5. “In West Texas, McDonalds gets 40 applicants for every
job and I get one applicant for every 40 jobs. Aviation
technicians start at $30,000 per year at American
Eagle.” –Harley Hall, American Eagle, Abilene
10. “We are losing our capacity to make tools.”
–Jimmy Dye, Pres., R.E. Dye,
TSTC West TX
11. 20 teenagers in 9th
grade
• 6 will not graduate HS
• 6 will go directly to work
• 8 will go to college
• 4 will dropout of college
• 4 will graduate college
• 2 will gain high skill employment
• 2 will be underemployed
Gray and Herr
18. The Future is Here
Science and Technology
Workforce
Education
19. www.kurzweilai.net/.../ SIN_headshot_highres.html
“An analysis of the
history of technology
shows that
technological change is
exponential, contrary to
the common-sense
‘intuitive linear’ view. So
we won't experience
100 years of progress
in the 21st century -- it
will be more like 20,000
years of progress (at
today's rate)… because
we're doubling the rate
of progress every
decade, we'll see a
century of progress--at
today's rate--in only 25
calendar years.”
Kurzweil, KurzweilAI.net, March 7, 2001.
20. If you have an automobile made in the past 5 years, you are
driving a vehicle with more computing power than was used
to put man on the moon… Cars are intelligent machines
integrating mechanical, computer, electronic and control
systems.
TSTC West TX, Sweetwater, 10.31.2006
22. PRIUS+ team: we built the first PRIUS+ conversion Sept 11-22, 2004, starting with a low-cost
lead-acid battery pack. Pictured are (L-R) Ron Gremban, Felix Kramer, Marc Geller, Kevin Lyons, Andrew Lawton.
See About CalCars for names of those who helped but are not pictured.
37. Nanoprobe, with a tip 1,000 times finer
than a human hair, penetrating a cell.
The probe can enter, perform a
measurement in situ and be withdrawn
without destroying the cell.
http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/get_press_release.cfm?ReleaseNumber=mr20040714-00
Opto-Mechatronics
45. Adapted from Charles Ostman
Senior Fellow
Institute for Global Futures
NEURO NANO
BIOINFO
46. Adapted from Charles Ostman
Senior Fellow
Institute for Global Futures
NEURO NANO
BIOINFO
S&T Convergence
47. Technical applications of biological molecules
including protein-based materials, DNA-based
materials, biomineralization, cellular systems
and bioelectronics.
http://www.nanobionics3.de/
NanoBionics
48. NanoBionic Actuators
Tethered bacterium
Swimming bacterium
Swimming speed ~ 20-30 µm
Protons flux/motor ~ 1200 proton/rev
Tethered bacterium
Motor efficiency ~ 90-100 %
Output power ~ 2.9×10-4
pW
Stall torque ~ 4600 pN-nm
Nano-motor (45 nm wide)
Genetic Engineering
Harmless E. coli
Mohamed Al-Fandi, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of NEMS & MEMS
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering & Biomechanics
University of Texas
49. Samuel Palmisano (CEO, IBM): Business Week: 10.11.2004
100 million jobs are going to
be created in a lot of these
cross-disciplinary fields
Council on Competitiveness:
National Innovation Initiative
52. What are the implications of computers
and robotic interfaces to the human
body and brain?
53. By routing signals from helmet-mounted
cameras, sonar and other equipment through the
tongue to the brain, they hope to give elite
soldiers superhuman senses similar to owls,
snakes and fish….
Researchers at the Florida Institute for Human
and Machine Cognition envision their work
giving Army Rangers 360-degree unobstructed
vision at night and allowing Navy SEALs to
sense sonar in their heads while maintaining
normal vision underwater -- turning sci-fi into
reality.
