Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50310 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Sargent, visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT, persuasively argues that advances in nanotechnology are occurring at a dizzying rate and have the potential to transform almost all aspects of human society, from health care to warfare. The book examines cutting-edge science in health, the environment and communications. Sargent's optimism knows almost no limits. He predicts that with nanotechnology's ability "to design and build matter to order," scientists will soon be able to prescribe nano-size drugs that will identify and kill single cancerous cells long before they can do any harm, and regenerate nerve cells to cure spinal cord injuries. Further, Sargent says, "new technologies may allow ground-based warfare without people." Throw in a limitless energy supply and a fully integrated computer and communications system that will become an integral part of humans, and you have a utopia almost beyond belief. Indeed, with only a few pages devoted to possible negative environmental consequences of runaway nanotechnology, Sargent's utopia is beyond belief. Although his exuberance is somewhat infectious, he tries a bit too hard to make his writing witty, such as describing an optical detector as "a voyeur, a castrato ogling the photon but under-equipped to seduce it." (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Nanotechnologists work on the molecular level to "coax matter into new forms," explains Sargent, a professor of nanotechnology, in this lively and informative introduction to a burgeoning field. Uniting chemistry, physics, and biology, nanotechnology seems destined to launch a revolution even more far-reaching than the digital wave. Sargent begins in the 1980s with the creation of a new stable carbon molecule called the buckyball in honor of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome, then clearly and entertainingly describes each phase of nano-innovation. Delineating both the science and the applications involved, and profiling key scientists, Sargent explains how nanoparticles can detect and treat cancer, how nanotechnology can vastly improve the capacity of solar cells and help wean us off oil, and how molecular motors will make molecular electronics possible for the construction of ever smaller, more flexible, easier-to-use computers. As with all human inventions, nanotechnologies have capabilities for good and ill. Sargent's sharply etched explanations will help nonscientists stay informed about the pros and cons of new developments as the material world continues to morph before our eyes. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Ted Sargent is visiting professor of nanotechnology at MIT. In 2003, Sargent was named to Technology Review magazine's "TR100": a group of 100 of the world's top young innovators whose work will shape how we live and work in the future. His research breakthroughs have been widely reported in magazines such as Wired, BusinessWeek, and National Geographic. He lives in Cambridge, MA.

Customer Reviews

Neurite cells from DNA scaffolding
"Nanotechnologist have as their goal to design and build matter to order, specified by a functional requirement. Nanotechnology is coordinated movement, a choreographed dance among atoms and molecules to achieve a desired effect."

"Labs-on-chips and nanometer probes link the logical and the biological-the computational and the sensational, and the dry and the moist. They open avenues to apply our most powerful human-made engines of analysis to themost intricate, fascinating system ever engineered: the organism."

1. The near future for nanotechnology may see applications, such as, diabetic monitoring of blood sugar levels (bio-pharmacy), filtering cells for dangerous mutation (bio-chip), removing pollutants for the air and water, hardened nanotech polymer bullets, miniscule unmanned drones with aluminum oxide explosives, hydrogen powered muscle suits, digital paint that scan refreshes display scenes from across the world, wireless tracking - recording - and imaging devices the size of dust, DNA grown circuits and nanowires, DNA computing devices, protein inspired materials with increased tensile strength, blends of nano composites and organic scaffolding.
2. In 2005, $30 billion was invested in health research
3. Nanotechnology holds the promise of being able to detect cancer in the early stages when cell count ranges between 10-100 cells rather than 1 billion cell colonies. Shming Nie invented a light emitting beacon; the beacon has selective molecules that work like velco, sticking to the cancer cell; the 5 nanometer Quantum Dot emits a orange-red hue; the beacon is composed of a cancer recognizing polymer and protect against the toxicity of the cadmium selenide. DNA scaffolding extended the duration of light emissions by the beacons.
4. Millions of lab experiments and tests inside the person are done by biochips.
5. Bob Langer work focused on drug delivery in a consistent concentration release level. Drug decay prevention improved effectiveness by trapping the drug in wafers made of polymers, the sponge-like polymers controlled the escape speed of the drug. Langer improved delivery by taking the drug directly to the cell by using 100 nm, Liposomes filled with different drugs; the Liposomes were decoreated with molecules that bind to specific markers on the cancerous cells, the membrane fuses with the cell, and the drug is released into the cell. Liposomes have been used to treat, Kaposi Sarcoma.
6. Pharmacy on a chip is a programmed implant that can release drugs. The pharmacy chip is connected to a group of gold reservoirs containing 1 billionth of a liter of the drug and the thin gold containment membrane dissolves when under electric charge.
7. Russel Giodano discovered 3D structures like apartments for cells; George Whiteside discovered patterns on the apartment that allowed cells to live or die. Sam Stupp's work on neuron lead him to build a regenerative DNA scaffold, self-organized molecules forming a long rod with the ends covered with nerve tissue promoting proteins. Next, stems were injected into the scaffolding and the stem cells differentiated into neurite cells,instead of astrocytes, healthy cells that could integrate into future spinal injuries repairs or Alzheimer's patients.

Making Nano understandable
Not being a scientist, and not having an understanding of Nanotechnology this book opened up a new world for me. Ted Sargent has shed light on a very complex subject so well that even I can understand it! And that is saying something. The book went beyond just the science for me and made me think about how we can utilise the thinking and the science. People tend to over analyse a book like this. Go with it and enjoy a new world. Loved it Ted!

Top-notch!
The Dance of Molecules is a great book and extremely interesting.

Prof. Sargent's writing is very impressive, with wonderful prose and excellent examples. He has a great talent at telling an engaging and relevant story.

Technically, the insights are exceedingly broad AND deep, and yet are very accessible to the lay-person.