Earlier this month researchers at the Global Challenges Foundation released a thorough and unsettlinglook at what threatens human civilization. They define a civilization collapse as a drastic decrease in human population size and political/economic/social complexity, globally and for an extended time.

The bad news is this is a long list. Ive broken down what the researchers see as the doomsday scenariofor each risk, and the odds that it will happen in the next 100 years. On the bright side, the odds are generally very low, but therisks should still be takenseriously.

1. Artificial intelligence

Why its bad: Machines with an extreme amount of technology could be difficult to control. They may hoard resources to boost their own intelligence, leaving little or nothing for humankind. That would be very bad for us.

Odds of wiping out civilization: 0-10 percent

2. Unknown consequences

What to be afraid of:Thats unclear. Lots of things could go wrong that we arent even considering. Remember the Fermi paradox alien life likely exists but weve had no known contact. Perhaps intelligent life always destroys itself or something else does before it can explorethe galaxy. This leaves usto guess at the causes that may have destroyed any other intelligent life.

Evaluating the risk: 0.1 percent

3. Synthetic biology

The issue: A pathogen could be engineered to target humans or a critical part of the ecosystem. If synthetic biology products became a part of our economy, that adds a vulnerability, as they could become an entry point for biowarfare or bioterrorism.

Continue reading here:

Innovations: The 12 threats to human civilization, ranked

Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology-The Next Generation of Innovation
The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology is a global leader in advanced nano materials discovery and engineering in energy, environment, healthcare, and electronics. he Waterloo Institute...

By: WebsEdgeEducation

See original here:

Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology-The Next Generation of Innovation - Video

ITV Report 19 February 2015 at 5:28am

Microscopic drones which can seek out and repair sections of artery damage could signal the future of treatments for heart disease and strokes, scientists claim.

Successful tests of the nanodrones have been carried out in mice - and researchers hope to conduct the first human trials soon.

The tiny particles are 1,000 times smaller than the tip of a human hair, and are designed to latch on to atherosclerotic plaques - hard deposits made from accumulated fat, cholesterol and calcium that build up on the walls of arteries and are prone to rupture, producing dangerous clots.

Once they have attached, they release a drug derived from a natural protein which can repair damage in the body.

In the mice, scientists found that just five weeks of treatment resulted in significant repairs to artery damage while the plaques were shrunk and stabilised, making it less likely for fragments to break off and cause clots.

Lead researcher Dr Omid Farokhzad, director of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in the United States, said nanotechnology was a pioneering new area of research and treatment for a variety of conditions.

The inflammation resolving targeted nanoparticles have shown exciting potential not only for the potential treatment of atherosclerosis as described here, but also other therapeutic areas including wound repair, for example.

I'm optimistic that with additional animal validation we will also consider the human testing of the inflammation-resolving targeted nanoparticles for a myriad of unmet medical needs.

These are exciting times in medicine and the future of nanomedicine is incredibly bright.

See the rest here:

Nanotechnology 'could signal the future of medicine', scientists claim

It's nearly 50 years since Gordon Moore predicted that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. "Moore's Law" has turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy that technologists pushed to meet, but to continue into the future, engineers will have to make radical changes to the structure or composition of circuits. One potential way to achieve this is to develop devices based on single-molecule connections.

New work by Josh Hihath's group at the UC Davis Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, published Feb. 16 in the journal Nature Materials, could help technologists make that jump. Hihath's laboratory has developed a method to measure the conformation of single molecule "wiring," resolving a clash between theoretical predictions and experiments.

"We're trying to make transistors and diodes out of single molecules, and unfortunately you can't currently control exactly how the molecule contacts the electrode or what the exact configuration is," Hihath said. "This new technique gives us a better measurement of the configuration, which will provide important information for theoretical modeling."

Until now, there has been a wide gap between the predicted electrical behavior of single molecules and experimental measurements, with results being off by as much as ten-fold, Hihath said.

Hihath's experiment uses a layer of alkanes (short chains of carbon atoms, such as hexane, octane or decane) with either sulfur or nitrogen atoms on each end that allow them to bind to a gold substrate that acts as one electrode. The researchers then bring the gold tip of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope towards the surface to form a connection with the molecules. As the tip is then pulled away, the connection will eventually consist of a single-molecule junction that contains six to ten carbon atoms (depending on the molecule studied at the time).

By vibrating the tip of the STM while measuring electrical current across the junction, Hihath and colleagues were able to extract information about the configuration of the molecules.

"This technique gives us information about both the electrical and mechanical properties of the system and tells us what the most probable configuration is, something that was not possible before," Hihath said.

The researchers hope the technique can be used to make better predictions of how molecule-scale circuits behave and design better experiments.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - Davis. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Excerpt from:

Nanotechnology: Better measurements of single molecule circuits

F2-21 AutoMax NanoTech Fuel Enhancer is the only liquid nanotechnology by Anything2you Shop Thailand
Visit us : http://anything2you.weloveshopping.com/store/product/NanoTech_Enhancer-1906863-en.html F2-21 ...

