Monthly Archives: April 2023

COVID Depression and Anxiety | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Posted: April 17, 2023 at 9:46 am

If you are experiencing depression and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you are certainly not alone. Many are grieving loved ones who have died. Some coronavirus survivors have been left with debilitating health problems, and many others have lost jobs and businesses.

Even those who have not experienced severe loss have endured months of disrupted schedules, canceled milestone celebrations and daily logistical challenges. Little wonder so many are feeling lonely, frustrated and vulnerable, physically, emotionally and financially.

As the pandemic continues and hope for its end is in sight, there are ways to identify mental health issues and get the help you or a loved one needs. Here is some useful insight from neuropsychologist Tracy Vannorsdall, Ph.D., who talks about the impact of the coronavirus and the pandemic on anxiety and depression, what to look for and what kinds of therapy may be available to help you or someone you care about.

Vannorsdall says research supports what doctors are seeing in their offices. Certainly, the pandemic is causing distress, she says.

There has been a general uptick in emotional distress, anxiety and depression, she says. Were also seeing more patients for problems with alcohol consumption and sleep disorders, both of which help us regulate our emotions and can contribute to mood difficulties. People with preexisting vulnerabilities to mental or physical health problems are particularly at risk.

She says patterns of anxiety and depression seem to occur in waves much like COVID-19 itself: When the number of new coronavirus cases starts to surge, so do peoples anxiety and depression. But, she adds, there are reasons for optimism.

We benefit when we have a sense of control, the sense that we can do something to affect our situation. As more knowledge and prevention strategies such as vaccines emerge and more of life returns to normal, people may be feeling less helpless than they did earlier in the pandemic.

Depression and anxiety can be serious, but both conditions are treatable. Vannorsdall emphasizes four ways to maximize your mental health and keep anxiety and depression from taking over:

When the pandemic started, many peoples days felt unstructured and monotonous, but more recently, thats changing. Were getting back to a new sense or normal and falling back into a structure, says Vannorsdall. Compared to 2020, we are more used to being productive at home and have developed a pattern to our day with routines for work and school. For those who are struggling, taking simple steps to regain some structure can restore a sense of equilibrium, she says. Get up at the same time each day. Get dressed. Give yourself at least one accomplishable goal to complete each day.

The mind-body connection is essential. Engage in self-care, Vannorsdall advises. Prioritize good sleep, good nutrition, fresh air and exercise. Find a safe way to socialize and stay connected with friends and family.

Substance overuse is a risk among people who have anxiety and depression, Vannorsdall says, adding that substance use disorder can become a serious problem in and of itself.

If you or someone you love has symptoms of anxiety or depression, help is available. In addition to in-person counseling, new options can put therapy as close as your phone or laptop.

Telehealth has exploded, says Vannorsdall. That is a true silver lining of the pandemic. Teletherapy and telehealth platforms have expanded access and helped patients engage with professionals without having to physically go to a doctors office. Its much more convenient for the patient, and evidence shows that it is quite effective.

Whether you are working with a therapist or not, giving yourself some data and noticing patterns is useful, she says. There are apps that can help you track your mood, sleep and anxiety levels, or you can keep a written diary to help you stay in tune with factors that affect your levels of sadness or anxiety.

It might. Vannorsdall, who cares for patients with long COVID at the Johns Hopkins Post-Acute COVID-19 Team (JH PACT) clinic, collaborates with health care professionals from a range of disciplines to help patients recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19 and its treatment.

Severe COVID-19 can be devastating to patients. In addition to organ damage and persistent symptoms, loss of physical, emotional and even economic well-being can leave long haulers depressed and anxious.

Treatment in an intensive care unit, or ICU, is a risk factor, too. Post-intensive care syndrome can affect people who spend a long time in the ICU and can leave them with enduring, disabling anxiety and panic if not treated.

Vannorsdall says researchers are studying the inflammatory reactions caused by coronavirus infection and their effects on the brain. It is possible that COVID-19 itself causes physical changes that can manifest as problems with cognition thinking, remembering and reasoning.

One of the challenges to managing lingering COVID symptoms is how differently individuals fare with the disease and recovery. People are being treated by the PACT group for a variety of symptoms. Were seeing elevated rates of anxiety, depression and functional decline and cognitive changes lasting several months out.

The trajectory of recovery isnt clear yet, but short-term interventions are working to help COVID-19 survivors, even those with persistent symptoms and physical changes.

Vannorsdall adds that some patients treated for COVID-19 have been living with anxiety and depression since before the pandemic. Having COVID got them into the health care system, where they can be diagnosed and treated.

Everyone has bad days when sadness, lack of motivation or worry get the best of them, especially in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, Vannorsdall points out, there are warning signs of anxiety and depression that should never be ignored:

If you notice these in someone you know, it may be time to speak up. Vannorsdall says its not always easy, but she has some suggestions.

Its often challenging to know how to intervene in a way that a person might be open to, and theres no one size fits all, she says. But sometimes you can appeal to a struggling person in terms of that one aspect of their life that they really value, such as their children, their family, their work, or something else they feel is worth getting better for.

We often need to help reframe peoples conception of mental illness and health treatment, she says. People can remind themselves or their loved ones that the mind and body cant be considered separate entities. There is an underlying biology to emotional distress. A person isnt weak for having a mental health problem, and deserve relief as they would for any physical pain.

