Nanotechnology + Video Game

I was researching about video games and came across with Metal Gear Solid 4. This game takes place in 2014 and in the development of a worldwide war economy that are fought by private military companies. The elite units of soldiers are injected with nanomachines that enhances combat abilities. Even though nanomachines in this game does not go into a greater detail of how it works, the setting shows that the future rely heavily on nanotechnology, which might be our near future.

It is interesting to know how the nanomachines in Metal Gear Solid 4 works. The injected nanomachines are able to supply adrenalin, benzedrine, nutrients, and nootropics to enhance combat effectiveness. It also recharges energy, providing molecules or substrates with the power of Codec. With this nanomachines, soldiers are exposed to an artificial "combat high" through the controlled release of those chemicals explained above. Sense of pain is subject to the same treatment; the controlled release of endorphins could prevent injuries from incapacitating a soldier during combat, and reduced blood pressure could trigger blood clotting agents such as thrombin, which accelerate the wound healing process.

Brain on Noortropics.

I think it will be a little unsettling to see soldiers being injected with nanomachines like they do in Metal Gear Solid 4. Even though it will make a great improvement in our war weapons, it will create an endless fight. (maybe when we get to fight with aliens from outter space, then we could use this skills!)

"Nano-technology development: defence applications"

Gaming industry's ideas on nanotechnology is very inspiring, and I am sure that some of the technologies are on their way to be developed. It is both scary and amazing, I can not decide what to think.

Final Project pitch: It would be nice to work on a game that allows the player to shrink to a nanoscale and explore the nano-world.

Work Cited:


Neibert, Kevin. "How Nanotechnology Is Portrayed in Video Games – The Metal Gear Solid Saga." Kotaku. McGill University, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Milbern, Colin. "Mondo Nano: What video games can teach nanoscience." New Scientist. Duke University Press, 3 June 2015. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Nanotechnology + agriculture

 In today's research, I came across with nanotechnology and agriculture. It is true that there is an increasing demand for food and adequate nutrition, with ever growing population (currently estimated 6.4 billion and the number will grow to 8.9 by the year 2050) and destroyed biodiversity. Agriculture is very essential to our lives, and the fact that nano biotechnology is helping us to move forward in improving agriculture is amazing. We expect nanotechnology to offer solutions in farming using nanosensors, pest nanocides, decentralized water purification, high yield crops and so on.

Nanotechnology applications in the agriculture and food sector (Image ©: Nanowerk) Image[1]

It was also interesting to know that we can use nanobarcodes to monitor the quality of agricultural produce. In Cornell University, scientists used the concept of grocery barcodes for efficient and inexpensive decoding and detection of diseases. They use microscopic probes (nanobarcodes) that could tag multiple pathogens in a farm which can easily be detected using fluorescent-based equipment.

 Image[2]

 

 

With all the issues of safety on health, biodiversity and environment along with fair regulations being raised on nanotechnology, I still have high hopes in nanotechnology and  the effects it will bring into out future agriculture. It might help us with better quality foods and hunger around the worlds.

 

 

 Image[3]

 

 

 

Final Project Ideation:

I would like to make a public poster for fundraising and also creating awareness, to help the researchers in developing more advanced nanotechnology in agriculture.

 

 

 

Work Cited:

 

 A Nanotech Revolution in Agriculture and the Food Industry. 2006. P. Jones. Information Systems for Biotechnology. http://www.isb.vt.edu/articles/jun0605.htm. 

 

Lega. International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos 10 (1999): 2791. Web.

 

 Multiplexed Detection of Pathogen DNA with DNA-based Fluorescence Nanobarcodes. 2005. Y. Li, Y.T. Hong Cu, D. Luo. Nature Biotechnology. DOI: 10.1038/nbt1106.

 

Image[1]

http://www.gettyimages.com/Nanowerk.com

 

Image[2]

https://www.bell-labs.com/about/stories-changed-world/eric-betzig-awarded-2014-nobel-prize-chemistry-development-super-resolved-fluorescence-microscopy/

 

Image[3]

http://www.gettyimages.com/

 

Nanotechnology + products

Nanotechnology can be applied to so many products in our everyday life. It is already exploding with “nanotechnology enhanced” products. Experts say that consumer products is an area where the impact of the nanotechnology will be recognized by the majority of people.

There's various types of ways that nanotechnology can be applied to the product we own. For sports people, there are tennis balls that last longer, tennis rackets that are much stronger, golf balls that fly straight in to the air, nano ski wax that is easier to apply and more effective than standard wax; and these products are just few of the many that are around us. These products all use nanostructured materials to give them enhanced performance. It is a great way to make money because sports players in general are a big market to target. 

