You are hereArchive - Jun 1, 2008
Archive - Jun 1, 2008
Pushing the Edge of Science - Growing Electronics with Viruses, Finding Alien Life, and Quantum Cryptography
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Angela Belcher
Edge work: “Programming” viruses to perform useful tasks
Why? It is clean and efficient.
Where? MIT
Initial response: “I was called insane.”
In a series of experiments at MIT, Belcher, working with a team of about 30 students and postdocs, has successfully programmed viruses to incorporate, then grow, a variety of inorganic materials, including nanoscale semiconductors, solar cells, and magnetic storage materials. Separately, she is using yeasts as scaffold organisms because of their ability to grow many different materials. “We look at yeasts as factories,” she explains. “Instead of Budweiser, there’s Nanoweiser.” Belcher has begun working with the U.S. Army on nanoscale batteries that would weigh a fraction of what current batteries weigh and be woven into a soldier’s uniform. She is also training viruses to “find mistakes in materials and give off a signal.” One possible application: spraying viruses on an airplane fuselage to check for microscopic defects. In addition, the National Cancer Institute is funding Belcher to use viruses to find peptides that can specifically identify cancer cells.
Dimitar Sasselov
Edge work: Finding life on planets outside our solar system
Why? We have to know.
Where? Harvard University
Initial response: “People are always very excited.” read more »
Video: John F. Kennedy Jr. in Barbara Walters Interview
John F. Kennedy Jr. discusses "George" with Barbara Walters in a rare interview.
*Update*
America's Prince, John F Kennedy Jr. (his putative nickname "John-John" not used by his family) was born on Nov 25, 1960, two weeks after his father was elected 35th President of the United States. Tragically, his father was assassinated (Nov 22, 1963) three days before John Jr.'s third birthday; and John Jr. died at 39 in the crash of a small plane he was piloting.
On John Jr.'s third birthday, his father's funeral was held. John Jr. stepped forward and rendered a final salute as his father's flag-draped casket was carried out from St. Matthew's Cathedral. The family continued with their plans for a birthday party: the Kennedys would go on despite the death of their father.
Original source / photo credit Wikipedia
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