Vannorsdall says the general outlook has already begun to improve in terms of our collective well-being. Were getting back to a new sense of normal, she says. We have adapted to many changes, such as working and learning from home, and established new routines since the pandemic began.

In the beginning, there was so much that we didnt know. Many people felt apprehensive. Now, we realize that with vaccines and safety precautions, we can take action to protect ourselves. We are no longer totally at the mercy of this coronavirus.

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COVID Depression and Anxiety | Johns Hopkins Medicine

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Man declared dead due to Covid found ‘shockingly’ alive after 2 years in MP – Hindustan Times

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Man declared dead due to Covid found 'shockingly' alive after 2 years in MP - Hindustan Times

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Donald Trump called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a ‘brilliant man’ and said there is no one in Hollywood with the – Business Insider India

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Donald Trump called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a 'brilliant man' and said there is no one in Hollywood with the Business Insider India

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Donald Trump called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a 'brilliant man' and said there is no one in Hollywood with the - Business Insider India

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Jordan Peterson, explained – Vox

Posted: at 9:43 am

Jordan Peterson is a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, a widely cited scholar of personality, and the author of whats currently the No. 1 best-selling nonfiction book on Amazon in the United States. The New York Timess David Brooks, echoing George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen, calls him the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.

Jordan Peterson is also a right-wing internet celebrity who has claimed that feminists have an unconscious wish for brutal male domination, referred to developing nations as pits of catastrophe in a speech to a Dutch far-right group, and recently told a Times reporter that he supported enforced monogamy.

When Cathy Newman, a journalist for the UKs Channel 4, challenged Petersons arguments in a televised interview, she received so many death threats that she had to get help from the police. There were literally thousands of abusive tweets it was a semi-organized campaign, she recalled in an interview. It ranged from the usual cunt, bitch, dumb blonde to Im going to find out where you live and execute you.

This is not a case of mistaken identity, of two Jordan Petersons yoked to the same name. These seemingly distinct men, the accomplished scholar and the controversy-courting culture warrior, are one and the same, and their work is integrally interlinked. And that hybrid of scholarly air and provocative trolling has netted Peterson a huge following; he has 560,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers.

Peterson introduces people [to] many many other things they just dont really get elsewhere, Cowen says. He is still influential, massively so, reaches a large general public audience of millions, most of all young males. How many other intellectuals do?

So how did an obscure Canadian psychologist become an international phenomenon?

The answer is that Jordan Peterson is tailor-made to our political moment. His reactionary politics and talents as a public speaker combine to be a perfect fit for YouTube and the right-wing media, where videos of conservatives destroying weak-minded liberals routinely go viral. Petersons denunciations of identity politics and political correctness are standard-issue conservative, but his academic credentials make his pronouncements feel much more authoritative than your replacement-level Fox News commentator. (I reached out to Peterson; a spokesperson turned down my interview request.)

Peterson is also particularly appealing to disaffected young men. Hes become a lifestyle guru for men and boys who feel displaced by a world where white male privilege is under attack; his new best-selling book, 12 Rules for Life, is explicitly pitched as a self-help manual, and he speaks emotionally of the impact his work has had on anxious, lost young men.

Jordan Peterson, then, isnt just some random professor who managed to strike it rich. Hes emblematic of the way white male anxiety is producing new and powerful political movements across the West today.

Peterson is both a clinical and research psychologist, meaning he sees patients while also doing research. After he received his PhD in psychology from McGill University, one of Canadas two most prestigious universities, in 1991, he spent two years practicing at McGills hospital. After that, he was hired by Harvard, where he taught until 1998. He left when the University of Toronto, Canadas other leading university, hired him as a full professor and a practicing clinician.

Petersons research specialty is personality traits; one of his most prominent papers is a study of what makes people more or less creative, where he argues that people who pay more attention to seemingly irrelevant details actually tend to be more creative. According to Google Scholar, he has been cited more than 10,000 times in academic publications and is one of the 70 most cited researchers in his subfield. I spoke to eight academic psychologists before writing this piece; the feedback I received on his published work was uniformly positive.

His work in personality assessment ... is very solid and well respected, says David Watson, a psychology professor at Notre Dame.

But this work, respected as it may be, has little to do with Petersons fame. His most influential research was published in the late 90s and early to mid-2000s; of his 20 most cited papers, only one came out after 2010. By contrast, his international celebrity as measured by worldwide Google searches for Jordan Peterson didnt start to rise until October 2016:

What happened in the fall of 2016 is that Peterson inserted himself into a national Canadian debate over transgender rights specifically by refusing to refer to a student by their chosen gender pronouns.

At the time, the Canadian parliament was considering something called Bill C-16, a bill banning discrimination against people on the basis of gender identity or gender expression. In September, Peterson released a series of YouTube videos attacking the bill as a grave threat to free speech rights. He said he would refuse to refer to transgender students by their preferred pronouns; separating gender and biological sex was, in his view, radically politically correct thinking. He argued that C-16 would lead to people like him being arrested.

If they fine me, I wont pay it. If they put me in jail, Ill go on a hunger strike. Im not doing this, Peterson said in an October 2016 TV interview. Im not using the words that other people require me to use. Especially if theyre made up by radical left-wing ideologues.

