases
and engineer new human tissues in the
lab, appears in ACS' journal
Macromolecules .

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver

Nanoparticles used as additives in diesel fuels can travel from lungs to liver

A.I as good as thought?

Scientists are getting closer to the dream of creating computer systems that can replicate the brain.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information More on the Jump here >.AI moves closer with brain chip

New material can enhance energy, computer, lighting technologies

(Nanowerk News 16 Nov 2011) Arizona State University researchers have created a new compound crystal material that promises to help produce advances in a range of scientific and technological pursuits.
ASU electrical engineering professor Cun-Zheng Ning says the material, called erbium chloride silicate, can be used to develop the next generations of computers, improve the capabilities of the Internet, increase the efficiency of silicon-based photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electrical energy, and enhance the quality of solid-state lighting and sensor technology.
Ning's research team of team of students and post-doctoral degree assistants help synthesize the new compound in ASU's Nanophotonics Lab in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, one of the university's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
The lab's erbium research is supported by the U.S. Army Research Office and U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Details about the new compound are reported in the Optical Materials Express on the website of the Optical Society of America ("Single-crystal erbium chloride silicate nanowires as a Si-compatible light emission material in communication wavelength").

Graphene the next generation of chips.

Graphene's 'Big Mac' creates next generation of chips
ScienceDaily (Oct. 9, 2011) — The world's thinnest, strongest and most conductive material, discovered in 2004 at the University of Manchester by Professor Andre Geim and Professor Kostya Novoselov, has the potential to revolutionize material science.

By sandwiching two sheets of graphene with another two-dimensional material, boron nitrate, the team created the graphene 'Big Mac' -- a four-layered structure which could be the key to replacing the silicon chip in computers.

Janus is a liquid computer the size of the Michigan Wolverines stadium that works using a highly advanced hybrid of the phase estimation algorithm and Shor's factoring algorithm.

New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses

Mimicking the brain -- in silicon: New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2011) — For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain's talent for learning new tasks.
MIT researchers have now taken a major step toward that goal by designing a computer chip that mimics how the brain's neurons adapt in response to new information. This phenomenon, known as plasticity, is believed to underlie many brain functions, including learning and memory.

DNA based nanomaterials get another boost

Controlled growth of DNA nanomaterials opens new applications in nanoelectronics

Nanowerk News) DNA-based nanomaterials are
key precursors for the bottom- up fabrication of
a range of high-performance nanoscale devices
such as biosensors and nanoelectronics because
of their ability to self-assemble into well-defined
structures. However, the lack of control
encountered during the deposition of these
nanostructures on surfaces has hampered their
application in practical devices.
Sung Ha Park, Yonghan Roh and colleagues
from Sungkyunkwan University and the
Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in
Korea have now developed a surface-promoted
method that allows for the precise control of
DNA crystal growth on silica substrates
("Coverage Control of DNA Crystals Grown by
Silica Assistance" ).

The ultimate all-in-one device.

Nanoskin for your touchy, feely android (or exosuit)

A team at Stanford's Bao Research Group have developed artificial skin. This is a stretchable, transparent skin-like sensor that is elastic and can also sense touch and pressure like the real thing.

Cybercrime, a multibillion dollar business!

To stop cybercrime we need to think like the criminals http://gu.com/p/335bz
The Guardian has a pretty good artice on how the UK is progressing and working on tackling cybercrime

"Efforts to combat cybercrime concentrate on enhanced security, but intercepting the kids drawn into its web might prove better"


A multi-billion dollar business, a recession, thousands kicked from work every week, no jobs for kids. Hmm, The govt's got its work cut out!

Popularity of nanotechnology taking off

Community Day at UAlbany NanoCollege draws largest-ever crowd to explore nanotechnology

(Nanowerk News) A record crowd of more than 1,200 visitors of all ages from throughout New York State received an inside look at the exciting world of nanotechnology today when they participated in Community Day at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany, one of the highlights of CNSE's one-of-a-kind community and educational outreach initiative known as "NANOvember."


Here's the link to Nanovember

No Hiding Place

Thinking of taking your computer or smartphone abroad? You can safely assume that at any point, a government 'cyber-crime or anti-terrorist team can hack into your computer to see what you are up to.
Just dont accidentally snap.a picture of a secret government building or agent, or email/chat/sms something disrespectful while you are out there.

Governments turn to hacking techniques for surveillance of citizens http://gu.com/p/33357

A "Small" History of Nanotechnology

For those of you flummoxed by all this nanotechnology stuff, here's one of the best sites around for a fascinating and very readable introduction to nanotechnology and how it all kicked off.