Brain Port: Warriors of the future will
'taste' battlefield
CNN - Tuesday, April 25, 2006; Posted: 11:23 a.m. EDT (15:23 GMT)
New Relation of Humans and Machines
55. Source: DOD C2 Research Program, 2004
Evolution of the division of labor
between Humans and Machines:
Emergence of Human Machine
Cooperation (HMC)
56. The Future is Here
Science and Technology
Workforce
Education
57. “Over the next ten years, 26 of
the top 30 fastest growing jobs
will require some post-
secondary education or
training...The demand for
skilled workers is outpacing
supply, resulting in attractive,
high-paying jobs going
unfilled.” Emily Stover De Rocco
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Education and Training
58. “Over the next ten years, 26 of
the top 30 fastest growing jobs
will require some post-
secondary education or
training...The demand for
skilled workers is outpacing
supply, resulting in attractive,
high-paying jobs going
unfilled.” Emily Stover De Rocco
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Education and Training
59. Source: Competition in a global economy.
The Career Cluster Solution. Debra Mills,
CORD
White
Collar
20%
Blue Collar
80%
1950’s Workforce Model
60. GM05-018 L3IS/DFOISR-60
“Our requirement for skilled labor is up while our
requirement for unskilled labor is down.”
--Lance Martin, Manager for Public Relations
63. The number of jobs
requiring technical
training is growing at
five times the rate of
other occupations.
Innovate America, U.S. Council on Competitiveness
64. Wind Turbine Tech
11.1.2006, TSTC West TX, Sweetwater
“In most industries you
have electricians,
mechanics and IT, in
wind, you are expected
to do everything.”
-- Bryan Gregory, Jr.
65. “Turbine Techs earn $28-
$40K a year… Many
techs earning $40K -
$80K a year with OT.”
– Bryan Gregory, Jr.
11.1.2006, TSTC West TX, Sweetwater
66. “….we had to upgrade our basic
mechanic skills to include
programmable logic controllers and
electrical systems.”
--Dr. Ron Lentsch, Allergan
4/2007, TSTC Waco
69. “We need
people who
have integrated
skills related to
mechanical,
electronic,
hydraulics and
pneumatics.”
--Bill Biffinger, HR,
Superior Essex
TSTC West TX
70. “Starting wages
for Engineering
Tech, IT Tech
and Industrial
Technology
range from $28K
to $32K.”
-- Bill Biffinger, HR,
Superior Essex
TSTC West TX
71. System and Network Technician
$30,000-to-$50,000
“You have to be able to trouble shoot in a
different way. In the mechanical world, you
are looking at equipment and finding
specific things to troubleshoot. Now it’s all
software and abstract thought is important.”
--Freida Jackson, Systems Editor, Waco Tribune-Herald
4/2007, TSTC Waco
72. “It used to be the
sledgehammer
mechanic. These days,
the technology has
advanced so much that
our most important tool
is our brain. It is more
of a thinking man’s
game now.”
Jeff Nelson
Service Manager
CAT
76. “We are looking for
someone who can look at
the mechanical, the
electrical and the control
and understand these
systems. We need people
who are capable of
crossing over between
these various areas.”
Don Sheffield
Senior Recruiter
GlobalSantaFe
TSTC West TX, Sweetwater
77. “In this plant, in the
next three years we
will need nine
Instrumentation and
Numerical Control
(INC) technicians.”
Edward C. Trump
Plant Manager
Entergy
4/2007, TSTC Marshall
83. STEM jobs are increasingly
transdisciplinary--integrating
knowledge, skills and
occupations from traditionally
separate fields of work and
academic study.
85. STEM jobs are increasingly
transdisciplinary--integrating
knowledge, skills and
occupations from traditionally
separate fields of work and
academic study.
86. The Future is Here
Science and Technology
Workforce
Education
97. Willard R. Daggett, Ed.D.,
President of the International
Center for Leadership in Education
Academics
ARTSCTE
America’s Top
Performing Schools
98.
99.
100. Lower Rio Grande Valley
o College transition rates, all
students: 56.7%
o College transition rates,
Tech Prep (2005 cohort):
65.7%
State of Texas
o College transition rates, all
students: 55.3%
o College transition rates
(2005 cohort): Tech Prep:
55.6%
Source: High School College Linkages, THECB Fall 2006 Preliminary
Enrollment, (2005-2006 Data), in Patricia G. (Pat) Bubb
18% Increase in College Attendance
129. STEMATICS – Curriculum
Metrology – Measurement of nano, meso, micro and macro-scale systems.