Experts on Canadian law said that Peterson was misreading the bill that the legal standard for hate speech would require something far worse, like saying transgender people should be killed, to qualify for legal punishment. This is an early example of what would become a hallmark of Petersons approach as a public intellectual taking inflammatory, somewhat misinformed stances on issues of public concern outside his area of expertise.

But it worked for him. Petersons videos on C-16 and political correctness racked up more than 400,000 views on YouTube within about a month of posting. There were rallies both for and against Peterson in Toronto; he made the rounds on Canadian television.

Perhaps the defining moment of this controversy was a filmed confrontation in October 2016 between Peterson and a group of student activists at the University of Toronto. In it, Peterson calmly fields questions from trans students who are angry about his refusal to recognize their gender identity. In the video, he turns the argument around on them suggesting that transgender activism, and the broader rise of political correctness, was bound to produce an ugly and dangerous backlash.

Ive studied Nazism for four decades. And I understand it very well. And I can tell you there are some awful people lurking in the corners, Peterson says. Theyre ready to come out. And if the radical left keeps pushing the way its pushing, theyre going to come.

Fans of Petersons worldview saw the video as proof of his genius and bravery; Peterson was the avatar of reason and facts pushing back against irrational social justice warriors (SJWs). One cut of the confrontation, titled Dr. Jordan Peterson gives up trying to reason with SJWs, currently has more than 3.5 million views on YouTube.

This was a seminal moment in the Peterson brand. It was proof that taking combative stances on camera especially arguments where youre set up to win, like a calm professor confronted by angry students would get you huge numbers of fans. There are now innumerable videos of Peterson arguing with various liberals and leftists on YouTube, with titles like Leftist Host SNAPS At Jordan Peterson, Instantly Regrets It. They have millions of views and have led to a massive surge in donations to Petersons personal account on the crowdfunding site Patreon. He currently earns around $80,000 per month from Patreon donations.

I shouldnt say this, but Im going to, because its just so goddamn funny I cant help but say it: Ive figured out how to monetize social justice warriors, Peterson told the podcast host Joe Rogan. If they let me speak, then I get to speak, and then I make more money on Patreon ... if they protest me, then that goes up on YouTube, and my Patreon account goes WAY up.

Petersons stellar academic credentials act as a sort of legitimizing device, a way of setting up his authority on politics and making his denunciations of leftist ideologues more credible and attractive to his fans. Combine his undeniable talents as a public speaker and debater with his ability to use YouTube to reach audiences around the world and you get a right-wing celebrity who has transcended Canada and become a global reactionary star.

Petersons political ideas are most cleanly laid out in a two-and-a-half-hour lecture hes given, titled Identity politics and the Marxist lie of white privilege. His upload of one of the speeches, at the University of British Columbia Free Speech Club, has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube, with other copies and excerpts from it racking up similarly large numbers.

In the lecture, Peterson weaves together an incredibly broad set of topics ranging from Soviet history to the biblical story of Cain and Abel to Nietzsche to lab experiments that involve feeding rats cocaine to produce a kind of unified theory of modern politics. At base, he argues that that Soviet-style communism, and all the mass murder and suffering it created, is still a serious threat to Western civilization. But rather than working openly, it seeps into our politics under the guise of postmodernism.

Petersons argument starts with a vivid denunciation of Marxism. Human society, like all animal kingdoms, is in Petersons mind defined by certain biological truths including the reality that some people are naturally more gifted than others, and that life will always involve suffering. Marxism, he believes, is rooted fundamentally in the hatred of people who succeed in a capitalist economy and thus will always result in violence when one attempts to implement it.

Are these Marxists motivated by love or hatred? Well, is it love or hatred that produces 100 million dead people? he asks in the speech, rhetorically.

Peterson believes that the failure of Soviet communism has not actually deterred communisms fans in the West, who still secretly cling to the old hateful beliefs. He argues that they do so under the guise of a school of thought he refers to as postmodernism, which he sees as his archenemy.

Western leftist intellectuals are [fundamentally complicit] in the horrors of the 21st century, he says. Its not that theyve learned anything since; theyve just gone underground. And thats what I see when I see postmodernism.

Peterson uses the term postmodernism fairly loosely, but hes referring to, roughly speaking, French philosophers working in the middle of the 20th century, most prominently Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault.

He argues that these philosophers, famous for their skepticism about objective reality and emphasis on the social construction of human society, were actually crypto-Marxists. The difference is that they change the language instead of arguing that society is defined by class oppression, Peterson says, they argue that its defined by identity oppression: racism, sexism, gender identity, and the like.

How about if we dont say working-class capitalists we say oppressor/oppressed? he says, summarizing the alleged postmodern line of thinking. Well just think about all of the other ways people are oppressed, and all the other ways that people are oppressors, and well play the same damn game under a new guise.

This makes postmodernism, which he believes has quietly permeated Western culture in the past 20 or so years, a tremendous threat.

The Marxists arent just wrong: Theyre wrong, murderous, and genocidal, he says. The postmodernists dont just get to just come along an adopt Marxism as a matter of sleight of hand because their Marxist theory didnt work out and they needed a rationalization, because its too dangerous its too dangerous to the rest of us.

Actual experts on postmodernism note that the thinkers Peterson likes to cite were often quite critical of Marxism. His reading of these thinkers, as the social critic Shuja Haider points out, is shallow and deeply uncharitable. Petersons fantasy of neo-Marxist wolves in postmodern sheeps clothing has little bearing on actual debates in 20th-century political theory, Haider concludes.