By: Anything2you Shop

View original post here:

F2-21 AutoMax NanoTech Fuel Enhancer is the only liquid nanotechnology by Anything2you Shop Thailand - Video

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology Demonstration
via YouTube Capture.

By: David Cadena

Here is the original post:

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology Demonstration - Video

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology: Synthesis of Silver nanoprisms
via YouTube Capture.

By: David Cadena

Visit link:

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology: Synthesis of Silver nanoprisms - Video

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology: Sputter coating samples for SEM
via YouTube Capture.

By: David Cadena

Read this article:

Northwest Vista Nanotechnology: Sputter coating samples for SEM - Video

Dr Chien-Lung Wang - Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) Seminar
Dr Chien-Lung Wang of National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Taiwan, delivered a WIN seminar entitled "The Role of Aromatic Structural Units of Conjugated Co...

By: Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology

Read the original post:

Dr Chien-Lung Wang - Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) Seminar - Video

Waterproof Spray for Shoes! Amazing Nanotechnology!
Always Dry is a protective nano coating that develops an ultra-thin protective layer. It is a durable coating that bonds with the surface and contains the hi...

By: Nanex Company

Read more here:

Waterproof Spray for Shoes! Amazing Nanotechnology! - Video

Experts from White House Office of Science & Technology and Arburg Will Speak on Technologies with Implications for the Future of the Plastics Industry

BETHEL, CT, U.S.A. Speakers at the plenary sessions of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC 2015 will discuss two technologies that will be key drivers in the future progress of the plastics industry: nanotechnology and additive manufacturing.

ANTEC 2015 will take place March 23-25, 2015 at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando, FL, U.S.A. and will be co-located with the NPE2015 international plastics show. The plenary speakers and their topics will be as follows:

Monday, March 23 Michael A. Meador is a NASA specialist in nanotechnology who is currently on loan to serve as the director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), National Science and Technology Council, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. His address will be titled The Role of Nanotechnology in Current and Future Space Missions.

Tuesday, March 24 Heinz Gaub is managing director of technology and engineering for Arburg, Inc. His address will be titled Arburg Plastic Freeforming: Additive Manufacturing of Plastic Parts Using Standard Granulates.

Mr. Gaubs presentation will be the forerunner of two technical sessions on additive manufacturing / 3D printing scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 and Wednesday, March 25.

Information on SPE ANTEC 2015 is available at http://www.antec.ws.

SPEs Annual Technical Conference (ANTEC) is the largest, most-respected, and well-known technical conference in the plastics industry globally. For over 70 years, ANTEC has successfully expanded from U.S. into Europe, India, and the Middle East with further expansion to global locations in 2015 and beyond. Each event features technical and business presentations on new and evolving technologies, panel discussions, as well as tutorial sessions. Networking events and student functions provide attendees with ample networking opportunities with experts from the largest industry segments.

The mission of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is to promote scientific and engineering knowledge relating to plastics worldwide and to educate industry, academia, and the public about these advances. SPE is active in educating, promoting, recognizing, and communicating technical accomplishments for all phases of plastics and plastic based-composite developments in the global transportation industry. Topic areas include applications, materials, processing, equipment, tooling, design, and development. Visit http://www.4spe.org.

Robert J. Martino Martino Communications Inc. 8 Main Street / P.O. Box 379 Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706 U.S.A. Tel: 1-914-478-0754 Email: bob@martinocommunications.com http://www.martinocommunications.com http://www.twitter.com/MartinoComms

Continued here:

SPE ANTEC Plenary Speakers address progress via 2 technologies.

Future University - Nanotechnology
More at: http://futureuniv.org/ General Information Facilities Spread Worldwide Email for Inquiries: info@futureuniv.org Departments: media@futureuniv.org students@futureuniv.org finance@futureuni...

By: Future University

View original post here:

Future University - Nanotechnology - Video

NASA TV In addition to real-time coverage of agency activitites, watch educational programming. + Watch Now + Watch NASA TV NASA Quest Challenges are FREE Web-based, interactive explorations designed to engage students in authentic scientific and engineering processes. The solutions relate to issues encountered daily by NASA personnel. + Read More Tracking a Solar Storm Challenge: Join the Tracking a Solar Storm Challenge and guide students as they learn about our suns anatomy, the space weather it generates, and why studying the sun is important. Educators are invited to register now. Challenge begins February 2013. + Read More PRODUCTS NASA Quest offers a wide range of FREE online tools and resources for teachers, students, parents and others including Web and print lesson plans, educator guides and workbooks: LCROSS Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite website. Be a part of in this exciting mission! +Go! Smart Skies (Grades 5-9) Use hands-on math to avoid air traffic conflicts. + Go! Astro-Venture (Grades 5-8) Search for and design a habitable planet. New Modules + Go!

