What is the Future of Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people through the fields of nano-manufacturing, nano-surfacing, and nano-medicine.

Although some of what you may hear about Nanotechnology seems exaggerated, futuristic, or even incredible, chances are it is true. Even the idea that in the near future nanoscale pincers measuring only one or two atoms in size will be used to manipulate other individual atoms to create an unending array of new products.

Here are just a few things that Nanotechnology is producing:

• Drill bits that almost go dull

• Eyeglasses that will never scratch

• Antifreeze proteins that prevent damage during low-temperature transportation of human organs for transplantation

• Transistors 100 times smaller and 1,000 times faster than current technology allows

• Nanoshells that protect transplanted pancreatic cells from attack by the immune system, helping to reverse diabetes

• Automobile tires that virtually never go flat

• Kitchen and bathroom windows that never need cleaning, but stay clear and transparent

• A unique therapy that kills only cancer cells by target heat transfer

 

Another near term product we can expect to see is a cheap, safe, anti-virus, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal hand cream that kills microbes on contact. While the above items are either already here, or very near, other products are still on the drawing board, but even more exciting.

What about a super-computer that holds the entire Library of Congress, but is only the size of a cube of sugar. Or, bio-composites smaller than a human cell that can increase the strength of your bones and tendons. Science fiction? No, it's Nanotechnology.

"Nanotechnology has given us the tools... to play with the ultimate toy box of nature - atoms and molecules. Everything is made of it... The possibilities to create new things appear limitless." Horst Stomer, Nobel Laureate

To help understand the future of Nanotechnology just think of it as engineering at the molecular level with raw materials such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms. The engineers will arrange these atoms in new ways to develop materials that are stronger, smaller, tougher, but also lighter, more resilient and less expensive. All of this, while at the same time protecting the environment by not depleting un-renewable resources.

For many, the most anticipated benefit of Nanotechnology will be the medical breakthroughs for curing disease, and improving life, maybe even lengthening it without aging.

The Nanotech Report says it this way, "We now know that DNA is the molecular blueprint for roughly 400,000 to 500,000 proteins running around the human body. DNA creates protein 'messengers' that control everything - how you react to a flu bug...when your hair turns gray ... whether certain cells have a propensity to begin growing uncontrollably (cancer)... whether your kidneys fail... or your eyesight deteriorates.. and so on.

We also know that each of those 400,000 to 500,000 protein messengers can be turned 'on' or 'off' like a switch. Nanotechnology will one day enable us to 'turn off' the switches that do the things we don't want - like cause aging or cancer or kidney failure - you have the key to ending disease!

And if we can keep the 'good messengers' from being turned off, we can extend youthful vigor, maintain lean body mass, and postpone aging.

Nanotechnology will soon - many say in the next 10 to 20 years - eliminate most of the more dreaded and common diseases."