Petersons understanding of Marxism and postmodernism is very vulgar, Harrison Fluss, an editor at the Marxist journal Historical Materialism, tells me. He connects the two in [an] overarching conspiracy theory.

Perhaps more fundamentally, there is no evidence that 20th-century French thinkers have a dominant influence on any sector of the left in contemporary Western politics, let alone society as a whole. I know of no credible political scientist who believes this, and Petersons adherence to the notion can lead to bizarre outbursts. For example, he once accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being in thrall to a murderous equity doctrine because Trudeau sent a tweet calling feminist activists inspiring and motivating.

But Petersons grand theory is brilliant as a political stance one designed to weaponize the grievances of the kind of young men attracted to the alt-right.

Petersons framework serves as a justification for dismissing the idea of any kind of privilege white, male, or otherwise as a tool used by closet Marxists to manipulate you. He states this explicitly, calling it a Marxist lie designed to enable the Marxist-postmodernist effort to seize control of the state.

[We cannot] allow people who are manipulating us with historical ignorance and philosophical sleight of hand to render us so goddamn guilty about what our ancestors may or may not have done, he argues, that we allow our shame and our guilt to be used as tools to manipulate us into accepting a future that we do not want to have.

This theory elevates battles over political correctness and free speech into existential struggles over Western society. He is very literally arguing that if the postmodernists win, if people start using others chosen pronouns, were one step closer to modern gulags.

Petersons position helps claim the mantle of facts and reason for the anti-PC right. Because postmodern theorists are skeptical about the notion of an entirely objective reality, Peterson argues, the entire project of identity politics is grounded in an irrational rejection of logic and discussion. Its not only right to reject identity politics; its a sign of irrationality not to.

Postmodernists dont believe in fact, as he put it in the lecture on white privilege and Marxism. They believe that the idea of fact is part of the power game thats played by the white-dominated male patriarchy to impose the tyrannical structure of the patriarchy on the oppressors.

These arguments are catnip for a very specific kind of young white man Peterson himself said in his Channel 4 interview that 80 percent of his YouTube audience is male. These young men are upset about the erosion of white male privilege, about the need to compete with women and minorities for jobs and spots at top universities, and they are angry about the way feminists and racial justice activists describe society.

In Peterson, they found someone telling them that their grievances are not only justified but, in fact, important: that they have picked up on a secret threat to society writ large, and that they are its first victims. Peterson is drawing on a deep well: This kind of anger about the declining social status of white men is incredibly common across the Western world today, and finds a comfortable home in reactionary political movements on both sides of the Atlantic.

The underlying mass-appeal of [Peterson] is that he gives white men permission to stop pretending that they care about other peoples grievances, writes Jesse Brown, host of the Canadaland podcast and a longtime Peterson watcher. He tells his fans that these so-called marginalized people are not really victims at all but are in fact aggressors, enemies, who must be shut down.

But Peterson isnt only giving these men an architecture in which to ground their frustrations. Hes also giving them a road map on how to succeed in a society they no longer understand.

Peterson became more than just an internet celebrity on January 23, 2018. Thats when his book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, was published by Random House Canada and skyrocketed to the top of international best-seller lists. It was after this books publication, and the following press tour, that David Brooks pronounced him the worlds most influential public intellectual.

Each chapter of the book is devoted to a specific, somewhat strange-sounding rule. The first chapter is called Stand up straight with your shoulders back; the last is Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street.

The book is a kind of bridge connecting his academic research on personality and his political punditry. In it, Peterson argues that the problem with society today is that too many people blame their lot in life on forces outside their control the patriarchy, for example. By taking responsibility for yourself, and following his rules, he says, you can make your own life better.

The first chapter, about posture, begins with an extended discussion of lobsters. Lobster society, inasmuch as it exists, is characterized by territoriality and displays of dominance. Lobsters that dominate these hierarchies have more authoritative body language; weaker ones try to make themselves look smaller and less threatening to more dominant ones.

Peterson argues that humans are very much like lobsters: Our hierarchies are determined by our behaviors. If you want to be happy and powerful, he says, you need to stand up straight:

If your posture is poor, for example if you slump, shoulders forward and rounded, chest tucked in, head down, looking small, defeated and ineffectual (protected, in theory, against attack from behind) then you will feel small, defeated, and ineffectual. The reactions of others will amplify that. People, like lobsters, size each other up, partly in consequence of stance. If you present yourself as defeated, then people will react to you as if you are losing. If you start to straighten up, then people will look at and treat you differently.

Look for your inspiration to the victorious lobster, with its 350 million years of practical wisdom. Stand up straight, with your shoulders back, he concludes, in one of the books most popular passages.

The lobster has become a sort of symbol of his; the tens of thousands of Peterson fans on his dedicated subreddit even refer to themselves as lobsters.

This is classic Peterson: He loves to take stylized facts about the animal kingdom and draw a one-to-one analogy to human behavior. It also has political implications: He argues that because we evolved from lower creatures like lobsters, we inherited dominance structures from them. Inequalities of various kinds arent wrong; theyre natural.

We were struggling for position before we had skin, or hands, or lungs, or bones, he writes. There is little more natural than culture. Dominance hierarchies are older than trees.

The relationship between human and lobster brains is outside Petersons area of academic expertise. Experts in the field who have evaluated his claims have found them lacking, as lobsters and humans neurological systems are radically different. One important distinction is that humans have brains and lobsters (technically speaking) do not.

