X-Message-Number: 12152 Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 15:40:15 -0700 From: Olaf Henny <> Subject: Chemically assembled nanocomps. John Krug; Doug Skrecky Re: Message #12147 (JOHN KRUG) >Hi: > In the Friday, July 16, 1999 headlines, it was announced that the >first components of CAENs i.e. "chemically assembled electronic >nanocomputers" may be working in as little as two years. This is from >the San Francisco Chronicle by their science writer Carl T. Hall. >I haven't checked, but the article could be still on line at sfgate.com. >You experts know about this stuff. It's good that it got out to the >rest of >us. I hope that medical applications of this >technology get top priority and widespread application. Good news for >a change! > Best Regards! John B. Krug This message reminds me of one, which was posted by Doug Skrecky as derived from <http://www.nanothink.com> (I think the year was 1996). The story seemed to me an enormous breakthrough at the time, especially the switch, claimed to be only 1.5nm in size. You could line up 200 of those over the length of a 300nm long bacterium: BREAKING STORY!!! NANONEWS UPDATE--JUNE 5th Nanomachines from "Down Under"! Australian scientists, after a decade of secret research, unveiled a microscopic machine Thursday that could revolutionize disease diagnosis and drug testing. The "nanomachine" is a tiny biosensor thatcombines biology and physics -- with moving parts the size of molecules -- to detect molecules and identify minute amounts of substances. Research team leader Bruce Cornell said the sensitive device can detect a range of substances, including drugs, hormones, viruses and pesticides and can identify gene sequences. "Tiny" Australian nanomachine gives answers in a nanosecond. CANBERRA, June 5 (Reuters). Australian scientists, after a decade of secret research, on Thursday unveiled a microscopic machine that could revolutionise disease diagnosis and drug testing. The "nanomachine" is a tiny biosensor that combines biology and physics -- with moving parts the size of molecules -- to detect molecules and identify minute amounts of substances. Research team leader Bruce Cornell said the sensitive device can detect a range of substances, including drugs, hormones, viruses and pesticides and can identify gene sequences. "This biosensor is a unique blend of the ability of biology to identify individual types of molecule in complex mixtures, with the speed, convenience and low cost of microelectronics,'' Cornell, from the Cooperative Research Centre for Molecular Engineering and Technology, said in a statement. The sensor, tipped to be a billion dollar bonanza for Australia when it goes into commercial production in about two years, is the world's first functioning nanomachine -- machines with parts measured in billionths of a metre. Cornell and his team say it is so sensitive that if one sugar cube was thrown into Australia's world famous Sydney Harbour, it could measure the increased sugar content. The device will allow simple detection of almost all diseases within minutes from a small blood or saliva sample -- ending the need to wait days for pathology test results. It can also identify minute amounts of drugs and bacteria. "We are designing them to be very simple to operate, we've even had corporate lawyers working them,'' said Cornell. Using a technique described as ``biology on a stick,'' the machine essentially copies the body's sensing mechanisms by chemically tethering a synthetic membrane onto a piece of plastic. The central component is a tiny electrical switch, 1.5 billionths of a metre in size, which acts as an ion-channel. "Our technology converts immediately the biochemistry into an electrical signal,'' Cornell said. The nanomachine is inserted into a hand-held unit, which holds the sample and interprets the nanomachine's electronic signals. The nanomachines are also expected to be used to monitor food safety and quality and environmental monitoring. End of story When I had not heard anything further about this device, by August 1997, I had the following exchange with John Ruder at Nanothinc: At 11:29 AM 8/27/97 -0700, I wrote to Nanothinc: I have been trying to find out more about this Australian nano-scale biosensor project through your website at http://www.nanothinc.com/News/current.html, but when I click on:... "Read the full text of this historic first step in nanotechnology!" ...I get the Infoseek search engine When I click on "Bruce Cornell" I get: "Bond University DSTC Tools Group Human-Computer Communications Centre School of Information Technology Presentations | Software | Publications Staff | Documents" Neither Bruce Cornell nor nano-technology are mentioned anywhere within their site. Unless you can connect me to a site, which has more detailed information, I am beginning to think, that this whole thing is a hoax. Best regards, Olaf Henny Return-Path: <> X-Sender: Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 12:40:02 -0700 To: From: John Ruder <> Subject: Re: Australian Biosensor (repeat Mail) Olaf, Thank you for your email. We have been pretty busy over here, and have not kept up with the progress of this story. I have been trying to find info about it myself and am surpirised at my inability to quickly find the info in my first few searches. As I see it, there are a several possiblities: 1) It is a hoax. I am inclined to say that this is not the case, as we recieved the original story from Reuters (see below), and they tend to be pretty reliable. But it is entirely possible that it is. 2) They simiply are not on the Internet or do not use it effectively. This is a possibility, but doubtful. I have a hard time believing that a research institution would not leverage the Internet to the maximum possible benefit. They certainly have the know how. 3) I think the most likely possiblity is that they buried the story. They may have realized that they did not want the attention that their announcement generated. Their backers may have wanted to keep a low profile before they went to market; the device may still have bugs and not work 100% of the time; they do not have the public relations resources to deal with all of the inquiries and wanted to go back to their research. These are all possible reasons why they may have buried the story. That means that the information is probably still availible but hard to find. I am going to make a concerted attempt to find further information on the story. I will let you know if I have any success. Nanothinc needs to know, for it is a significant breakthrough in Nanotechnology, and if it is bogus, we need to have the correct information on it. If you find anything on your own, please drop me a line. Here is the story that we originally recieved: ---------------------------------------------------------------- (For the purpose of this posting, I have moved the story, which John Ruder attached, further up. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Regards, John Ruder ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Nanothinc http://www.nanothinc.com Tel:(415) 447-0787 Fax:(415) 567-4464 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=12152