Saturday, May 23, 2009

What is the Importance of Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is significant on account of of its pre- eminence upon the comprehension, use, and control of matter at magnitudes of a minute scale, akin to approaching atomic levels, with which to manufacture new substances, instruments, and frameworks. Also known as 'Molecular Manufacturing', it is an emergent diversity of technologies in which medicine and engineering come together with physics and chemical science which are opening up many brand new possibilities especially within the medical arena in terms of implantable transmission methods, which are often favoured to the application of injectable medicines.

One, if not the most important, aspects of the applications of Nanotechnology is the incorporation of this science into medical programs embracing the present research into vaccine formation, wound regeneration, skin care, narcotic countermeasures and chemical and biologic detectors. The biological in addition to medicinal study areas, have utilized the unequalled properties of nanomaterials for various programs not least due to their aspiring enhanced delivery methods, such as pulmonic or epidermic systems to prevent having to pass throughout the abdomen, encapsulation for both delivery and deferred release, and ultimately the combination of detection with transmission, to ensure that medicines are delivered precisely where they are required, consequently reducing the side effects on sound tissue and cells.

The future may well include huge task forces of medical nanorobots tinier than a cell drifting through our bodies removing bacteria, cleaning blocked arteries, and undoing the damage of old age. This type of emerging important science would permit medical personnel to analyze if someone has suffered a heart attack quicker than is currently possible with existing checks on blood proteins. Contemplate a medical device that journeys through the body to search for and eliminate small groups of cancerous cells in advance of their spread. The leading light of nanotechnology, Dr K Eric Drexler, even asserts that nanorobots will be produced that are capable of self replicating in much the same method as cells currently do in our bodies.

Nanotechnology pulls theories and conceptions from disciplines not only comprising engineering and physics but also chemistry, biology, mathematics and computer science. Moreover, it is being proclaimed as the next big technological revolution.

As discussed earlier, its use is very varied, ranging from novel additions of traditional device physics, to entirely new approaches founded upon molecular self assembly, to improving new substances with dimensions on the nanoscale, even to supposition around whether we can directly manipulate matter on the atomic scale.

While the evolvement of nanotechnology has the potential to take several decades, and the early developers are likely to be sizeable institutions with great wealth that can produce considerable advancement efforts, in the long term nanotechnology is going to be attainable to a larger variety of people. At this moment in time, now that the feasibleness of nanotechnology is extensively acknowledged, we enter the latest stage of the national debate regarding what programs should we take up to best deal with it. Raised energy proficiency, cleaner surroundings, further productive medical treatment and enhanced fabrication construction are only some of the possible advantages of nanotechnology.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Hewson

Dinosaurs Extinction - The Asteroid Theory

During the Mesozoic Era millions of dinosaurs belonging to thousands of species roamed our planet. They were the largest and most important animals on land. Today there are no living dinosaurs anywhere, they have all become extinct. Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, and then vanished from all the continents at the same time. As fossils cannot be dated exactly it is impossible to say if the extinction happened suddenly or was spread out over thousands of years. Once an animal has become extinct it cannot come back naturally.

Blood sucking insects, such as mosquitoes, used to feed on the blood of dinosaurs, much as they feed on animals today. Sometimes these insects have been trapped inside the resin from trees and become fossilized and form amber, thus preserving the insect. This could enable scientists to recreate dinosaurs from information contained in the DNA extracted from the blood of these insects.

Several other groups of animals vanished at the same time that dinosaurs became extinct. The flying reptiles, the pterosaurs and sea reptiles. Several types of shellfish, reptiles and other animals also died out about the same time.

Scientists studying the rocks from the time dinosaurs became extinct noticed that they contained large amounts of a chemical called Iridium. This chemical is rare on Earth, but is common in asteroids. This interestingly enough suggests one theory that a giant asteroid hit our planet and from the impact and explosion scattered dust all over the planet, and if it was big enough would have filled the upper atmosphere blocking the sun and plunging it into a long period of freezing darkness. Inevitably this would have killed most plants and without food, the dinosaurs would have become extinct and died out.

There are obviously no dinosaurs alive today and to date there have been no fossils found which date to after the Cretaceous Period. It would seem that all the dinosaurs died out. However a type of Theropod dinosaur had evolved into birds around one hundred and sixty million years ago. These birds survived, so the descendants of dinosaurs did survive the extinction. After the dinosaurs became extinct other types of animals took over the world, and even though mammals were small in numbers when the dinosaur was about, they have now increased in number and have rapidly evolved into many different types of animal, and now it is the mammals that rule the planet as the dinosaurs once did.

There are other theories that can explain the extinction of dinosaurs this is just one of them, and if scientists could recreate dinosaurs from the DNA of prehistoric insects, how would they contain such large and ferocious animals amongst our populated world, scary stuff.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Michael_White

Science Fair Food Projects - Some More Mold - Growing a Fungus Garden

When we think of science fair food projects, most of us probably think of the bread mold project that has been done to death already. Well, here is one of our science fair food projects that look at more than only the fungus that grows on bread. There is still going to be bread in the mix though as we are going to grow a "fungus" garden.

Do you know why we can call it a fungus "garden?" Yes, because a fungus is a "plant" and it needs certain conditions to grow such as food, the same as all other kinds of "plants." Keep in mind though that they are microorganisms and that the microbes are only visible when a lot of them gather together. This is what we normally call mold. Now we are going to see how many of them we can grow in our fungus "garden."

For a good science fair project you have to make notes of all your steps, saying what you are doing and why you are doing it. You must formulate a hypothesis, and do the experiment according to the correct scientific method and think of your display. It is always a good idea to take photos as you go.

Because fungus can be harmful, do not take it to the fair, but take enough photos to use in your display. Make sure you show the different kinds of fungus clearly.

What you need for this experiment:

* 2 Empty clean and completely dry mayonnaise or other suitable jars with a lids
* 2 Pieces of bread
* 2 Pieces of apple
* 2 Pieces of cucumber
* 2 Pieces of cheese
* 2 Pieces of carrot
* 2 Pieces of any other kind of fruit available
* A little water
* A pen
* A notebook
* A camera

How to do your experiment:

1. First of all formulate your hypothesis. It is that if the food is left undisturbed in the jar for some time, the food will rot and create a colorful fungus "garden."
2. Place one piece of all the food in one of the jars. Make sure you do not overfill the jar so that you will be able to see the fungus growing clearly.
3. Now you have to sprinkle a little water in the jar and make sure you moisten all the food, do not soak it though.
4. Do you know why you are doing this?
5. Close the jar with the lid
6. Place the jar on a counter top where it will not be disturbed and also out of direct sunlight.
7. Now you do exactly the same with the second jar except you do not sprinkle any water on it.
8. This jar will serve as your control and every time you observe the other jar and take photos of it, you have to do it with this jar as well.
9. It is important that you now observe the changes that happen in the jar everyday.
10. Record everything you see and take photos every day.
11. Keep this up for at least two weeks and then ask an adult to dispose of the jar and it's contents.

Now you have to formulate your results:

1. How long did it take before you noticed the first fungus growing?
2. How many different types of fungi were you able to grow in your fungus "garden?"
3. Could you see more than one type of fungi growing on one kind of food?
4. Did the fungi spread over time?
5. Did the food change in shape or texture as the fungi grow?
6. Did the fungi grow more on certain kinds of food than on others?
7. Did the fungi grow slower or faster in your control jar?
8. Remember, every step of the way, you have to make the same observations and take the same photos of your control jar as of the other jar
9. Make sure you show the difference in the two jars very clearly



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Magrietha_Du_Plessis