If nervous systems were computer games, arthropods like lobsters would be Snake on a first-generation mobile phone and vertebrates would be an augmented reality (AR) game, as Leonor Gonsalves, a neuroscientist at University College London, puts it in a review of Petersons argument at The Conversation. The human brain is hugely malleable ... believing that it is natural that some people are losers because thats what lobsters do can have dire consequences.

But Petersonian lobster theory, and the other things like it in the book, arent really questions of truth. Theyre about providing the sort of alienated young men who are attracted to his broader work a sense of purpose and meaning. It fulfills roughly the same role in their life as religion might; its perhaps unsurprising that Peterson is quite interested in the Bible and discusses it often.

I think his mass following suggests the existence among a substantial cross-section of young men of a deep hunger for moral order that may well be ultimately a religious yearning, Yuval Levin, vice president of the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center, tells me. Peterson is actually fairly careful to distinguish the teaching hes offering from an explicitly religious teaching, but I think he does that because he grasps that some significant portion of the people looking to him are really looking for something like a religious teacher.

The difference is that Peterson is reaching people who, for whatever reason, arent getting what they need from organized religion alone. In fact, some of his followers are actively hostile to religion, seeing it as fundamentally irrational. Hes a moralist who can appeal to the New Atheist set, even though he doesnt share their hostility to religion.

This aspect of Petersons work is far more sympathetic than his ill-informed and frankly nefarious politics especially since some of his cardinal rules, like tell the truth, are perfectly good moral precepts to live by.

Its worth watching a five-minute excerpt from a BBC interview about his role as a mentor for young men. Peterson openly starts to cry at the beginning:

Last night, I was at this talk I gave. And about a thousand people came, and about 500 of them stayed afterward. And most of them are young men, Peterson says, starting to tear up. And one of them after another comes up and shakes my hand and says, Ive been listening to what youve been saying ... I started cleaning up my room, and working on my life, and Ive started working hard on myself, and I just want to thank you for helping me.

When you watch this interview, you get a sense of what Peterson must have been like with his patients as a clinical psychologist empathetic, passionate, deeply concerned with the welfare of his patients. Its moving, really.

But Peterson has inextricably intertwined his self-help approach with a kind of reactionary politics that validates white, straight, and cisgender men at the expense of everyone else. He gives them a sense of purpose by, in part, tearing other people down by insisting that the world can and should revolve around them and their problems.

This painful contrast is on display later in that very interview, in which he explicitly argues that concern for sexism is to blame for the plight of the Wests young men.

Were so stupid. Were alienating young men. Were telling them that theyre patriarchal oppressors and denizens of rape culture, he says. Its awful. Its so destructive. Its so unnecessary. And its so sad.

The empathy that he displays for men and boys in his BBC interview and 12 Rules for Life is touching. The problem is that he cant seem to extend it to anyone else.

For more on Jordan Peterson, including a short interview with Peterson himself, listen to the May 14 episode of Today Explained.

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UFC Champ Israel Adesanya Gives His Surprising Take On Masculinity, Lauds Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson: They Are the Ones Who Are Really Pushing Men…

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This technology could alter the entire planet. These groups want every nation to have a say. – MIT Technology Review

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This technology could alter the entire planet. These groups want every nation to have a say. MIT Technology Review

3 Key Areas Where Nanotechnology Is Impacting Our Future – Forbes

Posted: April 14, 2023 at 10:28 pm

Nanotechnology Atom and Molecule - Abstract background

We are living amid a technological revolution that is transforming the globe. Changes are visible in all aspects of our lives from transportation, health, and communications. As the adage states, yesterdays science fiction is todays science. We are now expanding our capabilities in every area of science, chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering. That includes heightened spae exploration, as well as building smart cities, new manufacturing hubs, and developing artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

The rapid pace of technological change is clearly visible, but much of what you may not see, the exceedingly small physical components of change called nanotechnologies, are catalyzing the revolution. While there are many nanotech uses, three areas of nanotech are paving the way to our future: Materials Science, Nanomedicine and Device Engineering.

A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is integration device with several laboratory functions

What is Nanotechnology?

The concept of nanotechnology was derived in 1959 by Nobel prize physicist Richard Feynman in a speech at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). As further and more contemporarily defined by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at the nanoscale, at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Matter can exhibit unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties at the nanoscale, differing in important ways from the properties of bulk materials, single atoms, and molecules. Some nanostructured materials are stronger or have different magnetic properties compared to other forms or sizes of the same material. Others are better at conducting heat or electricity. They may become more chemically reactive, reflect light better, or change color as their size or structure is altered. About Nanotechnology | National Nanotechnology Initiative

Dr. Tom Cellucci, who, before he was appointed the First Chief Commercialization Officer of the United States by President George W. Bush (and re-appointed by President Obama), was an instrumental person in the creation of the NNI before he entered government service. He was determined, working with all three branches of the US Government, to get the $3.9 B in funding for the NNI, in order to start a nanotech revolution in our country and throughout the globe.

Dr. Cellucci offers insights into how nanotech is being integrated into the product development process. Nanotechnology is being safely used today to protect people and structures through a systematic process of understanding detailed operational requirements and utilizing a detailed Technology Development process useable by both government and the private sector. This step-by-step process enables a thorough understanding of customers' requirements and execution of the commercialization of emerging technologies to provide stable and useful products.