"The site explores and presents information on technological activities (and their associated social implications) that have the capacity to not only enhance our survival probability as a species, but to improve the quality of life as we move along the evolutionary path. We are non-partisan, and are neither anti nor pro-religious, preferring to remain open or at least tolerant regarding theories and beliefs which can be neither proven nor refuted scientifically. We are proponents of science and technology in the sense of being realists in recognizing that technology is coming whether we as a species or whether any one of us as an individual like it or not, and believe that the most effective action we can take is to learn more about technology in order to collectively guide its proper use toward a positive future. This site is intended primarily for the layperson, and is both factual and speculative in nature. It uses the interdisciplinary relationship of several main sciences to explore human advancement "

DNA synthesis and nanotechnology.

The nanoparticles inside Alister were readily absorbed by him because they contained elements of his DNA signature.
The possibility of creating nanoparticles with complex functionality such as interfacing with the human nervous system and able to network wirelessly, powered by the bodies own energy requires the convergence of several different technologies. nanotechnology obviously and manipulation of DNA.
Success in both these fields is progressing faster with each new discovery and innovation.
But convergence is always the rule.
Here we have news of DNA being synthesised and folded into unique nanoscale structures - another step in the  building blocks to complex nanoparticles operating within the nervous system
(Nanowerk News) In the emerging field of synthetic biology, engineers use biological building blocks, such as snippets of DNA, to construct novel technologies. One of the key challenges in the field is finding a way to quickly and economically synthesize the desired DNA strands. Now scientists from Duke University have fabricated a reusable DNA chip that may help address this problem by acting as a template from which multiple batches of DNA building blocks can be photocopied. The researchers have used the device to create strands of DNA which they then folded into unique nanoscale structures.

Add this development to my other blog post  and you begin to get the picture of how the convergence of nanotechnology, DNA creation and genetic manipulation is creating an environment for a revolutionary surge in human evolution.

In the Spring of 2008 Scripps College ran an excellent and inspiring series of events entitled:  Human Evolution 2.0: Biotechnology and the Future of Human Nature (Spring 2008)

Below is the full text from the web page. I recommend you check out the page here 

At the start of the 21st century, we find ourselves on the threshold of a new age in which rapidly converging biosciences and technologies (genomics, genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, artificial reproduction, neurotechnologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, information technology, and nanotechnology) have the potential to not only dramatically increase our understanding of human life, but also radically transform human nature itself. At stake in this biotech revolution is not simply the greater control we might gain over our biological limitations (by treating diseases, alleviating pain, slowing the aging process, etc.), but, beyond these therapeutic benefits, what is at stake is the power to determine the future of our species as humans. The potential development of "designer babies," synthetic genes, genetic interventions, augmented cognitive powers, cyborgs, and of all forms of human enhancement technologies raise both hopes and fears. Will these developments make us better humans? Will they inalterably change what it means to be human? Or will they make the very notion of human nature obsolete? To help us consider the promises and risks of emerging biotechnologies, we are inviting scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, bioethicists, and neuroethicists to discuss with us the moral, social, legal, economic and political implications of the new biosciences.
View Events, Lectures, and Series Information

Shape Shifting Nanomaterials

Technology continues to moves towards achieving the gear and gizmos you'll find in \Cloud. 
The  article Shape shifting nanomaterials. gives an account of  nanomaterials that change the geometry of a nanomaterial. The scientists who developed the material described their method as "just like building different types of houses with the same bricks and tiles,"

The material is currently only able to generate two-dimensional molecular porous networks with a systematically adjustable structure using the hierarchical formation of hydrogen bonds.
This development is one possible small element in the path towards the creation of a 'Soft-Machine' outfit used by Alister.
("Two-Dimensional Molecular Porous Networks Formed by Trimesic Acid and 4,4'-Bis(4-pyridyl)biphenyl on Au(111) through Hierarchical Hydrogen Bonds: Structural Systematics and Control of Nanopore Size and Shape").

\Cloud. And you thought it was all Science Fiction

 Michael Berger provides a very readable account of progress in the field of nanotechnology and neuroscience.
Here's a cut and paste of just one small section.
What is already reality today is something called neuroprosthetics, an area of neuroscience that uses artificial microdevices to replace the function of impaired nervous systems or sensory organs. Different biomedical devices implanted in the central nervous system, so-called neural interfaces, already have been developed to control motor disorders or to translate willful brain processes into specific actions by the control of external devices.
I strongly recommend you click and read the full article here:  Nanotechnology coming to a brain near you  Michael Berger, (Copyright 2007 Nanowerk LLC),

Nanoparticles have been around and in your system for quite a while already

Nanotechnology Today: If you've ever eaten from silverware or worn copper jewelry, you've been in a perfect storm in which nanoparticles were dropped into the environment

Using a new approach developed at UO that allows for the direct observation of microscopic changes in nanoparticles over time, researchers found that silver nanoparticles deposited on the surface of their SMART Grids electron microscope slides began to transform in size, shape and particle populations within a few hours, especially when exposed to humid air, water and light. Similar dynamic behavior and new nanoparticle formation was observed when the study was extended to look at macro-sized silver objects such as wire or jewelry.

