Angels, Nanobots, and pin heads

We may not be able to know the answer to the derisive question How man angels can dance on the head of a pin? But the Wall Street Journal has an article on the advancements in nano technology and bioengineering.

 

According to the WSJ, scientist have for the first time created nanobots

 

"...called DNA walkers—mobile DNA molecules, about 100,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, that have three or more legs made of a string of genetic enzymes. Each leg moves forward based on its chemical attraction to sequences of biochemicals laid down, like stepping stones, in front of it.

 

These robots are so small that the researchers program their actions by encoding commands in the world around them. They follow chemical cues programmed into the ground on which they walk.

 

This moves nanotechnology one step further towards advancing the concept of miniaturization, already, according to the article one group of scientists have made such nanobots assemble particles of gold in eight different ways, and yet another has utilized the walkers in delivering actions on demand creating a kind of nano-factory.

 

Scientist caution though that full application and use of these DNA walkers in mass production could be a decade away.

 

Nanotechnology, is not a new field with current applications in electronics, cosmetics, apparel(think of those pants that are "spill resistant) and textiles, medical technologies amongst many other disciplines.

 

As exciting as the prospects for nanotechnology are, the applications - especially many of the nanobiotech applications do raise many ethical questions that are only now being gleaned.

 

Here in Columbia, the University of South Carolina's NanoCenter is a leading institution into the study and application of this ever growing field.