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It's funny. Laugh. Science

Synthesis of Anthropomorphic Molecules 23

Posted by timothy from the plausible-deniability dept.
An anonymous reader submits "Chemists at Rice have synthesized a set of 2nm tall molecules resembling humans. They make impressive use of a modular and composable assembly process involving torsos, lower bodies, and heads. Full article can (w/ protocols) be had here. Make your own NanoKid today!" The article itself is payware, but the pictures are not, and worth visiting.
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Synthesis of Anthropomorphic Molecules More

Synthesis of Anthropomorphic Molecules

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  • Small people (Score:5, Funny)

    by Omega037 ( 712939 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @04:57PM (#7134397)
    We are now one step closer to nanoporn!
  • Can someone who has a subscription to ACS post the "gist" of the article?
    That way, it can entice some of us to subscribe.

    Grump.
    (student with too much credit card debt...avoid using plastic when possible).

    • Re:More info? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      ACS Abstract... more coming shortly

      Described here are the synthetic details en route to an array of 2-nm-tall anthropomorphic molecules in monomeric, dimeric, and polymeric form. These anthropomorphic figures are called, as a class, NanoPutians. Using tools of chemical synthesis, the ultimate in designed miniaturization can be attained while preparing the most widely recognized structures: those that resemble humans.

    • Re:More info? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      OK... skimming the article, I had to grumble. It's really pretty gimmicky. It's a class of phenyl-pentyne derivatives.

      Once you make "NanoKid", you can "decapitate" the acetal that forms the "head" by microwave irradiation and pop on something else. So they made a "NanoAthlete", "NanoMonarch", "NanoPilgrim", "NanoGreenBeret", "NanoJester", "NanoTexan", ... Scholar, Baker, and Chef.

      They make a monolayer with "feet" from thiols and put them on a gold surface. Then they cook up some "hands" that can crosslink

  • Award Candidate (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Captain Nitpick ( 16515 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @06:18PM (#7134695)

    Looks like we've already got a nominee for 2004 Ig Nobel prize in chemistry or physics.

  • Wow! (Score:5, Funny)

    by inertia187 ( 156602 ) * on Saturday October 04, 2003 @09:13PM (#7135388) Homepage Journal
    That's a pretty close likeness [castimore.com].

  • NanoKids! (Score:4, Informative)

    by phch ( 398574 ) on Sunday October 05, 2003 @11:05AM (#7137229)
    According to a footnote in the article, "An education outreach program has been established based on 3-D animations of anthropomorphic figures called NanoKids. See: http://nanokids.rice.edu [rice.edu]."

    I guess these color figures [rice.edu] better illustrate what the authors had in mind.
    • taken from their mission statement [rice.edu] "...The NanoKids(TM) educational outreach program, headed by Dr. James M. Tour, Chao Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, is dedicated to increasing public knowledge of the nanoscale world and the emerging molecular research and technology that is rapidly expanding internationally....".
      I seriously hope research was not done into the synthesis of anthropomorphic molecules just for this NanoKids project. Like these kids who know dick about chemistry are going to a

  • WTF! (Score:1, Troll)

    by nhaze ( 684461 )
    Yeah because this is useful in anyway... Let's throw some more tax dollars at the project and give them some pet dogs and hell why not a seamonkey.

    Granted this is a well known and respected research, but that does not give him the right to piss away your money.
    Here is a link with some more info [rice.edu]
    • Or is that not good enough a reason?

      This program is clearly part of the NanoKids project at Rice University which is intended to develop new ways to educate children about nanotechnology and chemistry. Kids get interested when they find out that you can play with molecules just like tinkertoys. There's a difference between telling a kid, "You know you could make a molecule shaped like a human being if you wanted" and actually doing it.

      Not to mention some poor organic chemistry student learned a hell of a

  • Article (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I found the article on google here [pisem.net] it is.
  • ...no one gets their Ph.D. from this work.
  • they now have voodoo dolls small enough to get back at us for the magnifying glass...

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