Materials – Electronic, thermal, magnetic, chemical, structural and optical
properties of materials.
Control Systems - Behavior of dynamical systems.
Mechanical Systems – Structures, mechanisms and machines.
Electronic Systems – Electronic circuits, components and devices.
Technology, Career and Academic Exploration - Workforce, industry and
emerging technology trends presented in the context of life, career and
academic planning.
142. The Future is Here
Science and Technology
Workforce
Education
143. “In West Texas, McDonalds gets 40 applicants for every
job and I get one applicant for every 40 jobs. Aviation
technicians start at $30,000 per year at American
Eagle.” –Harley Hall, American Eagle, Abilene
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
M2M is a category of Information and Computing Technology (ICT) that combines network, computer, software, sensor and power technologies to enable remote human and machine interaction with physical, chemical and biological systems and processes. M2M has many synonyms including “pervasive computing”, “hidden computing”, “invisible computing” and “ubiquitous computing.”
Reach out and touch someone or squeeze someone or…An accelerometer on the wrist-worn device allows rough detection of hand orientation, gesture measurement, and tapping. In the near future researchers will examine simple activity detection as well, such as sitting, walking, and standing.
As in the bus stop example, a person wearing the device can sense simple touching. This sensation is enabled through force-sensing resistors that provide pressure detection over a high-resolution surface array on the top of the device.
A person can also detect rich signals sent from a partner whirling a finger along the surface of his or her device. Researchers provided this effect by time stamping the sensed data.
Motes, such as the one amongst the candy corn above, are at the heart of several Intel research projects.
Not only might a wearer experience the simulated touch of a friend, she might also feel the device grow warm to her skin. Using a Peltier Junction, the device can create a subtle heating or cooling on the wearer’s skin.
“The mapping between the inputs and outputs of paired devices is not literal,” says Paulos. “This is an important part of the design. In the same way people developed a language of numbers around early pagers when they sent messages we believe a similar vocabulary will emerge around physical cues.”
For example, to some wearers a gentle warming on the skin might convey a message of friendship. Others might choose to send good vibes by…well by sending good vibes, literally. Intel researchers used simple flat pancake vibration motors to cause wearers to easily and privately feel vibrations though skin contact. Various vibration patterns and duty cycles provide a number of output possibilities for the device.
And for those times when good vibes just aren’t enough, a wearer of the device can send the equivalent of a wireless handhold, an electronic squeeze.
Through the use of Flexinol, a user can feel a little squeeze that mimics the grasp of a hand as the filament in the wrist-worn device contracts when electrically powered. Flexinol is a simple variant of Nitinol, which is often used in robotic applications and commonly referred to as “muscle wire” for its ability to exert force and return to its original shape.
For all the pleasant thoughts and human analogies there may be a dark side to this device. “Imagine someone incessantly tapping, tapping, tapping. You’d probably feel really annoyed,” says Paulos. “It could be your friend trying to get in touch with you. Or perhaps you’re on the receiving end of a lovers’ quarrel.”
“Yea,” says Paulos, “there is an eerie side to this device. I don’t think anyone want to know what spam feels like.”
M2M is a category of Information and Computing Technology (ICT) that combines network, computer, software, sensor and power technologies to enable remote human and machine interaction with physical, chemical and biological systems and processes. M2M has many synonyms including “pervasive computing”, “hidden computing”, “invisible computing” and “ubiquitous computing.”
Reach out and touch someone or squeeze someone or…An accelerometer on the wrist-worn device allows rough detection of hand orientation, gesture measurement, and tapping. In the near future researchers will examine simple activity detection as well, such as sitting, walking, and standing.
As in the bus stop example, a person wearing the device can sense simple touching. This sensation is enabled through force-sensing resistors that provide pressure detection over a high-resolution surface array on the top of the device.
A person can also detect rich signals sent from a partner whirling a finger along the surface of his or her device. Researchers provided this effect by time stamping the sensed data.