Dr. Cellucci has authored or co-authored more than 25 books and over 362 articles on requirements development, commercialization, nanotechnology, laser physics, and photonics. Hes recently turned his sights to working with one of his former undergraduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Mark Banash (PhD Princeton University), at a small firm in the Boston area called JP Industries International, where they are developing and patenting a number of solutions for personal security and infrastructure protection applications using patented nanotech products and systems. More on his background and writings can be found here: (3) The Hon., Thomas A. Cellucci, PhD, MBA | LinkedIn

To get a better understanding of nanotech, its important to focus on the applications of nano particles. Nano particles are functional across a variety of industries and verticals. The graphic below is an excellent summary of those extensive applications:

Applications of Nanoparticles

Source: "Commercial scale production of inorganic nanoparticles"

As nano particles are the building blocks of new discoveries, the graph above highlights many industries and verticals where nanotech may have applications. NNI notes that by using nanotechnology-based principals, materials can be made to be stronger, lighter, more durable, more reactive, and serve as better electrical conductors.

While the list of nanoparticle applications in the graphic are all important, three areas of are areas of nanotech are already impacting our future: 1) Materials Science (Construction), 2) Nanomedicine (and Health), and 3) Device Engineering (Electronics, Wearables).

Atom, Molecule, Molecular Structure, Electron, Proton

Materials Science:

In industry, government and academia, new and exciting research in nano particles and materials science are creating stronger, durable, lighter, and even self-healing and self-assembling materials through nano-scale engineering. Nanomaterials artificially engineered as molecular scale synthetic composites are now being designed at the inter-atomic level.

The capability to use nano-mechanics to design and manufacture infrastructures such as bridges, roads, buildings all with stronger, adaptable, self-intelligent, and seemingly mundane materials will revolutionize the construction and transportation industries. The Department of Energy and Department of Transportation have many programs and initiatives in material sciences in progress.

Via the use of nanoparticles, 3D Printing and 4D Self-assembling Printing are accelerating material science. 3-D Printing is trailblazing future manufacturing by using creations of material science. 3-D Printing connotes a three-dimensional object that is created layer by layer via computer aided design programs. To be able to print the object, the computer divides it into flat layers that are printed one by one. By printing with advanced pliable materials such as plastics, ceramics, metals, and graphene, there have already been breakthroughs in prosthetics for medicine and wearable sensors.

The big advantage for government is that 3-D printing can be customized, produced rapidly and is cost-effective. The possibilities for 3-D printing are limitless. Rolls-Royce has used 3-D printing to make parts for its jet engines, and BAE Systems has stated that fighter jets containing 3-D-printed parts are now being flown.

Nano robot 3D render. Medical concept future.

Nanomedicine:

Nanomedicine is already a thriving area of practice. The term refers to the use of materials at the nanoscale to diagnose and treat disease. Some researchers define nanomedicine as encompassing any medical products using nanomaterials smaller than 1,000 nanometers. Others more narrowly use the term to refer to injectable drugs using nanoparticles smaller than 200 nanometers. Nanoparticles are the future of medicine researchers are experimenting with new ways to design tiny particle treatments for cancer (theconversation.com)

The means of transporting nanomedicine can be done by nanobots. There was a movie made years back called Fantastic Voyage (Fantastic Voyage - Wikipedia). The plot was that a scientist is nearly assassinated and in order to save him, a submarine was shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream with a small crew. My former neighbor, the late Dr. Aaron Josephson, of Michael Resse Hospital in Chicago was an advisor to the movie. Although we cannot shrink a crew, we can use nanobots for medical purposes, especially drug delivery. Nanobots are robots that can be used very effectively for drug delivery. Normally, drugs work through the entire body before they reach the disease-affected area. Using nanotechnology, the drug can be targeted to a precise location which would make the drug much more effective and reduce the chances of possible side effect. Nanobots - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

Nanotechnologies have created significantly enhanced imaging and diagnostic tools to help enable earlier diagnosis, treatments, and therapeutics. Nanotech is being used to enhance bone and neural tissue engineering. It is also a component involved in the successful implantation of bionic eyes, kidneys, hearts, and other body parts. Advanced pliable materials such as plastics, ceramics, metals, and graphene are also being used for prosthetics for medical applications.

Nanoparticles are also playing an amazing role in the creation of gene sequencing technologies, drug delivery, including vaccines. Nanopore technology has become increasingly important in the field of life science and biomedical research, including genomics. The nanopore technology embeds nano-scale holes in a thin membrane and measures the electrochemical signal to investigate biomacromolecules. Nanopore Technology and Its Applications in Gene Sequencing - PubMed (nih.gov)

3-D Printing manufacturing with nanoparticles also can be used for medicine via bioprinting. Three-dimensional (3-D) Bioprinting means creating living tissues, such as blood vessels, bones, heart or skin, via the additive manufacturing technology.