"Our findings show that nanoparticle 'size' may not be static, especially when particles are on surfaces. For this reason, we believe that environmental health and safety concerns should not be defined -- or regulated -- based upon size," said James E. Hutchison, who holds the Lokey-Harrington Chair in Chemistry.

How to build a Time Machine

headsets that pick up your thoughts

The BBC news item about headsets you can wear that pick up your brainwaves and allow you to manipulate some kind of machinery via a wireless link are the first step to the nanoparticles inside Alister.
Shrinking these sensors down by  bioengineering  organo-synthetic nanoparticles that can collectively generate a signal is a logical next step.
You may think this is all pretty far fetched but the truth is that we are already victims of the reckless use of nanomaterials in all kinds of manufactured stuff we handle.
Developing technologies that start to control the kinds of nanomaterials manufactured for direct human absorption and controlling how we are dosed up with them isn't far behind. We are already seeing research into the application of nanomedicines. You can read all about these developments in Nanomedicine

The article How Nanoparticles Enter the Human Body and Their Effects There (nanotrust dossier 003 November 2010. Published by the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, gives a very readable account of the reality of how easy it is to get nanoparticles in the human body

Here's a cut-n-paste of the introduction paragraph (My italics)
"Nanotechnology and the respective nanomaterials are employed in the research sector and also contained in many commercially available products. This means that the general public is currently being exposed to nanomaterials. This raises the question whether such materials enter the human body and whether they can trigger health effects. The potential health risks are poorly investigated. A number of studies have reported that free nanoparticles, due to their small size, can penetrate into the finest lung structures by breathing, can cause inflammatory reactions, and subsequently can enter the bloodstream. The circulatory system distributes such particles throughout the body, where they can enter other organs. Nanoparticles can also be actively or passively incorporated in cells, and harmful effects cannot be excluded. The biological effects are not based on chemical composition alone: size, shape, surface texture, aggregation state and surface charge also play an important role. The present dossier examines the potential entry sites of nanoparticles into the human body and describes several biological effects which can be triggered"


Image below from nanomedicine.

Carbon Nanotube Muscles

Carbon Nanotube Muscles Generate Giant Twist for Novel Motors
ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — New artificial muscles that twist like the trunk of an elephant, but provide a thousand times higher rotation per length, have been developed by a team of researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Wollongong in Australia, The University of British Columbia in Canada, and Hanyang University in Korea.

 (This is a scanning electron micrograph image of a 3.8-micron diameter carbon nanotube yarn that functions as a torsional muscle when filled with an ionically conducting liquid and electrochemically charged. The angle ± indicates the deviation between nanotube orientation and yarn direction for this helical yarn. (Credit: Image courtesy of the University of Texas at Dallas))

The thickness of the Soft-Machine fabric worn by Alister is due to the complex interweaving of several semi-fluid 'fabrics' each with unique properties such as thermal, regulation, strength enhancing, light sensitivity, electromagnetism, energy conversion, short-term data storage.
The critical function of networking is what makes the entire outfit function. The constant flow of design data from the Janus Supercomputer ensures the fabrics retain structural integrity when inactive and when functioning in concert with other fabrics that make up the outfit

Rainwear That Repairs Itself?

ScienceDaily (Oct. 14, 2011) — The first steps have been taken towards rainwear which repairs itself.
In co-operation with research scientists and industry colleagues in eight countries, Susie Jahren and her project team are developing the clothing of the future for professional fishermen. Midway in the EU project "Safe@Sea," the SINTEF team has high hopes of ending up with a world first: at textile coating which automatically seals small holes and tears in the surface layer of waterproof work-wear.
More on the jump >Here<

Game Theory and Cyber Security.

A Markov game approach to cyber security

Scattered throughout the Cloud Book, you'll find reference to game theory. Like the references back to real world developments in politics, the environment,  computing and nano technology I try to keep it real
Here's a link to something I refer to and extrapolate from. in the latter half of the book.

Smartphone Brain Scanner. What's on your mind?

 

Not much going on in his mind.

Speed of light?

