Ithaca, NY—In another small step for mankind, nanobiotechnologists at Cornell University have assembled functional biomolecular motors with propellers measuring approximately 750×150 nm.
The primitive motors, made by a bacterium in Cornell's Nanofabrication Facility, comprise an engine and tiny nickel propellers, attached to 200-nm tall posts. The whole device is about 1/5 the size of a red blood cell.
During the experiment, the propellers rotated at a top speed of eight revolutions per second for up to 21/2 hours in the presence of adenosine triphospate (ATP—the fuel of all cellular life). "It's a chemical engine," says Carlo Montemango, associate professor of biological engineering at Cornell. "It takes the ATP and hydrolyzes it, converting the ATP into adenosine diphosphate and an extra phosphate molecule." The energy released from breaking the chemical bonds powers the motor, which in turn produces about 120 piconewtons per nanometer of torque.
The possible precursors of nano-sized medical aides, the devices may one day—scientists hope—be able to produce their own energy through photosynthesis and self assemble inside living cells to fight viruses and other diseases on their own turf.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
As energy efficiency becomes more and more a concern for makers of electronics devices, researchers are coming up with new ways to harvest energy from sound vibration, footsteps, and even electromagnetic fields in the air.
The government wants to study your brain, and DARPA wants to use similar information to give robots true autonomy beyond any artificial intelligence developed to date. Sound like science fiction? It's not.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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