Motes, such as the one amongst the candy corn above, are at the heart of several Intel research projects.
Not only might a wearer experience the simulated touch of a friend, she might also feel the device grow warm to her skin. Using a Peltier Junction, the device can create a subtle heating or cooling on the wearer’s skin.
“The mapping between the inputs and outputs of paired devices is not literal,” says Paulos. “This is an important part of the design. In the same way people developed a language of numbers around early pagers when they sent messages we believe a similar vocabulary will emerge around physical cues.”
For example, to some wearers a gentle warming on the skin might convey a message of friendship. Others might choose to send good vibes by…well by sending good vibes, literally. Intel researchers used simple flat pancake vibration motors to cause wearers to easily and privately feel vibrations though skin contact. Various vibration patterns and duty cycles provide a number of output possibilities for the device.
And for those times when good vibes just aren’t enough, a wearer of the device can send the equivalent of a wireless handhold, an electronic squeeze.
Through the use of Flexinol, a user can feel a little squeeze that mimics the grasp of a hand as the filament in the wrist-worn device contracts when electrically powered. Flexinol is a simple variant of Nitinol, which is often used in robotic applications and commonly referred to as “muscle wire” for its ability to exert force and return to its original shape.
For all the pleasant thoughts and human analogies there may be a dark side to this device. “Imagine someone incessantly tapping, tapping, tapping. You’d probably feel really annoyed,” says Paulos. “It could be your friend trying to get in touch with you. Or perhaps you’re on the receiving end of a lovers’ quarrel.”
“Yea,” says Paulos, “there is an eerie side to this device. I don’t think anyone want to know what spam feels like.”
., all integrated through the design process. The key to success in mechatronics is: modeling, analysis, experimentation & hardware-implementation skills.
Anti depressant, AIDS and Parkinsons dry mouth effects speech and sleepDentist and engineer
Lab-in-a-Pill – Revolutionising Bowel Cancer Screening
Sector: Medical Devices
Technology
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the western world, colorectal cancer is now the third most frequent cancer and the second most common cause of cancer deaths. In the US nearly 150,000 new cases are being diagnosed each year and more than 56,000 people died from the disease in 2002. In the UK, where a national screening campaign will be implemented across the 20m population over 50, around 15,000 people die from the disease each year.
Current screening techniques are notoriously inaccurate, leading to many false positives which saturate resources available for follow-up diagnosis. But scientists at Glasgow University have pioneered a new sensor technology, Lab-in-a-Pill, that could have major impact on the cost and effectiveness of bowel cancer treatment.
At the core of Lab-in-a-Pill is a miniaturised sensor, processing and communications module all enclosed in a chemical-resistant capsule which currently measures around 3cm x 1cm in prototype form.
The Lab-in-a-Pill module, which would be sent to all individuals being screened, incorporates a multi-sensor array which includes a blood test. The pill is able to detect blood as it travels through the bowel, transmitting the real time measurements to a small external module worn under a patch attached to the body.
After one, or more pills have been swallowed over the required screening period, the patch is returned for the measured data to be assessed at the screening centre. So the pills themselves do not have to be recovered making the screening process much more acceptable. And because it measures the location of bleeding Lab-in-a-Pill can identify, more effectively, those individuals who are most at risk.
The Lab-in-a-Pill concept, currently undergoing in-vitro trials, overcomes the critical difficulties with the current screening scheme which is based on individuals collecting stool samples. Major benefits include:
• improved compliance and screening response rate with elimination of sample collection
• reduced false positives and improved sensitivity through measurement at the source of bleeding
So Lab-in-a-Pill reduces the pressure on valuable national resources by eliminating the need for central screening laboratories and ensuring only at-risk patients are referred for colonoscopy.
IP Status
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The intellectual property associated with this technology belongs to the University of Glasgow.
The University of Glasgow is always keen to hear from potential collaborative partners and welcomes interest from genuine parties. If you would like further information about this technology or this area of research please complete the following form and we will get back to you via telephone or email within two working days.
