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Phase III – Stealth Is.

“In the quietude, you may find solace in knowing.” “In knowing, you will find the solace of quietude.”

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Tag: biotech


Biological artist Eduardo Kac has combined his own DNA with that of a petunia to create a “plantimal” flower that he calls Edunia. The Edunia expresses Kac’s DNA exclusively in its red veins.

From the Artist website:

The central work in the “Natural History of the Enigma” series is a plantimal, a new life form Kac created and that he calls “”, a genetically-engineered flower that is a hybrid of Kac and Petunia. The Edunia expresses Kac’s DNA exclusively the red veins of the flower. The gene Kac selected is responsible for the identification of foreign bodies. In this work, it is precisely that which identifies and rejects the other that the artist integrates into the other, thus creating a new kind of self that is partially flower and partially human.

CUHK iGEM 2010 team is formed by a group of undergraduates and instructors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Our project is to create a brand new biological cryptography system. We harness the incredible adaptability of simple organisms in the tortured environment to make sure that the message stored can be left undisturbed regardless of any environmental changes. Employing a specially people are denied access to obtain the information.

As the leakage of national confidential information and personal privacy become more and more serous, we believe that this biological cryptography can help protect the important information of the mankind. The innovative cryptography system heralds a new era of information security.

This year in the iGEM 2010 competition, we will use bacteria not only as a biological data storage unit but also to integrate an intrinsic encryption system with it.

With the advancement of electronic engineering after the World War II, more complex ciphers are developed, which plays a pivotal role in the security system of this information explosive age. However mathematical advances result in the weakening or even attack on the ciphers. It makes us rethink whether data storage and encryption in computer is the only way to ensure data safety

Using bacteria as the information storage device is not a new idea, Bancroft’s group had long proposed the storage of information in DNA early in 2001. Yachie’s group[2] had also been working on the bacterial data storage method in Bacillus subtilis in 2007. In contrast to electronic data storage, the nature of bacterial data storage depends on the bacteria one would pick – Bacillus subtilis would create extra copies of the data, inserting into their genomes which would further safeguard the information; Deinococcus radiodurans, one of the most radioresistant organisms known, would survive even under the electromagnetic pulse and radiation after the nuclear attack. But how are we actually improving the security system by simply storing information in bacteria?

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.

Artificial Skin will use Quantum Tunneling – so now your sexbots will actually feel your love through non-local entanglement sensors? Kind of:

“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.

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.

Of course, everyone’s been wigging out about the emerging actualization of William Gibson‘s Nanofaxes via “3D printing” which is actually tech that’s been in development for several years, mostly aimed at organ tissue printing.

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.”

and the idea receives further fanfare with a different perspective via Can Open Source Manufacturing Save Humanity?:

While this technology is very promising, consider that your governments are passing measures to stop you from trading purely digital information on the basis of copyright. Given their investment in production, don’t you think they will attempt to lockdown this developing science in one way or another?

KNOW YOUR FUTURE BETTER.

So, what’d we miss?

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