NASA nanometer breakthrough uses hot pond protein

The Inquirer ^ | 11-27-2002 | Paul Hales

[JameRetief]

NASA nanometer breakthrough uses hot pond protein

You couldn't make it up

By Paul Hales: Wednesday 27 November 2002, 11:35

NASA SCIENTISTS say they have invented a breakthrough biological method to make ultra-small structures that could be used to produce electronics 10 to 100 times smaller than today’s components.

The scientists apparently use modified proteins from 'extremophile' microbes to grow mesh-like structures so small that an electron microscope is needed to see them. These naturally-occurring microbes live in near-boiling, acidic hot springs, according to an article in on-line version of the journal Nature Materials.

One of the scientists, Andrew McMillan, revealed: "We took a gene from a single-celled organism, Sulfolobus shibatae, which lives in near-boiling acid mud, and changed the gene to add instructions that describe how to make a protein that sticks to gold or semiconductors.

"What is novel in our work," he added, "is that we designed this protein so that when it self-assembles into a two-dimensional lattice or template, it also is able to capture metal and semiconductor particles at specific locations on the template surface."

The tiny particles of gold or semiconductor (cadmium selenide/zinc sulfide) stick to the lattices to form 'quantum dots' that are about one to 10 nanometers across, Macmillan explains. "After further development, an array of nanoparticles could serve as computer memory, a sensor or as a logic device that could calculate," said the scientist.

Jonathan Trent, principal investigator of the project at NASA Ames Research Center in California added: "Much of the success of today’s electronics industry comes from knowing how to arrange materials in an organized fashion on a silicon substrate, and the prospects of using proteins to improve that process on a nanometer scale is encouraging." µ

See also:
Nature Materials
NASA Research
Nasa research 2
Arstechnica

[JameRetief]

Nanotech ping.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From hot pond water?

What will they think of next?

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[perfect stranger]

All the alt.energy.liberals like the idea of using newtech windmills to provide electricity, but it will come back to them saying NIMBY(not in my back yard).

Some are complaining already and there aren't any. IMHO If they're smart they should want to put them along I-95 and some other places like that.

[perfect stranger]

Sorry, posted to the wrong thread. Nothing to see here.