Enquiry Form
http://www.innovativelicences.com/index.cfm/page/licensesandtechnologies/technologyid/48
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.htm
What is a cochlear implant?
Credit: NIH Medical ArtsEar with Cochlear implant. View larger image.A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin (see figure). An implant has the following parts:
A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.
A speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds picked up by the microphone.
A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals from the speech processor and convert them into electric impulses.
An electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects the impulses from the stimulator and sends them to different regions of the auditory nerve.
An implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
Top
How does a cochlear implant work?
A cochlear implant is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids amplify sounds so they may be detected by damaged ears. Cochlear implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by way of the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from normal hearing and takes time to learn or relearn. However, it allows many people to recognize warning signals, understand other sounds in the environment, and enjoy a conversation in person or by telephone.
Top
Who gets cochlear implants?
Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Children and adults who are deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can be fitted for cochlear implants. According to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) 2005 data, nearly 100,000 people worldwide have received implants. In the United States, roughly 22,000 adults and nearly 15,000 children have received them.
Adults who have lost all or most of their hearing later in life often can benefit from cochlear implants. They often can associate the sounds made through an implant with sounds they remember. This may help them to understand speech without visual cues or systems such as lipreading or sign language.
Cochlear implants, coupled with intensive postimplantation therapy, can help young children to acquire speech, language, developmental, and social skills. Most children who receive implants are between two and six years old. Early implantation provides exposure to sounds that can be helpful during the critical period when children learn speech and language skills. In 2000, the FDA lowered the age of eligibility to 12 months for one type of cochlear implant.
Top
How does someone receive a cochlear implant?
Use of a cochlear implant requires both a surgical procedure and significant therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing. Not everyone performs at the same level with this device. The decision to receive an implant should involve discussions with medical specialists, including an experienced cochlear-implant surgeon. The process can be expensive. For example, a person’s health insurance may cover the expense, but not always. Some individuals may choose not to have a cochlear implant for a variety of personal reasons. Surgical implantations are almost always safe, although complications are a risk factor, just as with any kind of surgery. An additional consideration is learning to interpret the sounds created by an implant. This process takes time and practice. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists are frequently involved in this learning process. Prior to implantation, all of these factors need to be considered.
Top
What does the future hold for cochlear implants?
With advancements in technology and continued follow-up studies with people who already have received implants, researchers are evaluating how cochlear implants might be used for other types of hearing loss.
NIDCD is supporting research to improve upon the benefits provided by cochlear implants. It may be possible to use a shortened electrode array, inserted into a portion of the cochlea, for individuals whose hearing loss is limited to the higher frequencies. Other studies are exploring ways to make a cochlear implant convey the sounds of speech more clearly. Researchers also are looking at the potential benefits of pairing a cochlear implant in one ear with either another cochlear implant or a hearing aid in the other ear.
ORNL nanoprobe creates world of new possibilities
ORNL researcher Tuan Vo-Dinh expects big things from the nanoprobe. OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 14, 2004 — A technology with proven environmental, forensics and medical applications has received a shot in the arm because of an invention by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
ORNL's nanoprobe, which is based on a light scattering technique, can detect and analyze chemicals, explosives, drugs and more at a theoretical single-molecule level. This capability makes it far more selective and accurate than conventional competing technologies.
The probe is an optical fiber tapered to a tip measuring 100 nanometers with an extremely thin coating of nanoparticles of silver, which induces the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. Normally, when a sample is illuminated by a laser beam, there is a small reflection of light, known as Raman scattering. The light shows vibration energies, which are unique to each compound, and that information allows scientists to identify the substance.
With the SERS nanoprobe, the laser light creates rapid oscillations of the electrons in the silver nanoparticles, which produce an enormous electromagnetic field that contributes to increase the Raman scattering signal. The ORNL nanoprobe works with any surface to induce the SERS effect.
"The significance of this work is that we are now able to perform direct analysis of samples -- even dry samples -- with no preparation of the surface," said ORNL's Tuan Vo-Dinh, who leads a team that developed the nanoprobe. "Also, the small scale of the nanoprobe demonstrates the potential for detection in nanoscale environments, such as at the intracellular level."
