Slashdot Mirror
'Cooking' Carbon Nanotubes Like Spaghetti
Roland Piquepaille writes "Scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a technique to force a variety of enzymes to self-assemble layer-by-layer on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the help of noodle-like polymer molecules. In 'A biosensor layered like lasagna,' the researchers say that this technique can be applied to a wide range of applications. In particular, it will be possible to build other biosensors "that react specifically with other biological chemicals, environmental agents or even microbes." Read more for additional details and the most spectacular scientific image of the month."
Being able to produce Nanotubes in bulk as the article suggests could ultimately let scientists build processors dozens (if not hundreds) of times faster than what we have today.
Funnypics
As our ability to create deadly diseases increases, it is vitally important that our defenses against them increase also.
A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.
of a lint collector. It seems like we're always hearing about technologies that will make better biological sensors. You'd think by now we could pee in a cup to know if we had trace amounts of cancer already. I'm hoping and praying that the next article I read like this says "Nanotube Cancer Bio-sensor Debuts on Amazon" but I'm not holding my breath.
Has the hammer revolution come? --;
I'm not a physicist, just a failed computer scientist who is now enjoying the relaxations of psychology.
A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.
...they have a technique to make a single walled carbon nanotube of arbitrary length. I mean, I'm sure this is important, but I just want to hear that headline!
It's like a testament to FSMism. These scientists are probably true believers.
Did anyone else read this summary and think "The FSM be praised!"?
http://www.venganza.org/
How many can you fettuccine into a slashdot post?
Why all the references to food? 'Cooking' Carbon Nanotubes Like Spaghetti. ...with the help of noodle-like polymer molecules. A biosensor layered like lasagna... I am hungry now.
Damn, I thought they had done something about him. I suppose we'll never be rid of him.
...and the stage is set for the mafia nerds to make a comeback.
It's always confirmation bias!
This particular method has more to do with processing bulk quantities of nanotubes, rather than producing them. The closest connection to advanced electronics applications of NTs, is that selectively coating NTs with polymers and/or biomolecules is considered a promising route for purification and separation between conducting and semiconducting ones (the former are good as connectors, but the latter are needed for diodes and transistors). Selective attachment of a few biomolecules can also be useful for making self-assembling circuits. This particular method, however, produces a rather thick (30-50 nm) coating and not very specific attachment sites for biomolecules, so it lacks the features that would make it useful for electronics applications. The thick polymer layers are also likely to degrade contacts either between NTs or NTs and CMOS devices, which of course will reduce the possible operational frequencies for such hypothetical electronic components. Just a couple of reasons why using thinner polymers and/or biomolecules, such as DNA, to wrap NTs is currently considered as a more promising approach for electronics applications.
On the other hand, using these coated NTs for biosensors is indeed promising. The requirements for biosensing are significantly different compared to those for electronic components, and having a relatively thick polymer layer, which can be functionalized with many biomolecules, is in fact an advantage.
For a mere $110 you can have your own copy of the paper. That's nuts. Their research was probably funded by us the taxpayers. I'm assuming the journal is refereed and that the referees don't get paid. The $110 goes to support an inefficient publishing model. Maybe science should get with the twenty-first century. Maybe science should become open source - like it used to be.
(Actually, the idea of Slashdot type moderation for scientific papers intrigues me.)
While its been traditional to charge for papers, 100 bucks for an *abstract* of a theory? Geeh im in the wrong business.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Don't try to eat it!
Parent is an often copied troll.
"MY APOCALYPTIC TENOR HAS NOT BEEN DISPELLED!" - T-Rex, qwantz.com
That's the subjective time for the hammer, silly. In the absolute, objective frame of reference--mine--time progresses at the same rate for both the hammer and the feather.
Don't you remember anything from your college physics class? Sheesh! Kids these days.
Are we really, as a community, this simple-minded to be taken in by pyramid schemes like this?(pyramid in that; look, I am making money with a blog, give me money to tell you how to make money with a blog)
Please, please, please, pay attention people. We have to be vigilant and not give these scammers even more views/clicks/dollars.
And isn't this Roland guy the same one that has blatantly defrauded us in the past with similar linkfarm/scam advertisement stories? What is going on here? We need to stand up and take notice of the leeches on our backs and make use of the salt!
This is why you don't write press releases right before lunch
Sorry, but linking a blog with a label like "most spectacular image of the month" actually had me get my hopes up for a moment. Two notes about this image:
a.) The 'image' is actually a blog. And not just any blog... we've heard from this guy before, but we don't seem to learn.
b.) What? I think we need to look up spectacular again. "Sensational or thrilling" this is not...
I'll help you cut to the chase - the full image is available at http://biomarkers.pnl.gov/media/JNN04.pdf, as is mentioned on said blog. Enjoy... or something
In tomorrwow's slashdot news:
Nanotube research set back several years, after janitor mistakes it for canneloni
All of a sudden I feel like ordering Italian, not sure why.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
Well, making comments like the above doesn't seem to get through to the editors. But we might make a small impact via the tag feature. Quite a lot of Roland's stories are already tagged "Piquepaille" &/or "Roland". I propose something a little more judgemental: "fuckroland". As I understand it, if enough people tag a story with a particular word it shows up on the home page.
Now I'm hungry...
Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to conviction
tsia
*sigh*
;-)
I had hope for a short time that they managed to produce nanotubes out of polymer via enzymes. This would have been a significant step towards...
*tadah*
TERATUBES!!
Imagine you could spin nanotubes that are thousands of kilometers long...
Imagine weaving those teratubes into cables...
Imagine lowering these cables from orbit and running escalators up and down...
Imagine using the cables to send down electric power from orbit...
Imagine the impact on our future society...
*sigh*
But of course this is off-topic, so feel free to mod me down...