Wisconsin Researchers Create Nano-Bio-Circuits

opencity writes "A team of scientists at UW-Madison has successfully used single bacterial cells to make tiny bio-electronic circuits. Slipping between the electrodes, the microbes, in effect, become electrical "junctions," giving researchers the ability to capture, interrogate and release bacterial cells one by one. Built into a sensor, such a capability would enable real-time detection of dangerous biological agents, including anthrax and other microbial pathogens. Two mpegs -- 11MB and 35MB -- available here. Related by scale and buzzwords: physorg.com reports scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to sneak nano-sized probes inside cell nuclei, where they can track life's fundamental processes, such as DNA repair, for hours on end. Related cool pictures and strange font choices on Nano-Bio Interface Center."

Not enough buzzwords

[Anonymous Coward]

Needs "quantum" in it somewhere

Re:Not enough buzzwords

[Anonymous Coward]

Old technology, modern implementation.
Trouble is, microbes and bacteria vary hugely in size and shape, and may break and divide. Bits may stick, dust and foreign bodies get jammed in the works.If the gates are so narrow, wonder if they bend, or current electroylsis corrodes one terminal over time? Same as a chicken egg size sorter, only smaller, and without light detection circuitry.

Disposable filter paper, or a roll of filter paper, works, and is cheap, as are glass needletips. A scanning electron microsc

Re:Not enough buzzwords

[cookie_cutter]

Funny you should say that. I was thinking the same thing, but for a different reason; that being why didn't the submission mention the technology which the 'nano-size probes' are based on.

The answer, of course, is quantum dot technology [tudelft.nl]

Re:Not enough buzzwords

[deathcloset]

you know Mr.AC, somewhere in between your joking of quantum, my half-reading of this article and then my meandering over their interesting image [upenn.edu] I was struck with how strange this curling of DNA looked.

I mean, on one hand it looks tangled and inelegant. But then I think how it twists this way because of the fundamental laws of my favorite place (the universe).
Which then led to my recollection of the following (hope this image hosting doesn't bork:/)

• atmospheric1 [villagephotos.com]
• atmospheric2 [villagephotos.com]
• atmostpheric3 [villagephotos.com]

I'v

Re:Not enough buzzwords

[itwerx]

[snip]those curly clouds intrigue me to no end....the curves of nature amaze me...

One word: phi [google.com]

Interrogate

[Anonymous Coward]

Alright pal, where were you on Feb. 29th? The upper spinal cord? Nice try.

Mor-on

[Doc Ruby]

Can someone find a way to put the thinking tube into the AC's head? Is there anyone else in this sadistic nation of torturers who wants the golden rule applied proactively to them?

Re:Mor-on

[Doc Ruby]

You're a weird little fucker, that you want others to perform oral sex on you, whether you want it or not. Perhaps you've got a feeding tube you need removed.

Re:Interrogate

[andersa]

In other news, homeland security raises the terror alert level to gray goo..

Re:Terri Shiavo

[TheGavster]

Its that irritating 'last wishes' thing ... some people plan ahead for the prospect of becoming a vegetable supported only by a vast array of machines.

Re:Heh

[BlowinTrees]

before the slashdot effect can be observed, you first need working links... http://http//www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.h tml should be http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.html least i was able to snag the files at decent speeds :P , commence with the effect

Re:Heh

[Rylz]

At least they posted the wrong link! That gives that site those precious extra seconds while /.ers fix the links!

Alright...

[nighthawk127127]

giving researchers the ability to capture, interrogate and release

...still won't talk, eh? Well let me introduce you to my little friend here... We like to call him "Mr. Microbe."

Noooo! I'll do anything, please!!!

WTf?

[t0ny747]

wtf? http://http//www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.h tml takes me to microsoft.com....

Re:WTf?

[ccharles]

This happened to me the other day, too. I think they somehow got a hold of http://http//anything

Re:WTf?

[gnuman99]

google for http. microsoft.com is first on the list. That's why you go there. Firefox uses google to search for non-domains.

Re:WTf?

[teknomage1]

Since http isn't a valid toplevel domain name, mozilla style browsers do a google search on http. Then it jumps to the first result which happens to be microsoft.com .

Re: WTf?