Ordinarily, surface-enhanced Raman scattering analysis of samples on a surface requires modification or treatment of the sample. This may consist of physically removing the sample and diluting it in a liquid containing silver nanoparticles; however, this practice is unnecessary with the ORNL nanoprobe.
Vo-Dinh and Life Sciences Division colleagues David Stokes and Zhenhuan Chi experimented with nanoprobes made of several materials of varying thickness. They settled on silver-island films because they are easier to reproduce than silver-coated particles and they form only a thin coating, which helps maintain the nanoscale diameter of the tapered tip.
The development of the SERS nanoprobe could lead to increasing interest in SERS as an ultra-sensitive detection tool, allowing direct analysis of samples for a wide variety of applications, Vo-Dinh said. These applications range from environmental monitoring to intracellular sensing and medical diagnostics.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy. Funding for the project was provided by DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.
ORNL's nanobiosensor technology gives new access to living cell’s molecular processes
OAK RIDGE, April 27, 2004 -- Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a nanoscale technology for investigating biomolecular processes in single living cells. The new technology enables researchers to monitor and study cellular signaling networks, including the first observation of programmed cell death in a single live cell. The "nanobiosensor" allows scientists to physically probe inside a living cell without destroying it. As scientists adopt a systems approach to studying biomolecular processes, the nanobiosensor provides a valuable tool for intracellular studies that have applications ranging from medicine to national security to energy production.
ORNL Corporate Fellow and Life Sciences Division researcher Tuan Vo-Dinh leads a team of researchers who are developing the nanoscale technology. "This research illustrates the integrated 'nano-bio-info' approach to investigating and understanding these complex cell systems," Vo-Dinh said. "There is a need to explore uncharted territory inside a live cell and analyze the molecular processes. This minimally invasive nanotechnology opens the door to explore the inner world of single cells".
ORNL's work was most recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and has appeared in a feature article of the journal Nature. Members of Vo-Dinh's research team include postdoctoral researchers Paul M. Kasili, Joon Myong Song and research staff biochemist Guy Griffin.
The group's nanobiosensor is a tiny fiber-optic probe that has been drawn to a tip of only 40 nanometers (nm) across--a billionth of a meter and 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. The probe is small enough to be inserted into a cell.
Immobilized at the nanotip is a bioreceptor molecule, such as an antibody, DNA or enzyme that can bind to target molecules of interest inside the cell. Video microscopy experiments reveal the minimally invasive nature of the nanoprobe in that it can be inserted into a cell and withdrawn without destroying it.
Because the 40-nm diameter of the fiber-optic probe is much narrower than the 400-nm wavelength of light, only target molecules bound to the bioreceptors at the tip are exposed to and excited by the evanescent field of a laser signal.
"We detect only the molecules that we target, without all the other background 'noise' from the myriad other species inside the cell. Only nanoscale fiber-optics technology can provide this capability," said Vo-Dinh.
ORNL's technology gives molecular biologists an important systems biology approach of studying complex systems through the nano-bio-info route. Conventional analytical methods--electron microscopy or introducing dyes, for example--have the disadvantage of being lethal to the cell.
"The information obtained from conventional measurements is an average of thousands or millions of cells," said Vo-Dinh. "When you destroy cells to study them, you can't obtain the dynamic information from the whole live cell system. You get only pieces of information. Nanosensor technology provides a means to preserve a cell and study it over time within the entire cell system."
The ability to work with living cells opens a new path to obtaining basic information critical to understanding the cell's molecular processes. Researchers have a new tool for understanding how toxic agents are transported into cells and how biological pathogens trigger biological responses in the cell.
Vo-Dinh's team recently detected the biochemical components of a cell-signaling pathway, apoptosis. Apoptosis is a key process in an organism's ability to prevent disease such as cancer. This programmed cell-death mechanism causes cells to self-destruct before they can multiply and introduce disease to the organism.
"When a cell in our body receives insults such as toxins or inflammation and is damaged, it kills itself. This is nature's way to limit and stop propagation of many diseases such as cancer," said Vo-Dinh. "For the first time we've seen apoptosis occur within a single living cell."
