The new technologies
Today there are three emerging technologies that are exploding and creating more business opportunities than anything else. They are Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and Information technology. Most people have seen the impact of information technology such as personal computers, Internet, iPod, iPad, MP3, mobile phones and smart phones as well as stories of billionaire entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg etc. But few people know about the impact of the other technologies.
Nanotechnology focuses on molecules and atoms. It is the engineering and building of many things at the molecular scale or “bottom up” so scientists can create new materials that it is impossible to imagine before this technology was invented. This theoretical capability was envisioned in 1959 by Dr. Richard Feynman, a Nobel physicist who wrote: “I want to build a billion tiny factories where we can maneuver things atom by atom. Of course, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.” However, today with the advancement of technology, scientists have been able to use special molecular machines guide by computers to reconstruct several materials accordingly and a new manufacturing revolution has exploded. According to several studies, this technology will creates serious economic, social, environmental and military implications. With this technology, it is possible to create completely new materials with special properties. Imagine a small medical device like a very small robot that travels through the human body to seek out and destroy cancerous cells before they can spread. Imagine a robot goes through the blood stream and clean up of all plagues that cause heart disease. Imagine a disk drive smaller than an eraser in a laptop that can store hundred of terabytes of information. Imagine a new composite material stronger than steel but cheaper to build for construction materials.
If electricity or computer technology has changed our society in the 20th century, Nanotechnology will greatly change our society in the 21st century and improve efficiency in almost everything in life. The commercialization of this technology will change almost everything. It can offer not just better products, but a vastly improved manufacturing process. For example, today computer can make copies of data files and create many copies as you want at minimum cost. Imagine the building of products; any product can become as cheap as the copying of files. That means a machine can reproduce other machines creates million of things at the atomic level up. That is why many scientists called it “The next industrial revolution.” One of the researches I saw in our laboratory at Carnegie Mellon was materials that can be made into clothes in which it senses body temperature, measure health information and informs people who wear it of anything wrong in their body. Imagine that your clothes will let you know about your heart rate, your metabolism, and whether you have any disease or not. Dr. Kimball, the researcher told me that it will be available in few years and within ten years; most people will probably wear this kind of materials instead of regular clothes made from cotton. That means clothing manufacturing will buy this materials for their products and it will impact agriculture, factories, retail stores, and especially the way we live. He joked: “Your shirt will tell you that you have enough calories for the day, and if you eat more you will gain weight. It would be wonderful for people who do not want to get fat. Of course whether you continue to eat or not, that is your decision.” He added: “When you eat, your shirt may let you know that you eat so much saturated fat and it could cause heart disease so you should stop. It will measure your body metabolism and let you know of certain things that may impact your health too.”
Another exploding area is Biotechnology or the study of technology that focuses on cells and genetic structures. Today, many diseases have been traced to genetic factors. By working at the level of genes, it is possible not only to treat the disease but even to eliminate the susceptibility to it so that disease does not happen. Personalized treatment adapted to the genetic makeup of a person can be far more effective than generalized treatment of disease by medicine today. Since June of 2000, with the result of The Human Genome Project, the entire field of biology has been changed. Scientists have been able to determine the sequence of over three billion pairs of human DNA and from sequencing these DNA; they would be able to determine the genetic causes of many diseases and lead to diagnoses, treatments, and cures for these illnesses. Since then, there were some major advances in biotechnology. Studies have linked more than 200 genes to various types of cancer; many diseases have been traced to multiple genetic variants; and the price of sequencing DNA has dropped from million to few thousand dollars per person. Today we know that a person’s susceptibility to disease depend more on the combined effect of all the genes in the body. Therefore, mapping this complex nest of genetic relationships offers the best hope for turning biotechnology into therapies or cures. Today CMU Biotechnology department is working a new instrument that enable sequencing of a personal genome for $1,000. This will increase the number of individual genomes available for finding associations between genes and disease. Carnegie Mellon’s scientists believe their approach will help doctor to diagnose and guide treatment in the near future.
Besides treating disease, Biotechnology scientists can modify the genetic of a crop so it can tolerate drought, disease or even insects. It can also used to treat waste, clean up contaminated area, recycle organic materials etc. Thousands these products have been tested and approved for commercial use. In area that have problem with insects, instead of using toxic chemical to spay into crops to kill insect but also may cause harm to people, it is better to use modified crops that have certain flavor that insects cannot eat but do not cause harms to human consumption.
Biotechnology industry is the fastest growing industry today. Since 1995, it has grown over 850% with over $150 billion in revenues in 2010. This field offers significant benefits in solving human problems with a wide range of applications from healthcare, agriculture, to energy and environment. A Wall street analyst explained: “The future of this field will be hundred times larger than any industry in the world. If you think information technology is a major economic drive, you have not seen anything yet. In information technology you measure by billion dollars but in biotechnology and nanotechnology, you measure by trillion dollars. You do not need a computer to live but when you are sick, when you have cancer or fatal diseases you will need medicine and treatments. By invest in Biotechnology; you are investing in the future. Few years from now biotechnology companies will be much bigger than Google, Microsoft or Facebook combine.”
Today, these two technologies offer a wide range of careers that are highly sought by the industry. Biotechnology and Nanotechnology jobs are among the highest paid with the highest job satisfaction. These technologies are often associated with innovation, and the developments of new technology, new materials, new drugs, new medical devices new crops, new methods and new solutions etc. Currently there are more jobs in these fields than qualified people to fill them in most developed countries. For future students, if you like science and technology, you may want to consider study Information technology, Biotechnology or Nanotechnology.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
