SECTIONS
Nanotech
Think about the possibilities if cost and environmental impact were no barriers.
Nanotechnology is about building things from the bottom up, at the molecular level. This approach could revolutionize medicine by delivering drugs directly to cells and manufacturing by creating materials with enhanced properties. Nanotechnology could also help us with current environmental challenges, such as reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, and developing cleaner production processes.
Learn all about nanotech under "Intro," understand potential risks under "Risks," discover the most hopeful scenarios under "Hope," and find out how to get involved under "Action."
- Tiny Machines - Richard Feynman. Introducing the concept of nanotechnology.
- Nanotechnology: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation - Eric Drexler. Technical book explaining the fundamentals and implications of nanotechnology.
- Drexler and Smalley make the case for and against nanotechnology - Rudy Baum. Summarizes the Drexler Smalley debate about molecular manufacturing.
- The Prospects of Molecular Manufacturing – Anna-Sofia Lesiv. Discusses the frontier of atomic-scale manufacturing, exploring theoretical capabilities whilst acknowledging challenges.
- About Nano, Molecular Machines Group, 2023 Molecular Machine Design Workshop - Foresight Institute. Various explainers, technology reviews, and state of the art videos about nanotechnology.
- Bottleneck Analysis: Positional Chemistry - Adam Marblestone. Workshop summary that provides a good overview of state of the art and open challenges.
- Protein-based Assemblies and Molecular Machines - David Baker. Current state of the art in protein-based molecular machines.
- Introduction to CadNano - Shawn Douglas, UCSF. Current state of the art in software for molecular machines.
- In-silico design, Visualization, and Analysis of Large DNA and RNA Nanostructures- Erik Poppleton, oxDNA. Current state of the art in software for molecular machines.
- Criss-cross DNA Origami - Will Shih. Current state of the art of DNA origami
- Software-facilitated Design Atomically Precise Manufacture - Andrew Tuberfield. A DNA printing prototype.
- The Science Behind Fold-It - website. Current state of the art in software for molecular machines.
- A Day Made of Glass... Made possible by Corning – Corning Incorporated. Video depicting a world where real-time information is delivered seamlessly and everyday surfaces are transformed into sophisticated electronic devices.
- Atomically Precise Manufacturing - EA Forum. Landing page to EA’s APM section with intro to the topic and a list of links.
- Risks from Atomically Precise Manufacturing - Benjamin Hilton. On risks and benefits of APM and potential avenues for addressing the risks.
- My Thoughts on Nanotechnology Strategy as EA Cause Area - Ben Snodin. On whether and how Nanotechnology should feature as an effective altruist cause area.
- Gray Goo is Unlikely - Bhaut. On why we may not have to worry about gray goo risks from nanotechnology soon.
- Diamondoid Bacteria Nanobots: Deadly Thread or Dead-end? - Titotal. Argues that mechanosynthesis is likely not a viable near-term molecular manufacturing strategy.
- Nanotechnology Catastrophic Risk Map - Alexey Turchin. Visual map of various X-risk scenarios from Nanotechnology.
- Evaluating Future Nanotechnology: The Net Social Impacts of APM - Seth Baum. Weighing risks and benefits from future molecular nanotechnology.
- Nano Policy Briefings - Foresight Institute. On risks and policy advice regarding nanotechnology.
- Nexus - Ramez Naam. On a nano drug that allows mind-melding.
- Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson. A girl adventuring in a nanotechnology-defined future.
- Radical Abundance, Engines of Creation, Nano-solutions for the 21st Century - Eric Drexler. Various nanotechnology-focused books that inspired much early work on nanotechnology.
- What Does The Future Hold For Molecular Machines? | James Cooper, Nanotechnology Roadmap, Nanotech Tree 1, Nanotechtree 2 - Foresight Institute. Concepts and technology trees to advance toward atomically precise manufacturing.
- Nanotechnology’s Spring - Eli Dourado. Easy-to-digest intro to the early promises of nanotechnology and recently accelerating progress.