Engadget http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Microscopic wheel will spin straight to your heart, literally]]>http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/04/microscopic-wheel-will-spin-straight-to-your-heart-literally/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/04/microscopic-wheel-will-spin-straight-to-your-heart-literally/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/04/microscopic-wheel-will-spin-straight-to-your-heart-literally/#commentsMicroscopic wheel will spin straight to your heart, literally
Sure, you've got an iPod Nano in your pocket and a VIA Nano in your custom PC, but we're willing to bet you don't have any nanomachines in your arteries at the moment. Two scientists from the Universities of Sheffield and Barcelona, Ramin Golestanian and Pietro Tierno, hope to change that by turning your bodily fluids into pathways for their tiny devices. The things are comprised of two beads, measuring 1 and 3 micrometers, attached to each other using strands of DNA. A magnetic field gets 'em spinning in the right direction and the increased surface area of the larger bead moves the contraption forward at a blistering 1 micrometer per second (shown in a short but sweet video below). Now, if the good doctors could just build 11 of these things and get them in a 4-3-3 formation we'd finally know where to place our money for next year's nanosoccer RoboCup Open.

[Via Scotsman.com]

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Microscopic wheel will spin straight to your heart, literally originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>micromachinesnanonanomachinespietro tiernoPietroTiernoramin golestanianRaminGolestanianuniversity of barcelonauniversity of sheffieldUniversityOfBarcelonaUniversityOfSheffieldThu, 04 Dec 2008 15:28:00 EST<![CDATA[Edinburgh scientists craft microscopic nanomachines]]>http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/01/edinburgh-scientists-craft-microscopic-nanomachines/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/01/edinburgh-scientists-craft-microscopic-nanomachines/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/01/edinburgh-scientists-craft-microscopic-nanomachines/#commentsThere's apparently a good bit of conflict at the University of Edinburgh, as we've got one esteemed fellow claiming that nanotech products are potentially dangerous, and now we've got a professor of chemistry insinuating that his nanomachines can change the world. Regardless of their personal differences, David Leigh has borrowed an idea from 1867 in crafting "a minuscule motor that could lead to the creation of microscopic nanomachines," and while he credits the "Maxwell's Demon" as its inspiration, he hopes these plans will actually lead to something substantial. The bantam motor is entirely solar-powered, and has been "devised to trap molecules as they move in a certain direction under their natural motion." Preliminary tests have shown a nanomachine moving a drop of water uphill by using molecular force, which gives researchers hope that this discovery will allow these diminutive machines to "do things that are much closer to what biological machines do." Of course, even Mr. Leigh admits that predicting just how this can or will effect society is difficult, but considering that he's aiming to to bring things that "could happen in a Harry Potter film" to fruition, we won't count him out just yet.

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Edinburgh scientists craft microscopic nanomachines originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Edinburghlightlight-poweredmachinesmicroscopicMolecularnanomachinesnanotechnologyresearchschoolsciencesmallsolar-poweredsunsunlighttinyuniversityThu, 01 Feb 2007 15:09:00 EST