Update 2026.01

[Foresight Institute]

** Artificial molecular machine mimics ribosomal peptide synthesis
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** Foresight Update 26.01 - February 15, 2013
ISSN 1078-9731
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** Nanotech News
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Discuss these news stories at http://foresight.org/nanodot.

** In this issue:
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* Toward molecular fabrication: formation of distinct bond types by STM
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5510)
* Synthetic biology industrial revolution inspires hope for molecular
manufacturing (http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5503)
* Artificial molecular machine synthesizes a small peptide
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5498)
* Controlled stepwise rotation on a single atom bearing
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5491)
* Nanometer-scale optical positioning and focusing
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5485)


** Toward molecular fabrication: formation of distinct bond types by STM
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5510)
------------------------------------------------------------

Scanning probe manipulation of individual atoms and small molecules were
amongst the early laboratory successes that helped bring broad scale attention
to the feasibility and potential of nanoscale technologies, especially
molecular fabrication.

... Going a tremendous step beyond the basics, Wilson Ho of University of
California, Irvine and colleagues recently reported the selective formation of
two distinct types of chemical bonds between gold adatoms and the sulfur
[atoms] of ...

** Synthetic biology industrial revolution inspires hope for molecular
manufacturing (http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5503)
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Synthetic biology and molecular manufacturing/productive nanosystems have in
common the effort to rationally engineer systems to make and assemble parts for
complex molecular machine systems. The effort in synthetic biology to design
complex biological systems in a hierarchical architecture from
well-characterized molecular parts is accelerating. ...


** Artificial molecular machine synthesizes a small peptide
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5498)
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Scientists in the UK have succeeded in mimicking [the basic process of
biological ribosomal protein synthesis by] using a simple artificial molecular
machine bearing no resemblance to the ribosome and an order of magnitude
smaller in linear dimension than the ribosome. ...


** Controlled stepwise rotation on a single atom bearing
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5491)
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It is difficult to imagine any design for a mature molecular manufacturing
system that does not require molecular motors. Now, as part of a plan to build
more complex automated molecular machines, an international team has designed
and built a molecular motor powered by electrons from a scanning tunneling
microscope tip that uses a single atom as a bearing. ...


** Nanometer-scale optical positioning and focusing
(http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=3D5485)
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One of the core concepts of molecular manufacturing is that nanotechnology will
evolve to the point that it will become possible to position small groups of
reactive atoms at atomically precise desired locations on a work piece in order
to build arbitrarily complex atomically precise structures. For several decades
optical tweezers have been used to trap and manipulate micrometer-size objects,
... Two recently published papers raise the possibility that this technology
might evolve through the use of surface plasmon polaritons to enable atomically
precise positioning....

- Nanodot posts by James Lewis (http://www.foresight.org/about/Lewis.html) and
Stephanie C.


** Foresight Events and News
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** Report: The 2013 Foresight Technical Conference
Illuminating Atomic Precision
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Conference Co-Chairs
Larry S. Millstein, President, Foresight Institute
J. Fraser Stoddart, Board of Trustees Professor, Northwestern University

Diamond Sponsor: The Thiel Foundation
Silver Sponsors: Autodesk, Zyvex Labs
Bronze Sponsor: Millen, White, Zelano & Branigan, PC

The 2013 Foresight Technical Conference - Illuminating Atomic Precision - was
held on 11-13 January at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Cabana in Palo Alto. The
conference was designed to bring together world leading researchers in five
major areas of importance to developing atomically precise technologies,
blending in-field conversation with cross-disciplinary stimulation. Over 35
invited speakers presented their latest results and perspectives on a wide
variety of subjects relating to the development of atomic precision
technologies. Their presentations revealed tremendous across the board progress
over the past decade toward the processes, materials and devices first hinted
at by Richard Feynman and explored in much greater detail by K. Eric Drexler.
The conference had a palpable feeling of great excitement - of being just past
an inflection point. And, by all accounts of the participants it was a huge
success, stimulating not only imaginative extrapolation and some out of the box
creatively but also numerous real world collaborations. (See participant's
comments below.)

Pre-conference bios and abstracts are available on the conference website:
www.foresight.org/conference (https://www.foresight.org/conference/) . Videos
of the presentations will be posted to the conference website as soon as they
are edited. (All postings are with the speakers consent only. Some of the
presentations contained confidential information and will not be posted.) A
summary of conference highlights will be published in the next month or two in
Nature Nanotechnology. More information may be available directly from the
individual speakers.

Plans are now underway for the next technical conference. Keep an eye out for
additional information on the foresight website and in future updates.

Quotations by permission from the evaluation forms filled out by conference
participants
"Best conference ever" - Anon
"An excellent blend of fascinating materials some of which I understood and
some of which left me eager for a break and some friendly explanation" - Kary
Mullis
"Great Conference - wide-ranging, top rate research, excellent
interactions" - Art Olson
"A great forum to strike up new research collaborations" - Joe Lyding
"The best [Foresight] conference I've attended in over 30 years of attending
such conferences" - Bill Goddard III
"Extremely entertaining and worthwhile." - John Randall
"The lunch discussion was valuable enough to justify [attending]." - Adam M.
Glickman
"Formidable! Intellectual overload in a good way. Best Foresight Conference
I've attended." - Marisa Alma McGinnis
"Amazing progress over last decade." - David Gustavson
"It was amazing to see how far the science has gotten." - Max Sims
"Historic. Very dense information content. [And] Very enjoyable!" - Anon
"Superlative interdisciplinary group engaged with a sense of group purpose
meeting as a jovial, collegial conclave ... definitely breeding collaboration
to accelerate innovation."
"Enthralling, broad based but cutting edge inspiring at every level." - Anon
"Great conference!" - Anon (more than one)

For conference information (https://www.foresight.org/conference/)
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** 2012 Challenge Grant
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The 2012 Challenge Grant has been completed.
Your donations were doubled.
Many thanks for your support of Foresight!


** Other Upcoming Activities of Interest
------------------------------------------------------------

FNANO13 (http://www.cs.duke.edu/FNANO/)
April 15-18, Snowbird, Utah, USA
Foundations of Nanoscience: Self-Assembled Architectures and Devices
Topics include experimental and theoretical studies of self-assembled arch=
itectures and devices, at scales ranging from nano-scale to meso-scale.

Imagine Nano 2013 (http://www.imaginenano.com/GENERAL/index.php)
April 23-26, 2013 Bilbao (Spain)
Bringing together Nanoscience & Nanotechnology

Nanotech Conference & Expo 2013 (http://www.techconnectworld.com/Nanotech2013/)
May 12-16, 2013
Washington, DC USA
Don't miss this year in Washington, D.C. as we deliver the World's top
innovations and the Nation's leading R&D agency programs!

2013 ASME Annual Meeting
(http://www.asme.org/events-details/conferences/2013-asme-annual-meeting)
June 21-26,2013 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA


** About the Foresight Institute
Foreseeing Future Technologies
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Advancements in technologies such as nanotech, robotics, and biotech are
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