Wisconsin Researchers Create Nano-Bio-Circuits

opencity writes "A team of scientists at UW-Madison has successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits. Slipping between the electrodes, the microbes, in effect, become electrical "junctions," giving researchers the ability to capture, interrogate and release bacterial cells one by one. Built into a sensor, such a capability would enable real-time detection of dangerous biological agents, including anthrax and other microbial pathogens. Two mpegs -- 11MB and 35MB -- available here. Related by scale and buzzwords: physorg.com reports scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to sneak nano-sized probes inside cell nuclei, where they can track life's fundamental processes, such as DNA repair, for hours on end. Related cool pictures and strange font choices on Nano-Bio Interface Center."

Comments

Not Funny: Nanotechnology & Chinese Terror

[Anonymous Coward]

This nanobiotechnology has prime use in military applications: e.g., detecting antrax. We in the West would do well to not publish any papers about this technology in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Chinese.

Beijing has been working on biological and chemical weapons for the last 10 years. Nanobiotechnology would only add to the Chinese arsenal.

Note that Western nations (including Russia) terminated their biological and chemical weapons programs more than 20 years ago.