Are objects hurtling towards the furthest reaches of the universe accelerating beyond the speed of light or is space just either more concentrated out there or thinner so photons have less space to traverse or have less to deal with on the way?

PS Vita - WAAR (Wide-Area Augmented Reality)

The next thing I'll be buying for sure!

Carbon Nanoparticles Break Barriers -- And That May Not Be Good

ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2011) — A study by researchers from the schools of science and medicine at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis examines the effects of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) on living cells. This work is among the first to study concentrations of these tiny particles that are low enough to mimic the actual exposure of an ordinary individual.

The effects on the human body of exposure to CNPs -- minute chemicals with rapidly growing applications in electronics, medicine, and many other fields -- is just beginning to be revealed. Exposure at the level studied by the IUPUI researchers is approximately equivalent to what might be the result of improperly disposing of an item such as a television or computer monitor containing CNPs, living near a CNP producing facility, or working with CNPs

The Full Story Here

What art culture media I do when not writing

Treme. CSI..Big Bang Theory. Kim Stanley Robinson. Marvel comics and movies. J.S. Bach. PS3 games - Resisitance - Infamous - Uncharted. Listening to sci-tech podcasts while walking the dog. Back in the day watched West Wing. NYPD. The Wire. Hill Street Blues.

Blood vessels made on 3D printer

Artificial blood vessels made on a 3 D printer may
soon be used for transplants of lab -created
organs.
Until now, the stumbling block in tissue engineering
has been supplying artificial tissue with nutrients that
have to arrive via capillary vessels.Blood vessels made on 3D printer

Google bots hacked by Netgrafs

In my nanopunk novel 'Cloud' (working title), the Situationist/Anonymous alliance have a hacking tool known as the Netgraf. This seeks out politically  charged images and propoganda 'in transit and replaces them.
In the 27th August edition of "New Scientist" in the article "Poisoned Pictures" by Jeff Hecht, you can read about a hijack which causes a google bot redirection that works to the same principle.

Early work towards the Soft-Machine Outfit

In the Nanopunk scifi novel 'The Cloud Connection', the Soft-Machine outfit Alister finds is a fluid programmable substance that can adapt its properties to suit different situations. It receives design instructions over the wireless Cloud network from Janus, a globally connected supercomputer.
The video and text below (from the Cornell Creative Machines lab) illustrate the early developments that led to the manufacture of the Soft-Machine.
In the Soft-Machine, the basic components have been significantly improved and refined through advances in nanotechnology and bio-mutation of genetically engineers biological compounds and nanotechnology to form a fluid that defaults to a super-strong, malleable fabric condition.

Cornell Creative Machines Lab

"A major challenge in fluidic assembly is the dynamically programmable fabrication of arbitrary geometries from basic components. Current approaches require predetermination of either the assembly machinery or the component interfaces for the specific target geometries. This research persues an alternative concept that exploits self-assembly forces locally but directs these forces globally, allowing fabrication and manipulation of target structures without tailoring the substrate or interfaces. By controlling the flow in a microfluidic chamber, components are directed to their target locations where local interactions align and bond them. Following this approach, we have so far demonstrated the experimental assembly of structures composed of two to ten components."

Electricity generating nanofibres.

You starting to get the Picture?
The technologies in The Cloud Connection are not pure science fiction. In labs across the globe people, nano-scientists are already developing the first stages of the materials and technologies you'll find in 'The Cloud Connection'

New Nanofiber Tech Could Make Your Clothes Positively Electrifying
Forget grades of wool—the clothing of the future's going to be measured in millivolts. Researchers at UC-Berkeley have created electricity-generating nanofibers that could someday be woven into your clothing.
The fibers are about 100 times thinner than a human hair, but can generate electrical outputs of up to 30 millivolts. Even better, their piezoelectric properties allow them to mechanical stress and twisting into electricity:
Full article on the jump here

Nanoparticles absorbed through skin

Scientists are finding that particles that are barely there – tiny objects known as nanoparticles that have found a home in electronics, food containers, sunscreens, and a variety of applications – can breach our most personal protective barrier: The skin.
The University of Rochester Medical Centre has found that the particles can be found in the Lymph, liver and nervous system.
This is how Alister absorbed the nanoparticles in his mothers lab.
Full article here

The Guardian ran an report on concerns about these nanoparticles. Read it here
Other scientists are experimenting using coated  nanoparticles to deliver treatment such as Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) to injured brain and spinal cords. PDF File outlining principles here

Nanotechnology: what is it and how will it affect us?

The Fundació Catalana per a la Recerca i la Innovació published a report on nanotechnology, its economical and societal implications, and its role in public policy.
The report (available in English and in Catalan) can be downloaded from their website and provides a lot of clear information on nanotechnology.

