Nanotechnology

My Interviewee,Muhil Prabakar, is currently an undergrad at University of Miami where she is majoring in microbiology and immunology in the college of Arts and Sciences. Muhil hopes to one day get accepted to the Miller Medical Program at the University, where she will then follow her dream of working in the medical field. Currently, she has an intense technological interest on the development and application of nanotechnology. While interviewing here on her growing interest in nanotechnology, I learned more about our future and how much advancing technology really has to offer our generations and the ones to come.

According to Muhil, nanotechnology is a form of applied science in which the goal is to control matter on both the molecular and atomic scale ( in nanometers).This applied science comes from all the fields of physics, chemistry, and even engineering. Nanotechnology deals with matter that can be considered invisible to the naked eye, however, with proper size enhancing tools these "invisible" molecules become large enough to manipulate into almost anything.

As Muhil was informing me, nanotechnology is still very much its developmental stages, nanotechnology has many promising solutions for the future. One prime example is nanomedicines, these infinitely small reformulated version of existing drugs can enable a new method for delivering the medicine throughout the human body. These nanomedicines will specifically be used for the treatment of cardiovascular (heart) disease, Parkinson's, tuberculosis, and even cancer. Obviously cancer being the most fatal out of those three diseases, scientists have specifically focused on conjuring up nanomaterials that could potentially be used as a cure.

Although, there are many positive consequences associated with the development of nanotechnology, there are also may controversies on the continuation on this applied science. For example, this technology could become so large and powerful that it could ultimately takeover all the major resource companies. Also, environmental activists worry how this development is ultimately creating something that doesn't exist in "nature."

Interview

What sparked your interest in nanotechnology?

While reading a magazine article, I came a across one of the newest accomplishments of nanotechnology and it completely blew my mind that such a task was able to be accomplished. This article explained how scientists have now been able to magnify matter so extensively that they were able to manipulate individual molecules to construct a nano-sized train that was capable of running through a single strand of human hair.

What are the exact components of nanotechnology that you are most interested in?

With most of my interest being focused in the field of medicine, I began to research the affects that nanotechnology has on assisting the cure of certain diseases and medical instruments. I know currently scientists are researching microscopic computer chips that are invisible to the naked eye and working on placing them inside cancer patients' body. Ultimately, the chip would move around the body and work on slowly destroying the cancer a little bit at a time.In addition to nano chips there are nanomaterials that are used to produce artificial tissues that will eventually be used to replace diseased kidneys and livers or possibly repair certain types of nerve damage.

How do you think this technology will help us in the future?

In the future, nanotechnology will take over many aspects of life and will ultimately become incorporated in everything from medicine to architecture, this technology is "flawless." With this they can manage infinite molecules and construct virtually anything. With this power many devices no longer need to be built with natural resources but instead only with the required molecules. Nano research could promote an industry that would mobilize around a billion dollars by 2015.

What could you possibly construct from these infinite molecules that would be so helpful?
By magnifying carbon molecules such as Buckminsterfullerene you could ultimately be able form certain materials such subjects of reaserch under the umbrella of nanotechnology. Certain as a rope. These nano-sized molecules would be compressed together using advanced scientific tools and would result in a rope that would be impossible to break. This subject of carbon structures is one of the major materials act differently under the the nanoscale then under the macroscale.
There are many controversial issues with nanotechnology especially with environmental activists is there anything that this technology does for the environment?
Nanotechnology is showing progressing methods of cleaning up polluted sites and for monitoring water supplies. There is also and effort to conserve energy throughout the globe with this technology. This conservation would occur by improving the efficiency in production and transmission of fossil fuels which could hopefully eliminate them as a power source. 'Nanotechnology has many possibilties and the growth for this applied science is even more exponential than the number of divisions that occur to get to a nanometer".

References

Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology

EurekAlert- http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/poen-nre041607.php

Youtube- Video journey into Nanotechnology

Google Image search- Nanotechnology