CryoNet #32949 - #32950

CryoNet - Mon 18 Oct 2010

    #32949: Re: The problem with nanotechnology [Perry E. Metzger]
    #32950: Do it yourself biology [Jonano]

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Message #32949
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 10:10:03 -0400
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: The problem with nanotechnology
References: <[email protected]>

Keith Henson <[email protected]> wrote:
> [Nanosystems] *is* a hard read, but no harder than an advanced text
> on biology or computer design.

I tend to disagree a bit. You can get quite a lot out of the book
without a wide background, but it helps to know a lot from multiple
fields. You need about as much physics as a good undergraduate physics
major learns, a lot of chemistry (though again, not much more than you
learn as an undergraduate major who actually does well in their
classes), some computer science and a smattering of other fields (some
molecular biology for example).

I read the book the first time without a solid background and I had to
skim rather than actually following many of the arguments. Later I
returned to it with a much better background and it helped a lot as I
could actually verify most of the derivations and claims rather than
simply accepting them.

Getting the most out of the book demands more knowledge than one
usually receives in a single course of study at a university. Without
that, some portions will be opaque to the reader. It is not that
difficult for a smart person to get the needed background, it is just
not a breadth of background most people in the sciences happen to
have.

One exception may be among physical chemists who use computational
methods, who are forced to dip a toe into many of the needed
topics. The average synthetic organic chemist, on the other hand,
almost certainly can't pick up the book and follow it in detail, even
though they work in an area that is seemingly directly connected to
the topic. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the least well founded
criticisms of the book have come from organic chemists, while a number
of prominent physical chemists have been very supportive of the ideas.


Perry
-- 
Perry E. Metzger		[email protected]

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Message #32950
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:48:02 +0200
Subject: Do it yourself biology
From: Jonano <[email protected]>

Founded by Mackenzie Cowell & Jason Bobe,[1] DIYbio is a network[2] of
individuals from around the globe that aims to help make biology a
worthwhile pursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists, and
do-it-yourself biological engineers who value openness and safety.[3]
Participants call themselves "bio-hackers'"not hackers in the sense of
infiltrating protected places and stealing information, but hackers in
the sense of taking things apart and putting them back together in a
new, better way.[4] These bio-hackers often have mundane day jobs and
pursue biology in their free time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIYbio

--Jon

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