Bullet-proof. Another piece of the Soft-Machine outfit emerges.

Bulletproof Skin Made From Spider Silk : Discovery News

Fuel cell gives power and water

Chinese team develop fuel cell that can clean water as it generates electricity

BART riot police stood at the ready during an Anonymous protest.

10:00 p.m. | Updated Added information about later protest.
Anonymous may be better at hacking than at organizing a protest.
More than a dozen members of the hacker group Anonymous joined a small group of San Francisco residents Monday evening to protest the fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man by police officers last month.
The protest, which began peacefully, became more chaotic when individuals tried to disrupt the transit system at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station. Police officers in riot gear closed the station gates while protesters chanted at them.

The Full Article on the Jump Here

Quantum Encryption code Cracked. Oh Dear!

That machine behind these geeks is 'Eve', a code-breaking parlance for 'eavesdropper'
The researchers have used Eve to crack a type of coded communication called quantum key distribution (QKD), thought to have been impossible to break.
It goes something like this. QKD exploits a key principle in quantum physics - you can't measure or examine individual photons of light without altering their state.
Eve does it all with lights - a laser to be precise, to fake the photon in transit.zzzzzzz

The catacombs of Paris. Video

As mentioned in "Cloud"
Two chapters take place in the catacombs. Researching for the book was rewarding and fun.
BBC News - What lies beneath in the catacombs of Paris

Facebook, Google, Yahoo, US Intelligence and propoganda

Julian Assange is unrivalled in his ability to articulate in clear and simple terms the ways in which public and personal information is being used and manipulated to influence knowledge and perceptions of what's going on in the world.

 "Facebook, in particular, is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented. Here we have the world’s most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations, their communications with each other, their relatives, all sitting within the United States, all accessible to US intelligence. Facebook, Google, Yahoo – all these major US organizations have built-in interfaces for US intelligence. It’s not a matter of serving a subpoena – they have an interface that they have developed for US intelligence to use....Now, is it the case that Facebook is actually run by US intelligence? No, it’s not like that. It’s simply that US intelligence is able to bring to bear legal and political pressure to them. And it’s costly for them to hand out records, one by one, so they have automated the process. Everyone should understand that when they add their friends to Facebook, they are doing free work for United States’ intelligence agencies, in building this database for them."

Jump to full article Here 

Transit system cuts off mobile users - #anonymous action

AnonOps Communications: This is ao message from Anonymous to the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART)

Nanoparticles and your Body

An "electronic tattoo" could herald a revolution in the way patients are monitored and provide a breakthrough in computer gaming, say US scientists.
They used the device, which is thinner than a human hair, to monitor the heart and brain,according to a study in the journal Science.
The sensor attaches to human skin just like a temporary tattoo and can move, wrinkle and stretch without breaking.
The device can cope with being stretched and squeezed and includes solar cells which can generate power or absorb energy from electromagnetic radiation. The device is less than 50 micrometres thick. Thinner than the diameter of a human hair.
Within ten years, this device will be so small, it will be suspended in liquid. You'll just need to dip your finger into the liquid for thousands of them to be absorbed through your skin and into your nervous system.

NASA discover DNA Molecules that came from Space.

NASA-funded researchers have evidence that some building blocks of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for life, found in meteorites were likely created in space. The research gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by meteorite and comet impacts assisted the origin of life.

"People have been discovering components of DNA in meteorites since the 1960's, but researchers were unsure whether they were really created in space or if instead they came from contamination by terrestrial life," said Dr. Michael Callahan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "For the first time, we have three lines of evidence that together give us confidence these DNA building blocks actually were created in space." Callahan is lead author of a paper on the discovery appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Here's the Jump: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/dna-meteorites.html

Genetic Engineering

GREENPEACE – Genetic engineering from FEINHEIT on Vimeo.
It was this 2009 Video that inspired the Young Dr David L. Cloud to begin his career in biotechnology and genetic engineering and develop the theoretical models that would lay the foundations for safe and controlled development of genetic engineering and its application in food production in the years leading up to the Big Freeze.
His use of the Chinese J0-8 supercomputer to develop accurate forecast models of complex relationships in biology. His models set the groundwork for an 85% cut the use of genetic modified farming and food production. The programme of environmentally friendly genetic optimisation saw an increase in biodiversity that was welcomed by farmers, manufacturers and environmentalists.

Antimatter belt around Earth discovered

A small number of antiprotons lie between the Van Allen belts of trapped "normal" matter. The researchers say there may be enough to implement a scheme using antimatter to fuel future spacecraft

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14405122