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Our lives are about to be changed by new technologies that operate
on a scale that is smaller than can be seen by the most powerful optical microscopes.
Devices inspired by living cells and measured in nanometers -- billionths of a
meter -- are the basis of this nanotechnology revolution. Michael Gross takes
us to this world to explore natural processes and new technologies that will make
modern machines look like relics from the Stone Age. The
living cell provides a starting point. All its vital processes, including chemical
reactions, catalysis, movement, data storage and processing, and energy conversion,
are directed and carried out by structures whose dimensions are on the nanometer
scale. As biochemists have come to understand the mechanisms of this "nanotechnology
of nature," the chances of generating artificial systems of similar performance
have grown rapidly. On the length scale of systems that
can be made and controlled by our hands, there used to be a gap between small
molecules synthesized by organic chemists and microdevices developed by physicists
or engineers. Now, scientists (looking at biology's solutions as an inspiration)
are closing the gap from both sides by constructing complex molecular systems
("supramolecular chemistry") as well as by refinement and miniaturization
of microfabrication techniques ("nanofabrication," "nanotechnology").
This book provides the nonspecialist reader with an introduction
into the background, current state, and future prospects of this fascinating subject.
The first part offers a guided tour starting from molecules,
the all-important building blocks of both biology and technology, that can form
complex systems both in the cell and in the reaction tube. Complex molecules make
up cells, cells make up organisms that evolve to a variety of species, including
one that invented technology as we know it. Technology has returned to the small
scale and has arrived at the molecular level once again. The
main part of the book describes the major developments and success stories in
the exploration and utilization of these natural and synthethic nanoworlds. These
highlights of cutting-edge research are grouped into the more biological approaches,
including workings of proteins, genes, and cells, followed by the development
of applications including supramolecular chemistry, small-scale technology, and
biotechnology. The book closes with a discussion of present
applications and future prospects for nanotechnology, including a critical appreciation
of some visionary thinkers in the field. The exciting revolutionary potential
of nanotechnology is balanced by a cautionary note emphasizing the need for us
all to be well informed about the technological path we are heading for.
Dr. Michael Gross, the acclaimed author of Life on the
Edge, studied chemistry and (briefly) chemical engineering and obtained his
doctorate in physical biochemistry at the University of Regensburg, Germany. His
research has focused on proteins in the cell. Currently a David Phillips Research
Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Molecular Sciences, he is investigating the folding
of proteins following their synthesis on the ribosome. In his spare time, Dr.
Gross is a science journalist and has published numerous articles on scientific
topics. He is married with three children and has been living in Oxford since
1993. |
