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A Traffic Control System For Molecules
Roland Piquepaille writes "Our cells contain small protein factories which have to deliver materials inside the cell via a network of microtubules. And the transportation is carried out by biomolecular motors. Now, researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have built a traffic control system able to force individual molecules to choose between 'roads' by applying strong electrical fields locally at Y-junctions. This traffic control system can potentially lead to new nano-fabrication techniques. Read more for additional references and pictures showing how this traffic system works."
As anyone who has to make a long commute to and from work knows, we've got traffic control down and running smoothly. Nothing could go wrong here.
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
With the tiny charges they're using would this ever be effective outside the lab setting? I would imagine that the crazy EMF of every day life would seriously fuck these up
Halt, troll molecule!
Get under that bridge!
All that's missing are tiny traffic cops who hand out tiner speed tickets.
Philosophy.
Hottest toy for next Christmas! Train sets so small you can't see them!
Seriously though, as a biomedical engineer, this is bloody scary.
This was the first time that this orientation-dependency of the electrophoretic mobility was observed.
- This occurs in the body, we have microtubles and kinesin in all our cells. The 'research' has shown for *years* that magnetic fields have *no* effect on cancer etc.. so.. it controls Kinesin, but wont affect cells? please.
Behold, my children...
The MOON is out there!
Ok, so traffic control system for molecules, damn it this means nothing to me... What do I post, what do I post.. Heh a joke always works when you got not clue! I'll ask what the equivalent of traffic cops or talk how "that's the place you don't want a traffic jam to happen". Nah cheesy as hell.
No, wait... I'll voice a concern that's totally unfounded and blow it out of proportions. Nano technology omg, will take over people and turn 'em into zombies! No wait, I'll look more intelligent if it's a question: what if is malfunctions and turn us into zombies? Nah... I've no idea how it works I might come off as a moron.
So what do I say... what do I say. Ah to hell with it!
Microsoft sucks! Hi mom!
Damn it, I think today's not my day... I'll go watch my downloaded episodes of Star Trek and see later.
This is not gonna be very useful in biochem field, as most of the molecular dangers come in the form of chirality. So if you have a method of making this distinguish chiral molecules I am all for it.
Now all I need is to control the traffic of molecules that cause me to get some decent rest. Unfortunately, they're always active around this time of night. This is one time I wish I had a road block handy.
but really, this is awesome work, this means we can have algorithmic control over the mixture and separation of proteins. good for making new stuff, but also good for investigating the interplay between information and biochemistry
The modern world is moving away from cost per minute. Flatrate is what most consumers are looking for. First we had modem connections, then some ISP:s revolutionized the market with flatrate. Then, same thing happened with broadband, although some ISP:s took the flatrate route from the start.
And while we're at it, mobile phone operators are doing pretty much the same thing now.
Going back to the old structure won't work. The ISP:s better stop lowering the prices of the connections now that it seems increasingly unfeasible.
Full Tilt
no doubt once perfected this technology can be used to make the undesirables (of the week) of society productive citizens by manipulating their cellular function to emit consumer goods, of course it won't do them any good but, look on the bright side, "CHEAP STUFF!!" and fewer undesirables polluting freedom, it's a win win.
In Soviet Russia, molecules control YOUR traffic!
So, I called the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit and spoke to Det. Ian Lamond, who was familiar with the Times article. He claims they were misquoted, or if that figure was given it was done so jokingly. Of course, even if the figure was given jokingly, shouldn't the Times reporter have clarified something that seems rather odd? Shouldn't her editors have questioned her sources?
Nevertheless, Det. Lamond does confirm that a majority of those arrested show "at least a passing interest in Star Trek, if not a strong interest." They've arrested well over one hundred people over the past four years and they can gauge this interest in Star Trek by the arrestees' "paraphenalia, books, videotapes and DVDs." I asked Det. Lamond if this wasn't simply a general interest in science fiction and fantasy, such as Star Wars or Harry Potter or similar. Paraphrasing his answer, he said, while there was sometimes other science fiction and fantasy paraphenalia, Star Trek was the most consistent and when he referred to a majority of the arrestees being Star Trek fans, it was Star Trek-specific.
