Nanoparticles and Radio Waves: Heating things up.

Nanoparticles are nanoparticles,

radio waves are radio waves,

whenever the twain meet,

they shall produce heat.

As Shakespearean as that may sound (or not, probably) there is no contest about the veracity of the limerick (never mind the five line rule).

A group of scientists and a radio technician found ways to, shall we say, heat things up.

Scientists at University of Buffalo, New York found a way to control neurons- cells which generate and transmit the electrical signals in the nervous system, using metal nanoparticles and radio waves.

Neurons use electric potential difference to generate and transmit electrical signals. In a nutshell, neurons use ion pumps, proteins present on their peripheral membrane. These ion pumps use energy to export 3 positively-charged Sodium ions (Na⁺) out of the neuron in exchange for every 2 positively-charged Potassium ions (K⁺) they import into the neuron. This causes a buildup of excess positive charge outside the neuron and hence a potential difference. To generate an electric impulse, several Na⁺ specific ion channels in the peripheral membrane are opened. This causes the Na⁺ ions to flow in, and the charge is equalized across the membrane. This sudden change in the potential difference (depolarisation) generates an electric impulse which then travels along the neuron’s length.

Depolarization can be brought about by a number of ways. Importing positively-charged Calcium ions (Ca²⁺) or exporting negatively-charged Chloride ions (Cl^-) will also do the trick.

With that in mind, the group at Buffalo genetically engineered first fruit flies and then the worm C. elegans to express a protein on its surface which binds Biotin, or vitamin B7 in the vernacular. They then injected streptavidin coated nanoparticles made of Manganese and Iron (MnFe₂O₄) into the animals. Streptavidin attaches very strongly with biotin. The coated nanoparticles hence circulated and bonded specifically with the biotin labeled neurons and entered these neurons. The animals were then placed in a high powered radio wave field.

Interaction between nanoparticles and biologically harmless radio waves heated the particles to 42ᴼC. The cells remained unharmed at such low temperature.

The increased temperature triggered the temperature sensitive Ca²⁺ ion channel TRPV1 which consequently opened and let in a flux of Ca²⁺ ions, depolarizing the neuron and generating an electrical impulse which triggered a neural pathway. The experiment was used to remotely stop a worm and force it to reverse its movement.

In a similar tactic, a radio technician developed his own, custom radio frequency emitting device and in collaboration with University of Pittsburg, used it to heat gold and carbon nanoparticles targeted into rabbit and rat liver cancer cells and raise the cancerous cell's temperature to 400ᴼC, killing it. The temperature, though extremely high, was localized to the cancer cell and left the surrounding cells undamaged.

The two approaches give hope for less damaging cancer therapy as well as ways to manipulate neurons in experiments to learn their function better.

However, as the researchers pointed out, the really tricky part of the ploy is to target specific cells for delivery of the nanoparticles in human subjects if it is to be used as cancer therapy, for it is one thing to raise genetically modified animals to help with the cell targeting, quite another to use the approach in human subjects.

However, the techniques are not without their promise, and if the targeting research pans out, we will be having some powerful therapeutic agents in our hands.

You can read more about the two approaches here and here.

Transhumanism

Living Science Fiction.

Transhumanism is a movement or the philosophy that we can and should develop to higher levels, both physically, mentally and socially using rational methods.

A TED talk by a transhumanist about some elements of transhumanism.
It encourages research into such areas as life extension, cryonics, nanotechnology, physical and mental enhancements, uploading human consciousness into computers and megascale engineering.


Also see - Transhumanist resources by Anders Sandberg.

Society 2.0

We now live in a techno-social system, Technium, or perhaps following the trend it may be Society 2.0.  Wikipedia describes society as - 'a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social status, roles and social networks' (wiki on society).

Humans today spend as much time with machines as they do with other humans. These tools may connect one person to another, or improve efficiency of a task. Whatever be their purpose they are surely encroaching our senses ever more. This heightened human-machine vis-a-vis human-human interaction has acquired enough momentum where the concept of society is giving way to a techno-social system or a Technium.