[Alwin Henseler]

Since http isn't a valid toplevel domain name, mozilla style browsers do a google search on http. Then it jumps to the first result (..)

Yes, I've noticed this, and it's VERY annoying. If an URL isn't valid or doesn't exist, a browser should just say so, nothing more. Doing a Google search on (something not found) may be useful, but let the user decide that, alright?

For Mozilla/Firefox developers, some suggestions: a) don't do this, or b) do the Google search, but leave it to users to select and click on

Re: WTf?

[Anonymous Coward]

So change your prefrences.

Re: WTf?

[Suddenly_Dead]

Exactly. I like the feature myself. For example: just type Slashdot into the address bar and voila, you are here.

Re:WTf?

[B3ryllium]

I smell Googlebomb!

Re:WTf?

[nacturation]

If you wish to turn this off and be informed that the URL isn't valid rather than a Verisign-style "no domain is invalid" result, go into about:config and search for "keyword", then change keyword.enabled to false.

Re:WTf?

[bluyonder]

Someboody moderate this guy up. This is a good piece of information.

Re:WTf?

[mt v2.7]

http://http//www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.h tml

Re:WTf?

[JThundley]

This is where Firefox is taking you. [google.com]

Damn. It was a good letter too.

[dauthur]

Built into a sensor, such a capability would enable real-time detection of dangerous biological agents, including anthrax and other microbial pathogens.

So this means I can't mail my senator my letters?

Re:Damn. It was a good letter too.

[Linker3000]

Yep - then the Sentor's lapel badge starts beeping, which means 'you're now covered in anthrax - you pWned'.

Hmm - maybe I need to think further 'up the chain'?

Bad link!

[Anonymous Coward]

The link for the videos is incorrect, the correct link is:

http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.html

Ironically, under Firefox the link forwards to Microsoft.

Re:Bad link!

[mog007]

Firefox thinks it's a google "I'm feeling lucky" search for HTTP:// which, as any good /.er knows sends you to microsoft.com

Re:Bad link!

[CaptnMArk]

Please, someone at Mozilla or Google special case this one to go to the google home page :)

Correct Link to Video

[Ken@WearableTech]

http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/hamers.html [wisc.edu]

Re:Correct Link to Video

[LiquidCoooled]

why does it end up redirecting to MS?

Should I be wearing my tinfoil hat for this one?

Re:Correct Link to Video

[mfh]

why does it end up redirecting to MS?
I'm guessing UW-Madison wants to Slashdot MS. It's a conspiracy.

Re:Correct Link to Video

[Ken@WearableTech]

Link on the main site is malformed...why it goes to MS? No idea.

Re:Correct Link to Video

[A beautiful mind]

If you notice it closely, you can catch firefox googling a quick one on the http thing, and then i think it's like hitting "i'm feeling lucky" and google gives you the MS page, since its one of the most known sites on the internet.

Re:Correct Link to Video

[slonkak]

That is exactly what's happening. When you type a word into the address bar of FF, it does a Google "I'm Feeling Lucky" search. The bad link starts with http:// which is cool. But it looks like it's there twice, so most people will goto the beginning of the link and hit the delete key 7 times to get rid of the duplicate http://. HOWEVER, the second one looks like this, http//. There's no colon. Thus, it doesn't register as a protocol (as http:// would) and ends up getting the default treatment of any

obligatory Wisconsin joke.

[Anonymous Coward]

And the best part is that they're made of cheese!

Re:Its the answer!

[jimmydevice]

The first application will be non-stinky, stinky cheese.

This will improve cohabitation with the female sex by two orders, solving all the worlds problems, Since stinky cheese is the root of all evil.
Well, That and alcohol and drugs and greed and ....

Jim D.

Re:It redirects me to MS...

[stuffisgood]

That's because of the dual http://... check out the http://http:// part...

But, does it...?

[Donny Smith]

> where they can track life's fundamental processes, such as DNA repair, for hours on end.

But, does it work with MRTG?

New meaning to virus problem

[sowdog81]

your virus is having problems :(

Resistance

[OverflowingBitBucket]

... is futile. ;)

Re:Resistance

[Easy2RememberNick]

Is the surname "Borg" common in Wisconsin?