However, there are also studies of risks that nanotechnology in product might give on us. According to the book named Journal of Industrial Ecology Vol. 12 Issue 3, some risk factors are:

1.Environment, health, and safety information on nanomaterials and nanotechnologies is scarce
2.There is no single index to measure the toxicity of nanomaterials.
3.Nanotechnology nomenclature is still in development, with no shared understanding.
4.The ready environmental transport of nanomaterials increases chances of exposure. 
5.Nanomaterials are not easily monitored in real time.
6.Nanomaterials may have system-level human health and environmental risks, where attention to one set or system overlooks the greater impacts. 

But these are still being researched and improved, so we need time to understand the side effects and other possibilities. Still, I think it is a big step for us to even make nanostructured products that I mentioned before.

Other than the sporting world, nanotechnology is also applied to clothing, electronic, and biotech world. The world around us is stacked with applications that nanotechnology makes possible. It will be easy to find the applications all around you. There are also other lists of thing that nanotechnology have influenced:

-Commodities
-Construction
-Energy
-Environment
-Food
-Industrial
-Information and Communications Technology
-Medical
-Precision Engineering
-Textiles and Garments
-Transportation

Final Project Idea: I saw that there was a bulletproof nanotechnology vests and t-shirts, it will be cool to see a bullet made with nanotechnology that will counter the bulletproof vests and t-shirts. A stronger bullet with stronger guns, like a sniper rifle.



Work Cited:

Erhmann, Bob, and Terry Kuzma. "National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network." Nanotechnology Products. Pennsylvania State University/Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

Vance, M. E., Kuiken, T., Vejerano, E. P., McGinnis, S. P., Hochella, M. F., Jr., Rejeski, D. and Hull, M. S. (2015) Nanotechnology in the real world: Redeveloping the nanomaterial consumer products inventory. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 6, 1769-1780.

Wardak, A., Gorman, M. E., Swami, N. and Deshpande, S. (2008), Identification of Risks in the Life Cycle of Nanotechnology-Based Products. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 12: 435–448. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2008.00029.x

Nanotechnology + medicine

In my second research, I got interested in nanotechnology with medicine. Nanotechnology is being used as the basis for more effective drug delivery systems

One interesting fact that I got from it is that it is still on the early stage development as scaffolding in nerve generation research. It is said that the National Cancer Institute has made the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer in hope of Nano medicine to help detecting, diagnosing, and treating various type of cancer.

 

 

Also, with the Biomedical Engineering, researchers can focus on cancer treatments that are more effective and have few to no side effects.  This year, $180 billion will be allotted to nanotechnology medical research.

I know it is some deep and scary facts, but I would like to talk about the scale of cancer patients that are being treated. According to American Cancer Society (ACS), approximately 1.33.910 individuals were diagnosed with cancer in 2005, while another 50,280 people died from the illness.  This large number indicates that cancer is all around us and will happen to anyone in his or her life time with the 40 % chance of getting it.

Current cancer treatments exists and helps a lot with fighting the caner (like the chemotherapy of radiotherapy) however, it comes with numerous side effects.

The medical use of nanotechnology does not come without its fair share of concerns.

Some of the concerns are:

- Nano-scale particles can accidentally be inhaled and ingested.

- Nano-sized particles also show tendencies to alter their chemical and physical properties that differ from their regularly sized counterparts.

These concerns are to be considered, but if nanotechnology and medicine can work together, we will have a better chance in diagnosing cancer with deeper information and treatment that could target the cancer without many side effects.

I am very amazed by the researchers that are making this process possible, and hope this can be approved soon!

Final Project pitch:

For my final project, it would be thrilling to make a commercial for the new approved nano-scale medicine, or a treatment that the National Cancer Institute have passed.

 

Work cited:

"Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology" NIOSH Safety and Health Topic: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 17 Apr. 2006 <http://www.cdc.gov/​niosh/topics/nanotec​h/ nano_exchange_health​.html>.

K. Kelleher. "Engineers Light Up Cancer Research." Popular Science Nov. 2003. 10 Feb. 2006 <http://www.popsci.c​om/popsci/medicine/d​865c4522fa84010vgnvc​m 1000004eecbccdrcrd.h​tml>.

"Nanotechnology Project." PEN News. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. 

"Radiotherapy." NHS Direct Online Health Encyclopedia NHS Direct. 24 Feb. 2006 <http://www.nhsdirec​t.nhs.uk/en.aspx?art​icleId=309ionId=5410​>.

"Shrinking Technology. Nanotechnology holds promise of spectacular medical advances, including cure for cancer, but critics warn of dire consequences." Modern Healthcare (2003): 32-33. 12 Feb. 2006. Keyword: Nanotechnology and Cancer.