That's weird, I noticed that my comment (parent) went to +5, then without reasons (like overrated) it dropped to +3 (and now it's raising again).
... (and apparently the post was modded at least 3 times with positive scores and never with negative).
I suspect this is CmdrTaco and his team modding me down, however why are their points not tagged with a "reason"? It kinda allows for some puzzling configurations, like 33% informative, 33% insightfull , 33% funny, yet +1
Something to consider in future releases.
Supposing only 5% of the general population are hardcore Trekkies, then if Star Trek is truly uncorrelated with pedophilia--our null hypothesis--we should expect only 5% of pedophiles to be Trekkies, as well. That the relevant statistic is actually closer to 100% is very telling.
This is all a bit old hat, isn't it?b er=297897 (1994)/ 516 (1994)= Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9351287&dopt=Citation (1997)
I was pushing bloodcells around using dielectrophoresis in Uni over a decade ago. Shortly thereafter, water was being tested for purity using the same method, and one of the post-docs was moving tagged proteins around too.
How come it took so long to create a system to be used in protein manufacture?
examples:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/abs_free.jsp?arNum
http://www.biophysj.org/cgi/content/abstract/77/1
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
I always wondered when nanotech would get good enough to find out why (or if) Maxwell's Demon was really impossible.
Now soon we'll know.
.. since we can't even make GPS devices that don't send people off cliffs or into rivers.
Or will they be charging a London-Style Congestion Charge?
~The TwoTailedFox posts again....
Roland, Roland, Roland
Keep them words a-rollin
Keep them coming, Roland Piquepaille!
Don't care 'bout useful topics
He's blogging in the tropics
Though he's got the brain of a snail.
Slashdot, Slashdot, Slashdot
Taking third-rate castoffs
ZDNet's not that great anyway
Picking stupid stories
That Roland's been a-whoring
Sending precious traffic his way
Mod them up! Troll them out! Argue Loud!
Screw about! Back to work! You're a jerk, Roland!
I try to keep perspective, That Slashdot is elective
But then I come on back anyway.
steampunk web design
Of user b4se for
If anyone actually thinks about this, they'll wake up and realise that the basic "inanimate cell" as darwinism says is actually an extremely complication biochemical factory, one which we're still learning about, and something humans have never been able to reproduce.
n _cell/miracle_cell_01.php
Read and learn:
http://www.harunyahya.com/books/science/miracle_i
I don't know about the rest of the world...
But here in California, when the DOT or a city installs "Traffic Controllers" is makes things MUCH WORSE. From installing Stop & Go lights on freeway onramps (Yes, on the on ramp!) to replacing stopsigns in low traffic areas in residential areas... All it seems to do is cause a back up of stacked cars for miles.
And best yet, they do it with tax dollars. $500,000 or so per installed intersection. for what? to increase delays? waste more fuel? piss people off? Insanity, I say!
That site is the most ludicrous tripe I've ever read!
Hate to think that the next time I get a strong static shock from someone that my cells are all going to go bonkers.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
nothing designed here, move along now.
could this then be applied to cancer? i mean sorting out the cancerous and non-cancerous cells?
IANAPhysicist, so could someone explain why this wouldn't work:
The tunneling effect has been demonstrated. Particles can "jump" across materials, provided that their energy is high enough.
So, if you just create a sheet of something that's the right thickness, then particles which don't have enough energy to make the jump will be absorbed in the sheet of material, and particles that are energetic enough will jump the gap. So, now, you have a Demon, filtering out particles below a certain threshold.
Men! Our patented Molecular Traffic Formula can add inches to your P3N1$ by directing molecules to build your length and girth!!!!!
Web 2.0 == Giant Blogspam Circle Jerk