Re:Resistance

[jericho4.0]

And getting more common every day.

microsoft owns http:// now?!

[cfavader]

I fairly sure I'm not alone when I say " wtf? "

Re:microsoft owns http:// now?!

[Bri3D]

It's Firefox. If you enter a term that's not valid, like two https, it searches for it, then takes you to the first result, which is oddly microsoft.

Torrents

[gamepro]

Just in case, the unlikely happens. video 1 - http://www.titaniumforums.com/tracker/torrents-det ails.php?id=5 [titaniumforums.com] Video 2 - http://www.titaniumforums.com/tracker/torrents-det ails.php?id=6 [titaniumforums.com]

Sign me up!

[StateOfTheUnion]

From the Lawrence Berkley national lab article: Images: These two images portray the movement of the nano-sized probes. On the left, a false-color overlay of fluorescence from a cell taken at four minute intervals reveals the dots moving from the green to the red positions. On the right, a large aggregate of immobile dots is indicated with the red arrow, while the circled stars and arrows indicate dots that move.

So if I spill this stuff on my hands, do I get to see a swirling mass of fluorescence with d

Re:Sign me up!

[ramblin billy]

"So if I spill this stuff on my hands, do I get to see a swirling mass of fluorescence with dancing stars and arrows for hours on end?"

No, for that effect you have to drink it.

billy - bring on the Nanoberry Quantum Koolaide

bittorrents available

[wayne]

Bittorrents are currently available at:

hamers1 (35MB) [schlitt.net]
hamers1 (11MB) [schlitt.net]

Re:bittorrents available

[Jeff DeMaagd]

In principle, it's nice that a Bittorrent is available, bit it isn't very useful if I can get 10x the speed just downloading it straight from uwisc. And I'm on a T1 too.

the poor microbes

[Eternally optimistic]

Just wait until PETA gets wind of this one. I know, bacteria and viruses are not animals, but that won't stop PETA!

PETA?

[Soulfarmer]

Peta Wilson? Wasn't that... oh never mind...

Re:the poor microbes

[Quantum Fizz]

Just wait until PETA gets wind of this one. I know, bacteria and viruses are not animals, but that won't stop PETA!

Just respond to PETA by saying "Every time a loaf of bread is baked, one million yeast cry out in pain!"

Strange fonts?

[Ligur]

Was I the only one who followed the link just to find out which fonts would be considered "strange" fonts by (what I assume is) a slashdot regular?

Re:Strange fonts?

[origamy]

I was looking for the strange fonts too. Maybe the editor thinks Arial or Helvetica are strange. Maybe he's using IE which, as mentioned before [slashdot.org], has issues with CSS.

Re:Strange fonts?

[sundragon5580]

I think they were referring to the NBIC drawn out at the top of the page in microarray dots, which is also used to create a couple graphics on the page.

You know what amazes me?

[Klootzak]

How Star-Trek creates some fiction about a type of technology/species, then a few years later it's a scientific-discovery/engineering-acheivement.

I read this and instantly think, Nano-probes, intra-cellular monitoring - Borg!!!

Not that I believe the scientists working on this based their research on the Borg from ST, however the paralells are quite intriguing.

Give it a couple more years and these nano-probes will be repairing cells in addition to monitoring them - I'm joking here, although who knows what

Re:You know what amazes me?

[Jerf]

How Star-Trek creates some fiction about a type of technology/species, then a few years later it's a scientific-discovery/engineering-acheivement.

Yes.

It's almost as if the scientific research precedes Star Trek... or as if a million-bajillion other science fiction stories had similar ideas that Star Trek could copy...

Don't give Star Trek too much credit. About all they've ever invented is terminology, much of which is surprisingly crappy if you actually learn about the fields they are raping for ideas.

You know what amazes me?-Books!

[Anonymous Coward]

"It's been a long time since Star Trek was a positive force for the sciences, too."

Obviously someone who hasn't read the book "The science of Star Trek".

Re:You know what amazes me?-Books!

[nacturation]

Obviously someone who hasn't read the book "The science of Star Trek".

That's about as useful as "The science of the Bible". It's easy to go in after the fact and justify whether or not something can be made to fit science. It's harder to examine the evidence at hand and decide whether or not the bible/Star Trek came to the right conclusion.