In a recent interview, Erik Gatenholm, CEO of CELLINK, estimated that we will see fully functioning organs within the next decade or so. Gatenholm added, scientists have been able to bio print hearts, lungs, kidneys, skin, corneas and more throughout the last 5 years and are currently working towards developing full functioning organs. 3D Bioprinting - Overview of How Bioprinting Will Break Into Healthcare (medicalfuturist.com)

3d-bioprinting-tissue-organs

Source: http://www.aniwaa.com

Nanotech is also used as a means of prevention against current and future pandemics. Dr. Mark Banash (PhD, Princeton University; BS University of Pennsylvania), previously mentioned above is considered a leading authority in both nanomaterials and nanotechnology applied to manufacturing and industrial scale applications. Hes the CTO of JP Industries International (About JPI International) and has been leading efforts developing several nanotechnology-based solutions to a wide range of healthcare problems, including those involving personal protection and security with solutions that kills viruses, bacteria, and fungal contaminations on surfaces. Mark and his team also uses nanotech to increase the efficacy and efficiency of PPE protective coatings in for individuals during pandemics and for environmental uses including safer water treatment.

We are already going through biomedical changes like nanotechnology implants that will challenge our notion of technology and people. Nanotech is exploring the edge of science. One such development includes an injectable biosensor that might one day be able to read your thoughts or let you communicate with nothing but your mind. The injectable nanosensor that will one day read your thoughts | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Electronic technician holding tweezers and assemblin a circuit board.

Device Engineering (electronics, wearables):

Nano technologies have led to advancements in device engineering that feature more compact and capable computers. Our smartphones exemplify how far we have come in device engineering via microprocessors and chips used in electrical circuitry. Your smartphone has more computing capabilities that the massive computers used to send astronauts to the moon during the Apollo Space Program.

Nanotechnology is used in electronic devices such as laptops, computers, cell phones, TVs, and electronic sensing and communications which is used in most transportation including, airplanes, trains, and autonomous vehicles. It is also integral to satellites that continually monitor the Earth for environmental, and security purposes.

The field of smart devices and robotics has been transformed by nanotech because of several factors. The appeal of nano-technology for smart devices is broad, with many consumers and developers with different benefits. The appeal comes down to a number of important factors:

1. nanotechnology shrinks the device to a convenient size for the home

2. it increases the performance and intelligence capabilities

3. it allows for new functions within familiar tech for increased potential

4. it provides new surfaces and nano-coatings for strength and high performance

5. it provides safe nano-particles to improve cleanliness and hygiene.

Nanotech and Robotics: Made for Each Other (nanotechetc.com)

An extensive research resource for evolving nanoelectronics applications is summarized below in an article Nanoelectronics; Nanotechnology in Electronics:

Source: Nanoelectronics |Nanotechnology in Electronics (understandingnano.com)

Young female doctor looking at hologram screen. Electronic medical record. Smart glasses. Medical ... [+] technology concept.

Wearables:

A major area of nanotech device engineering is focused on wearables. These include flexible electronics, wrist bands, rings, glasses, ear pods as well as contact lenses that are attachable, wearable, and embedded. The trend of wearable sensors is an emerging one with limitless possibilities for performance, security, and health.

Wearables are being studied and used to monitor health at government run health facilities and can provide real-time biomarker tracking. Wearable technology is helping protect those in public safety. Firefighters can ingest sensors and data-transmitting pills to track their heart rate, which will then send an alert to pull a firefighter out of disaster before cardiac arrest or heat stress sets in. High-tech wearable headsets allow military personnel to live-stream 3-D maps of battlefields and different drone feeds, among other features.

The question is no longer when wearable tech will be available, but how fast, these biometric technologies will extend human /computer interface capabilities and how ingrained in our daily lives that these technologies will become. There are futurists who think that eventually many biological functions will be replaced by nano components operating in bionic machines.

As a cybersecurity advocate, it should be noted that just like mobile devices, wearables can be hacked or infected with malware. Developing protocols for monitoring, testing, and securing critical citizen information will be necessary, especially for public use. In an increasingly connected world, privacy and security will be paramount.

Silicon Wafers and Microcircuits with Automation system control application

Nanotechnologies are fundamental to those technology breakthroughs as we witness and experience the change. According to experts, the global market for Nanotechnology is projected to reach a size of US $70.7 Billion by 2026. Global Nanotechnology Industry (reportlinker.com)

The technological transformation we are experiencing is happening at an exponential rate of change. So fast, in fact, that I must continually update a course called Disruptive Technologies and Organizational Management that I created and teach at Georgetown Universitys Graduate Cybersecurity Risk Management program. Master's in Cybersecurity Risk Management | Georgetown SCS There is hardly a day that goes by when there isnt an article on an innovative technology breakthrough or discovery.

We may not be able to visibly see most of the nano components, but they are certainly impacting our future in a grand way.

###

About the Author:

Chuck Brooks on cover of Top Cyber News Magazine

Chuck Brooks, President of Brooks Consulting International, is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. Chuck is also Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown Universitys Graduate Applied Intelligence Program and the Graduate Cybersecurity Programs where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security, and cybersecurity. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn. He was named as one of the worlds 10 Best Cyber Security and Technology Experts by Best Rated, as a Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance, by Thompson Reuters, Best of The Word in Security by CISO Platform, and by IFSEC and Thinkers 360 as the #2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer. He was featured in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Onalytica "Who's Who in Cybersecurity" as one of the top Influencers for cybersecurity. He has an MA in International relations from the University of Chicago, a BA in Political Science from DePauw University, and a Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law.

Chuck Brooks LinkedIn Profile: (6) Chuck Brooks | LinkedIn

Chuck Brooks on Twitter: @ChuckDBrooks

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3 Key Areas Where Nanotechnology Is Impacting Our Future - Forbes

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10 Top Nanotechnology Examples | Built In

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Its nanotech you like it? asks the billionaire superhero Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr., as a metallic liquid crawled to form an armored exoskeleton across his body, activated by the push of his chestplate.