The nag is that scientific inventions have become so complex and interwoven with our lives that humans have less and less sway over how they evolve. During one of my conversation with Prof. Markku Sopanen, we discussed about how new technological products are so sophisticated and specialized (S2 from now on) that even developers of a product do not know the details of different parts of the same chip. Now extend the thought to the customer..who is largely numb to the sophistication inside the devices they are interacting with. To be fair, the manufacturers do mention some specs on the salesbox. Add to this, the fact, that these S2 devices are all made by machines themselves. The sheer complexity of interactions between the various layers and loops of the technium gives it a degree of autonomy. As it evolves it develops its own dynamics.

Kevin Kelly, in his new book What Technology Wants explains, an autonomous system displays traits of self-repair, self-defence, self-maintainance, self-control and self-improvement. No current system has all these properties, he admits, but many technologies exhibit some of them. Aeroplane drones can self steer and stay aloft for hours, but cannot repair themselves. Communications systems can self-repair but cannot self-reproduce. Computer viruses can self-reproduce but cannot self-improve. As technologies multiply and become more adaptive, the technium is becoming increasingly autonomous.

Curiously, the flow of bits through the telephone network in the last decade became statistically similar to the fractal pattern found in self-organized system, this would suggest that it is developing a behaviour of its own.

Although the technium has neither an idea of self nor concious desires, it develops mechanical tendencies through its complex behaviour. Its millions of amplifying relationships and circuits of influence push the technium in certain direction. As frontier technologies increase in sophistication, these desires gain in both complexity and force. Moreover, these tendencies become increasingly independent of individual designers or users, who though themselves are self concious and aware cannot single handedly (or in small numbers) alter the path of the technium.

The personality types would become more technophiles or technophobes rather than introvert and extrovert in Society 2.0/Technium. Experts agree that the technium is spinning beyond human control if it hasnt already, what they may disagree upon is whether to modify it, embrace it or ignore it. There is more force for the technium with the rise of genomics, nanotechnology, robotics and informatics.

Further reading :

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v468/n7322/full/468372a.html

Books: 

What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly

 (A self review)      

Autonomous Technology by Langdon Winner (Google reader)

Techno-Doc Booster

Techno-Doc Booster was an innovative postgraduate course I participated in Nov. 2010, offered by Small Business Center (Helsinki School of Economics) and GETA Graduate School of Finland. The course was aimed at technical doctoral students to brush up their basics on subjects usually most foreign to them- such as economics,  corporate strategy and soft skills like team-work. There was also a fascinating talk about use of social media and internet as a marketing tool.

Each of the subjects was dealt for one day and provided enough possibilities for interaction between the trainers and participants. First day, we were coached on economics, I found this a great lesson for a technical student to get familiarized with the basics of business studies. Day two on soft skills was perhaps lesser demanding, but no less revealing. Subjects such as team work, identifying your personality type and time management led to a lot of discussion and pertinent insight.
On day three we had lectures on strategy. Last but not the least, day four had broad ranging talks on use of internet as a tool for marketing. Internet opens up possibilities to reach buyers which were earlier either inaccessible or scattered, causing a dynamic shift in the way products and services are now segmented and marketed online.

Decibels during lunch breaks at the HSE main building cafeteria were pleasantly high and are surely unmatched elsewhere in Aalto University.

Hereafter, the course would be organized annually.

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I would like to thank GETA for accepting me to their prestigious National graduate School in Electronics Telecommunication and Automation.
Visit GETA: http://geta.tkk.fi/en/
Course was offered at HSE - http://www.hse.fi/EN/frontpage
Course Flier - http://geta.tkk.fi/en/courses/technobooster-002.pdf
Venue - Aalto University School of Economics, Small Business
Center, Arkadiankatu 28, 00100 Helsinki