Transistors are the fundamental building blocks of electronic gadgets, so finding ways to control them with biological signals could provide a route towards integrating electronics with the body.
Aleksandr Noy at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and colleagues chose to control their transistor with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the molecular fuel found in nearly all living cells.
The new transistor is made up of a carbon nanotube, which behaves as a semiconductor, bridging the gap between two metal electrodes and coated with an insulating polymer layer that leaves the middle section of the nanotube exposed. The entire device is then coated again, this time with a lipid bi-layer similar to those that form the membranes surrounding our body’s cells.
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Noy claims that this is the first example of a truly integrated bioelectronic system. “I hope that this type of technology could be used to construct seamless bioelectronic interfaces to allow better communication between living organisms and machines.”
To boost this approach, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a method for creating supramolecular assemblies of gold nanoparticles that function as highly efficient photothermal agents of a size designed to optimize their delivery to tumors.
Hsien-Rong Tseng and his colleagues reported their work in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Dr. Tseng is a member of the Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.
In the paper supercapacitor, all the necessary components are integrated onto a single sheet of paper in the form of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). High-speed printing could be used to print the SWNTs directly onto a piece of paper - anything from Xerox paper to newspaper and even grocery ads will work.
“We believe we are the first to extract electrons out of living plant cells,” said WonHyoung Ryu, the lead author of the paper published in the March issue of Nano Letters. Ryu conducted the experiments while he was a research associate for mechanical engineering Professor Fritz Prinz.
The Stanford research team developed a unique, ultra-sharp nanoelectrode made of gold, specially designed for probing inside cells. They gently pushed it through the algal cell membranes, which sealed around it, and the cell stayed alive. From the photosynthesizing cells, the electrode collected electrons that had been energized by light and the researchers generated a tiny electrical current.
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In this experiment, the researchers intercepted the electrons just after they had been excited by light and were at their highest energy levels. They placed the gold electrodes in the chloroplasts of algae cells and siphoned off the electrons to generate the tiny electrical current.
The result, the researchers say, is electricity production that doesn’t release carbon into the atmosphere. The only byproducts of photosynthesis are protons and oxygen.
“This is potentially one of the cleanest energy sources for energy generation,” Ryu said. “But the question is, is it economically feasible?”
The law states that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit will double every 18 months. More than 50 years old, this law is still in effect, but to extend it as long as 2020 will require a change from mere transistor scaling to novel packaging architectures such as so-called 3D integration, the vertical integration of chips.
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Last week, IBM, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) signed a four-year collaborative project called CMOSAIC to understand how the latest chip cooling techniques can support a 3D chip architecture. Unlike current processors, the CMOSAIC project considers a 3D stack-architecture of multiple cores with a interconnect density from 100 to 10,000 connections per millimeter square. Researchers believe that these tiny connections and the use of hair-thin, liquid cooling microchannels measuring only 50 microns in diameter between the active chips are the missing links to achieving high-performance computing with future 3D chip stacks.
“In the United States, data centers already consume two percent of the electricity available with consumption doubling every five years. In theory, at this rate, a supercomputer in the year 2050 will require the entire production of the United States’ energy grid,” said Prof. John R. Thome
Gonna try and do one of these monthly for about a year or so. Will mostly be Nanotech oriented, may leak over into neuroscience developments from time to time.
So, How close are we to grey-gooing ourselves? Let’s try to find out together, shall we?
Digging deep into diamonds - “The new device offers a bright, stable source of single photons at room temperature, an essential element in making fast and secure computing with light practical.
The finding could lead to a new class of nanostructured diamond devices suitable for quantum communication and computing, as well as advance areas ranging from biological and chemical sensing to scientific imaging.”
A Stellar, Metal-Free Way to Make Carbon Nanotubes - Meteorite’s containing naturally formed space-Carbon Nanotubes could help us in their design and possibly shed a bit of light on the way carbon is seeded on planets
You live in a very unhealthy world and probably don’t take steps to reduce your risk of health problems, but have no fear - Medibots could be fixing your damaged equipment before you know it.
“Peratech makes an electrically conductive material called quantum tunneling composite (QTC). When the material is compressed electrons jump between two conductors separated by polymer insulating layer covered with metallic nanoparticles.
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QTC robot skin could perhaps let a robot know precisely where it has been touched, and with how much pressure. It could also be helpful in designing machines that have better grasping capabilities, and for developing more natural ways for machines to interact with humans.”
Organic Transistor Paves Way for New Generations of Neuro-Inspired Computers - “For the first time, CNRS and CEA researchers have developed a transistor that can mimic the main functionality of a synapse. This organic transistor, based on pentacene and gold nanoparticles and known as a NOMFET (Nanoparticle Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor), has opened the way to new generations of neuro-inspired computers, capable of responding in a manner similar to the nervous system.”
Them gold nanoparticles sure have been worth all the years of failed alchemist looking for their philospher’s stone. See:NanoGold used in Cancer Treatment.
The Self-Assembling Nanoparticles into Complex Nanostructures article over at H+ Magazine discusses the issue: “These parts, in turn, can be assembled by positioning mechanisms of assorted sizes to build macroscopic (visible) but still atomically-precise products. The concept is that a functioning nanofactory will create virtually any product at the cost of only the input raw material and energy.”
Phase II is powered by Spacial Ain Nanobot clusters operating on military grade Harpocrates Cloaking EMF circuits relayed through post-Athielic databases.