Re:You know what amazes me?-Books!

[Jerf]

No, I have read "The Science Of Star Trek". If actually read, it says, repeatedly, "This thing they show on Star Trek is not actually possible, but a lesser version of it may be", excepting our modern communication system which in most ways exceeds anything we've seen on Trek (except for voice-only call routing which we'll have long before the 24th century if we care). To me, that is not a confirmation of Star Trek, it is a confirmation that they have no particular basis in reality. (Which isn't a crime, ex

so...

[hitmark]

when can i expect to be able to adda implant to my bloodstream that extends on the abilitys of the liver? can this system be set to look for say alcohol over a given amount and then go to work and remove any amount above that point? so that that i can say i want to become buzzed by not flat out drunk no matter how much i drink?

detection is nice, removal is the next step.

University of Wisconsin?!

[nate nice]

Who cares about them right now, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is in the Sweet Sixteen now! Go Panthers!

Re:University of Wisconsin?!

[Cheapy]

Well, once the Panthers start to detect anthrax, then we can start caring about them :).

Nano-bio circuits

[melted]

Now add "synergistic on demand agile grid XML" to it, and do your IPO on wall street.

Re:Nano-bio circuits

[biobogonics]

Now add "synergistic on demand agile grid XML" to it, and do your IPO on wall street.

Actually, the University of Wisconsin has a long history of turning academic research into commercial products. Lots of vitamin research was done at the U-W. So when you see vitamin-D in milk, think U-W.

Vitamin-K, think U-W. The generic name of a very popular anti-coagulant (vitamin K antagonist) is Warfarin. WARF = Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation - whose purpose is to handle the commercial applications of research.

This is your brain...

[ABeowulfCluster]

.. replaced by a beowulf cluster of nano bio circuits. Any questions?

Bio-Circuit Cheez Whiz?

[buckhead_buddy]

So will Nabisco and Keebler and other makers of those engineered, aeresol-cheeze products now be make foods that are smarter and more useful than the consumers who eat them? This could open up all sorts of ethical issues.

Re:Bio-Circuit Cheez Whiz?

[Pax00]

So will Nabisco and Keebler and other makers of those engineered, aeresol-cheeze products now be make foods that are smarter and more useful than the consumers who eat them? This could open up all sorts of ethical issues.

hmm... and all of this time I thought those foods already were smarter...

What the heck is this?

[lawpoop]

OK, I've downloaded and watched the videos. I don't see any researchers 'interrogating bateria one by one'. It looks more like they are electromagnetically attracted to a conductive pathway.

Yes, but SHOULD we?

[ramblin billy]

I found it interesting that the Nano/Bio Interface Center [upenn.edu] places what seems to be an equal emphasis on the development of an ethical structure applicable for these new technologies as on the research itself. Arthur Caplan, who is the director of the Center for Bioethics, used to chair the UN advisory committee on human cloning. His associate, Paul Wolpe, former Chief of Bioethics for NASA and bioethics advisor to Planned Parenthood, is another big gun in the medical ethics arena. With the heavy talent on

Re:Yes, but SHOULD we?

[RebelWithoutAClue]

legal and ethical guidelines in place before they are initiated.

That doesnt make any sense. At all.

That would be like saying spam is unethical, before there was spam. Before there was email. Or like saying hacking/phishing is bad, before the all-encompassing web existed. Heck, people didnt know "bugs" existed until they started programming computers ...

Ethics before technology ? doesnt work

Re:Yes, but SHOULD we?

[UlfGabe]

people on usenet talked about the future of spam, and noone listened...

one can anticipate future events and put guidelines in place, only if one has the character to later return and say "i was wrong, lets change item A to this instead, it makes more sense now"

Woot! Soon I shall monitor my liver! Mein leben!

[Padmasambhava]

... at least if they don't patent the 'method of communicating between nano-bacterio-cells and Micr0$oft .Net bio-app'.

Then my PDA/phone can beep and alert me when I hit a BAC threshhold... /eli

Re:Nanotechnology & Chinese Threat

[Mitijea]

I love it - modded troll here, but the exact same comment above modded insightful.

Re:Nanotechnology & Chinese Threat

[ABeowulfCluster]

I didn't see how that was a troll.