Solar System Math (Grades 5-8) Interactive software and hands-on pre-algebra math activities + Go!

Virtual Field Trip (All Grades) Multimedia application for exploration of areas on Earth identified as analog sites to regions on Mars + Go!

SPACEWARD BOUND Home

Students and teachers participate in exploration of scientifically interesting, remote and extreme environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the Moon and Mars

Namibia: Follow the adventures of Liza & the Boys

---------

---------

Read the original:

Welcome to NASA Quest!

After more than twenty years of basic and applied research, nanotechnologies are gaining in commercial use. But it has been difficult to find out how many nano consumer products are on the market and which merchandise could be called nano. While not comprehensive, this inventory gives the public the best available look at the 1,600+ manufacturer-identified nanotechnology-based consumer products introduced to themarket.

This "living" inventory is a resource for consumers, citizens, policymakers, and others who are interested in learning about how nanotechnology is entering the marketplace.

By crowdsourcing expertise our goal is to create a 'living' inventory for the exchange of accurate information on nano enabled consumer products. Registered users are encouraged to submit relevant data pertaining to nanoparticle function, location, properties, potential exposure pathways, toxicity and life cycle assessment. Registered users can update product information and add new products. You can register for an account here or submit new and updated information to nano@wilsoncenter.org.

More about this inventory

Response to recent stories surounding food products containing nano-scale titanium dioxide

Excerpt from:

Consumer Products Inventory - Nanotechnology - Project on ...

Story highlights Advancements in nanotechnology have created robots small enough to enter the human body Using magnets, they can be steered to the desired location to target diseases Clinical trials on human patients, targeting the eye, are about to begin Other potential uses include environmental cleanup operations, such as oil spills

They are ready to be injected into the most delicate areas of a human body -- the heart and the brain -- to deliver drugs with extreme precision or work like an army of nano surgeons, operating from within.

If it all sounds like science fiction, that's because it is: the plot of the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage revolves largely around this concept.

In the film, four people board a miniaturized submarine to enter the bloodstream of an American scientist, left comatose by the Russians as a result of a Cold War quarrel over the technology. They only have an hour to remove a life-threatening blood clot before they return to full size. The crew manage to escape the body in the nick of time via a teardrop.

But reality has a way of catching up with our fantasies, and nanotechnology is yet another field of science that bears that promise.

At ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, mechanical engineer Brad Nelson and his team have worked on nanobots for a decade, and are now ready to think big: "We're making microscopic robots that are guided by externally generated magnetic fields for use in the human body," he told CNN.

The first to suggest that you could one day "swallow the surgeon" was beloved physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman. He coined the idea in the provocative 1959 talk "There's plenty of room at the bottom", which is widely considered the first conceptual argument for nanotechnology.

"You put the mechanical surgeon inside the blood vessel and it goes into the heart and 'looks' around," Feynman said, "It finds out which valve is the faulty one and takes a little knife and slices it out."

Nelson's microrobots might not yet have a little knife, but they sure have something special: their shape is inspired by the common E.coli bacteria, which is propelled by a rotating "tail" called the flagellum.

"Bacteria have a rotary motor," he explains, "Now, we can't make that motor, we don't have the technology for that, but we can use magnetism to move these things, so we actually take these flagella and we magnetize them, which allows them to swim."

See the original post:

Meet the Nanobot

Michio Kaku (2015) "The Future of Nanotechnology"
Subscribe For Michio Kaku #39;s Speeches, Interviews, and Debates!

By: Michio Kaku Videos

Read this article:

Michio Kaku (2015) "The Future of Nanotechnology" - Video

NYP Nanotechnology and Material Science (NMS) Smart Materials
An exclusive video of Nanotechnology and Material Sciences, Smart Materials from NYP.

By: Marcus Tan

Read the original post:

NYP Nanotechnology and Material Science (NMS) Smart Materials - Video

LAS 432 WEEK 7 NANOTECHNOLOGY IN MANUFACTURING
http://www.seetutorials.com/las-432/las-432-week-7-nanotechnology-in-manufacturing/ Nanotechnology in Manufacturing DeVry University Thesis Statement: This t...

By: Alton Howard

More here:

LAS 432 WEEK 7 NANOTECHNOLOGY IN MANUFACTURING - Video

Dr Mario Leclerc - Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) Seminar
Dr Mario Leclerc, Canada Research Chair in Electroactive and Photoactive Polymers, and Professor at Universit Laval, Canada, delivered a WIN seminar entitle...

By: Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology

Here is the original post:

Dr Mario Leclerc - Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) Seminar - Video

Iran visit of Leader to the exhibition of achievements in nanotechnology 2
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran should continue to make more progress in the field of nanotechnology and biotechnology, which can serve as a model for...

By: ali javid

The rest is here:

Iran visit of Leader to the exhibition of achievements in nanotechnology 2 - Video