Apoptosis triggers a host of tell-tale enzyme called caspases. Vo-Dinh's team introduced a light-activated anti-cancer drug into cancer cells. They then inserted the fiberoptic nanoprobe with a biomarker specific for caspase-9 attached to its tip. The presence of caspase-9 caused cleavage of the biomarker from the tip of the nanobiosensor. Changes in the intensity of the biomarker's fluorescence revealed that the light-activated anti-cancer drug had triggered the cell-death machinery.
"The nanobiosensor has many other applications for looking at how cells react when they are treated with a drug or invaded by a biological pathogen. This has important implications ranging from drug therapy development to national security, environmental protection and a better understanding of molecular biology at a systems level," said Vo-Dinh. "This area of research is truly at the nexus of nanotechnology, biology and information technology."
The research was supported by ORNL's laboratory-directed research and development program and by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Office of Science. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS:
You may read other press releases from Oak Ridge National Laboratory or learn more about the lab at http://www.ornl.gov/news.
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Media Contact: Bill CabageCommunications and External Relations865.574.4399 ORNL’s nanobiosensor technology gives new access to living cell’s molecular processes
This image shows a nanoprobe, with a tip 1,000 times finer than a human hair, penetrating a cell. The probe can enter, perform a measurement in situ and be withdrawn without destroying the cell. The nanobiosensor technology provides researchers who study cell systems at the molecular level a valuable tool for monitoring the health of a single cell. OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 27, 2004 — Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a nanoscale technology for investigating biomolecular processes in single living cells. The new technology enables researchers to monitor and study cellular signaling networks, including the first observation of programmed cell death in a single live cell.
The "nanobiosensor" allows scientists to physically probe inside a living cell without destroying it. As scientists adopt a systems approach to studying biomolecular processes, the nanobiosensor provides a valuable tool for intracellular studies that have applications ranging from medicine to national security to energy production.
ORNL Corporate Fellow and Life Sciences Division researcher Tuan Vo-Dinh leads a team of researchers who are developing the nanoscale technology. "This research illustrates the integrated ‘nano-bio-info' approach to investigating and understanding these complex cell systems," Vo-Dinh said. "There is a need to explore uncharted territory inside a live cell and analyze the molecular processes. This minimally invasive nanotechnology opens the door to explore the inner world of single cells".
ORNL's work was most recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and has appeared in a feature article of the journal Nature. Members of Vo-Dinh's research team include postdoctoral researchers Paul M. Kasili, Joon Myong Song and research staff biochemist Guy Griffin.
The group's nanobiosensor is a tiny fiber-optic probe that has been drawn to a tip of only 40 nanometers (nm) across—a billionth of a meter and 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. The probe is small enough to be inserted into a cell.
Immobilized at the nanotip is a bioreceptor molecule, such as an antibody, DNA or enzyme that can bind to target molecules of interest inside the cell. Video microscopy experiments reveal the minimally invasive nature of the nanoprobe in that it can be inserted into a cell and withdrawn without destroying it.
Because the 40-nm diameter of the fiber-optic probe is much narrower than the 400-nm wavelength of light, only target molecules bound to the bioreceptors at the tip are exposed to and excited by the evanescent field of a laser signal.
"We detect only the molecules that we target, without all the other background ‘noise' from the myriad other species inside the cell. Only nanoscale fiber-optics technology can provide this capability," said Vo-Dinh.
ORNL's technology gives molecular biologists an important systems biology approach of studying complex systems through the nano-bio-info route. Conventional analytical methods—electron microscopy or introducing dyes, for example—have the disadvantage of being lethal to the cell.
"The information obtained from conventional measurements is an average of thousands or millions of cells," said Vo-Dinh. "When you destroy cells to study them, you can't obtain the dynamic information from the whole live cell system. You get only pieces of information. Nanosensor technology provides a means to preserve a cell and study it over time within the entire cell system."
