Originally posted by: bobsmith1492
"nanotechnology" - waaaay too broad for me to see the meaning; could you define it (beyond what I know it as, "anything on a nanometer scale") - MEMS, miniaturized ____? Is there anything particularly useful coming out of small-scale research? From what I've heard it's mostly hype and a buzzword for researchers to get instant money... I realize, given your username, that you may be involved somehow; I don't want to sound like I'm dismissing it, but I'm skeptical and would like to know more.
I'm a web developer
, just have a keen interest in the sciences, but in the future, who knows.
Nanotechnology doesn't have a very rigorous definition, it's generally considered science on the sub 100nm scale. In comparison, a single atom is between ~0.2-2nm. It's well beyond hype at this point. The most recent cancer treatments coming out are dependant on engineered nanocapsules, antibacterial paint where the surface has 'pins' sticking out on which bacteria are literally unable to live. It's already reducing deaths by infection in hospitals. They're starting to use nanowires to effectively read the brain, for people with damage that leaves them unable to move or verbally communicate. Thinking of a word in this case would display it on a screen. Although there were already previous technologies for this(fMRI, infrared), it's conceptual, the size of the wire itself allows for communication with individual neurons, which allows for very densely packed array that could theoretically communicate both ways with the brain. They're also on track for developing a 'nanopore' approach at gene sequencing, if cheap enough it would lead to individualized medical care. Along with a bunch of other products I can barely remember, including UV blocking creams using buckyballs, superior to current creams.
Although nanotubes have not yet had any practical applications that I know of, that's probably the most ambitious field in nanotech. Exceptional strength and electrical properties, a vast number of uses, including ridiculously fast computers.
The ultimate hope for nanotechnology is to create nano machines. The idea is to have a self contained system with an atomic processor, effectively a nanobot. Such a device could potentially be engineered to completely restore all biological damage in the body and as some are convinced will happen, to expand the mental capabilities of the brain by engineering artificial neurons superior to our own, and ultimately use it to defer consciousness to any chosen substrate, such as an external computer. The jury is still out on that one, some scientists are convinced it will happen, others doubt it. Either way, decades to go before we find out. We've had a good start though, and China is going to start pouring serious cash into nanotech in the coming years, but then just about every country is planning the same.
As for biotechnology, the most funding in this field is going to agriculture. A lot of the foods you eat have already been genetically modified, and there's certainly a lot of potential left for creating more nutritious, cheaper and more weather resistant crops. A lot of recent medical advanced for curing infectious disease seem to be stemming more from nanotech rather than biotech, but there's great hope in RNA interference, which is already being used for a number of inherited diseases, and of course stem cells offer great hope, and are already being used in several countries with lower standards required to offer treatment.
Deep augumentation, yup, to increase 'thinking'. Artificial hippocampuses have already been created to help people with anterograde amnesia, but at present with limited success because the brain is a complicated place
. The main problem is that current technology is just too bulky, incapable of interfacing with the brain at a low level. Nanotechnology is already starting to bring sweeping changes to neuroscience. Although one way communication to a limited extend is used for medical reasons, some hope to bring the technology to a level where two way communication can be safely used for recreation, but again, such a technology isn't exactly around the corner, and social acceptance will certainly be difficult to obtain. A more straight forward approach to increasing brain power without resorting to brain computers is to simply increase the amount of stem cells that are present in the brain. Right now there's concern about certain stem cells becoming cancerous, but just last week it has been figured out how to identify cells that are prone to such malignancy, so once they figure out how to filter out the bad batch of cells, it's a step to more healthy brain cells. This will certainly first come to the elderly, whom happen to have particularly reduced mental capabilities, and if proven reliable, likely become available to the masses. Then again, in China, medical treament does not require extensive trials, which is why potentially dangerous stem cell treatments are already available there. I figure if you only have a few months to live otherwise, you have nothing to lose, so China's ruthless medical system does have it's advantages. You don't have to be defective to get stem cells, you just have to have money
. The easier stem cells become to extract and the easier they can be filtered and if necessary, genetically modified and multiplied, the cheaper it will get, much like any technology, soon enough anyone will be able to pay for it. I personally don't like the idea of stem cell enhancement of the brain, it seems at best limited and potentially volatile. In fact all I'm really looking forward to is mind transfer, so that enhancing the brain will only require a larger hard drive
Living long enough to experience the collapse of the universe is a nice touch too.
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