Programme 6: The Nano Revolution
Tuesday 11 December 2008
There's a revolution underway in scientific research that has the power to influence every aspect of our lives. Developments in nano science will radically change our physical world, how we work, live and play. From superlight and strong, building materials to efficient IT systems to the better diagnosis and treatment of a vast range of illnesses.
By 2020, there will be 400 billion transistors on a single chip (the equivalent of the number of stars in the galaxy) bringing us to the limit of Moore's Law or the known physical limit of our current technology. In order to move beyond this the focus of research is moving down to the nano level a world where the normal rules of physics no longer apply. Irish Investigators are looking at creating new materials technologies invisible to the human eye but strong and powerful and intelligent than anything we know of or can possibly even imagine.
Professor Mike Coey, probably Ireland's most celebrated scientific researcher, Fellow of the Royal Society and author of countless Nature Papers, Coey is working on 3 major ways to revolutionise our computer science industry. His particular area of expertise is in the use of magnetics to completely change the way we use information technology.
Ken Dawson has recently been awarded a prize by the American "National Academy of Sciences". This is an award rarely bestowed outside the US and it is in recognition of his work in the field of minimising materials so that substances such as potential medication can be directly introduced into the very nucleus of the human cell.
Suresh Pillai (DIT) has designed a nanoparticle which can be activated by fluorescent lighting designed to kill MRSA. His tests have been proved successful and he has patented the technology. It is a very real possibility that very soon in order to make sure a hospital's wards, theatres and corridors are free from MRSA they will simply have to switch on the light! He has set his sights next on the major killer Clostridium Difficil.