The ability to work with living cells opens a new path to obtaining basic information critical to understanding the cell's molecular processes. Researchers have a new tool for understanding how toxic agents are transported into cells and how biological pathogens trigger biological responses in the cell.
Vo-Dinh's team recently detected the biochemical components of a cell-signaling pathway, apoptosis. Apoptosis is a key process in an organism's ability to prevent disease such as cancer. This programmed cell-death mechanism causes cells to self-destruct before they can multiply and introduce disease to the organism.
"When a cell in our body receives insults such as toxins or inflammation and is damaged, it kills itself. This is nature's way to limit and stop propagation of many diseases such as cancer," said Vo-Dinh. "For the first time we've seen apoptosis occur within a single living cell."
Apoptosis triggers a host of tell-tale enzyme called caspases. Vo-Dinh's team introduced a light-activated anti-cancer drug into cancer cells. They then inserted the fiberoptic nanoprobe with a biomarker specific for caspase-9 attached to its tip. The presence of caspase-9 caused cleavage of the biomarker from the tip of the nanobiosensor. Changes in the intensity of the biomarker's fluorescence revealed that the light-activated anti-cancer drug had triggered the cell-death machinery.
"The nanobiosensor has many other applications for looking at how cells react when they are treated with a drug or invaded by a biological pathogen. This has important implications ranging from drug therapy development to national security, environmental protection and a better understanding of molecular biology at a systems level," said Vo-Dinh. "This area of research is truly at the nexus of nanotechnology, biology and information technology."
The research was supported by ORNL's laboratory-directed research and development program and by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Office of Science. ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
We are designing and fabricating an electromechanical device for manipulation and electrical probing of nano-scale objects (Figures 1 and 2). The device consists of micro-scale flexures and actuators that generate nano-scale motion; and nano-scale structure that interact with the nano world. Our device is designed to work in conjunction with the AFM and will be used to image the sample as well.
Currently there is no versatile, practical experimental tool for use at this scale. Our goal is to have a cheap and consistently reproducible experimental device. Hence, we are designing this device to be completely batch fabricated start to finish. Despite the lack of batch lithography at this scale, we have developed unique processes that allow for nano-scale feature size and single nano-scale pitch using standard microfabrication.
To ensure consistency between our nano-tweezers, we have developed self compensating devices that can withstand a range of process and subsequent structure variations and still provide the same performance characteristics. This robust design method also has extensive utility in other commercial MEMs applications where repeatability of performance and reliability are essential.
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
., all integrated through the design process. The key to success in mechatronics is: modeling, analysis, experimentation & hardware-implementation skills.
Metrology (from Greek 'metron' (measure), and -logy) is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement.
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
., all integrated through the design process. The key to success in mechatronics is: modeling, analysis, experimentation & hardware-implementation skills.
., all integrated through the design process. The key to success in mechatronics is: modeling, analysis, experimentation & hardware-implementation skills.
Metrology (from Greek 'metron' (measure), and -logy) is the science of measurement. Metrology includes all theoretical and practical aspects of measurement.
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
The most important thing to understand about Whyville really, is that it’s a place full of kids. It’s a virtual city that belongs to the kids who come from all over the world to have fun. The kids consider this their own town, and they call themselves Whyvillians.
To become a Whyvillian, you create a Whyville persona. In this screen, and every other screen you’ve already seen, for example, each face is a Whyville citizen. To become a Whyville citizen, you create a persona, the most important aspect of which is your face.
You can see here that the faces are varied and very creative. Here’s an amoeba. Here’s someone driving a car. Here is someone wearing a style known as ‘Goth’. The ungliest citizens you see around are in fact us, the city workers.
Whyville has its own system of self governance
Whyville has its own system of self governance
Whyville has its own system of self governance
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
Cybernetics is a theory of the communication and control of regulatory feedback. The term cybernetics stems from the Greek kybernetes (meaning steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder). Cybernetics is the discipline that studies communication and control in living beings and in the machines built by humans.
A more philosophical definition, suggested in 1958 by Louis Couffignal, one of the pioneers of cybernetics in the 1930s, considers cybernetics as "the art of assuring efficiency of action" (see external links for reference).
