#8: Down on the Farm.
Michigan State University researchers have created a new nanofilter that not only helps keep phosphorus out of groundwater but also re-uses the recaptured phosphorus for the production of new fertilizer. The result is a more sustainable approach to the use of fertilizer. Longer term, nanotechnology might also be able to help feed more people. Today, a vast amount of grain is lost due to insects. Researchers at the University of Adelaide are now actively exploring how to uses diatoms—sometimes referred to as nature’s nanofabrication factories—to create novel chemical-free and resistance-free methods for protecting stored grain from insects.
#9: The Dentist Will See You Now.
In South Korea, scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed nanotube sensors that allow for portable real-time breath tests on smart phones.
By some estimates, your dentist could detect the presence of over 150 different diseases and ailments from your breath alone. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Iowa have created nanoparticles capable of delivering bone-producing instructions into cells genes. The end game is to re-grow bones so that dental implants for craniofacial defects are no longer necessary.
#10: Power to the People.
Bandgap Engineering, a Massachusetts’ based startup, is developing nanowire-based solar cells that could eventually generate twice the amount of electricity as conventional solar cells by enhancing the amount of light each cell can absorb. If successful, the technology will make solar power as affordable as electricity produced by natural gas and coal.
Other nanotechnology-related developments–such as the Department of Energy’s creation of a new nanomaterial that can affordably duplicate the capabilities of platinum by efficiently facilitating the catalytic reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity–might finally make fuel cells a practical method for powering individual homes as well as automobiles.
In ways small and big, nanotechnology—the science of the small—is well positioned to have an outsized impact on the world around us. If you need further proof, look around. Nanotechnology is already inside your smartphone and might soon be inside your body battling cancer. Who knows it may even be outside your window at this very moment in the form of a gecko-like human scaling a self-cleaning, nano-enhanced solar window.
Jack Uldrich is a renowned global futurist, popular keynote speaker and the best-selling author of 11 books, including The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business.
He can be reached at 612.267.1212 or [email protected]
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