Although this battle scene from Marvels Avengers: Infinity Wars is simply fiction, a number of ambitious advancements in the field of nanotechnology can be equated to scenarios dreamt up only in sci-fi: injected sensors playing doctor inside of your body. Self-healing materials, allowing planes to auto-repair mid flight. A self-harvesting answer to climate change, where objects generate a circular economy of energy through movement.

In fact, youve probably already had a handful of encounters with commercialized atomic innovation, unwittingly. Nanotech, an industry exploring the qualities of matter on the nanoscale, has actually already premiered in everyday applications.

Nanotechnology studies unique property changes on the nanoscale by way of manipulating atoms and molecules. The intention is to then use these phenomena for use in the design, characterization, production and application for the benefit of materials, structures, devices and systems. This scale ranges from one basic unit, sized in likeness to atoms or molecules, to 100 nanometers. Nanometer translates to one billionth of a meter.

For reference, hair follicles or a sheet of paper are about 100,000 nanometers thick. Fingernails grow at the rate of one nanometer per second. Cells and bacteria are measured in micrometers an entirely different scale for objects that outsize nanometric measurements.

If every person were the size of a nanometer, the entire world population would be able to fit into one Hot Wheels matchbox car, as noted by the Australian Academy of Science.

Its important to note that nanotechnology isnt simply a miniaturization of whats happening at eye level. When objects are manipulated on the nanometric scale, they can develop unusual properties a change in color or increased malleability that diverge from their presentation on the macroscopic scale. A change in surface area can result in a change in physical, chemical, optical or mechanical makeup. Materials can become more durable, robust or conductive than their life-sized counterparts.

Its not all science fiction and Marvel superhero suits, however. The stained glass windows decorating European medieval cathedrals and castles, for example, are some of the earliest known use cases of nanotechnology. Artisans discovered that they could create deep purples and rich reds by adding flecks of gold chloride or yellowish ambers from adding silver nitrate. As atomic particles rearrange, they reflect light differently.

Understanding these unpredictable properties that result from manipulating nanomaterials through innovative engineering and fabrication of macro-scale technologies is the task of researchers within this field.

Essentially, nanotechnology can quite literally reshape the world as we know it.

There are four major classifications that sort different types of nanotechnology happening now, arranged by the sequence in which they are developed or the mediums in which they work:

Descending (top-down): This approach minimizes structures and mechanisms currently in use to the nanoscale ranging from atomic levels to 100 nanometers to develop new technologies.

Ascending (bottom-up): Beginning with basic units of a nanometric structure, like an atom or molecule, nanotechnologists build from the ground up.

Dry: A type of nanotechnology classified by its work with inorganic materials, like metals and semiconductors, that do not work with water.

Wet: Takes a focus on processes that require water and biological systems that exist in an aqueous environment, such as cells.

Nanotechnology is all around us. Take a look at some of the ways unfathomably small innovations have made their way into your everyday routines.

Created in a lab and ground down into ultra-fine particles, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are synthetic ingredients added to everyday sun-protection products, as they are highly UV light-absorbent. The inorganic nanoparticles also effectively absorb and scatter visible light, making them feel light and look transparent when applied to the skin.

The beads of rain, balling up then rolling off of your windbreaker, and surprising stink-resistance of weeks-old athleisure wear piled up in the corner of your bedroom can all be credited to nanofibers, or nanotechnology adapted to clothing.

Silica nanoparticles, either woven into the fabric or sprayed onto its surface, keep us dry under umbrellas and in water-repellent clothes.

Silver nanoparticles commonly used in T-shirts and socks hold antimicrobial properties, killing odorous bacteria and requiring less frequent wash cycles. Adding copper to the mix creates a protective layer that breaks down food and dirt when in contact with heat or exposed to sunlight. Going one step further, copper-silica nanoparticles chemically deodorize by actively targeting and then modifying stench-causing molecules.

In one study, titanium dioxide was found to enhance wrinkle resistance in cotton fabrics.

Looking ahead, researchers are studying different breeds of foliage to duplicate their superhydrophobic and self-cleaning properties to create ultra water-resistant fabrics patterned with nano-silicone spikes, linked to a phenomenon called the lotus effect.

More on Fashion Technology Fashion Technology: An Overview Into the Industry

Coatings, varnishes, upholstery as well as the composite and plastic materials furnishing a home sometimes feature a nanotech touch.

When applied to wood, nano-silver, copper and zinc have been known to protect furniture from pests and fungi by naturally producing biocides, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Scientific Research and Innovative Technology. A finishing coat of titanium dioxide can also repel dust and contaminants, according to the paper.

The use of nanomaterials can lead to an extended life cycle for furniture products while reducing maintenance and repair costs, according to researchers at the Helwan University in Egypt.

For safety, adding a small portion of carbon nanofibers to polyurethane foams in upholstered furniture can reduce flammability by about 35 percent, compared to conventional fire retardants researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology found.

The super covalent bonds that stick nano-adhesives together are inspired by the strongest model of van der Waals forces gecko toes.

The billion-odd, tiny, elastic hairs known as setae that line the reptilians feet split into even smaller spatulae about 200 nanometers in width and length at each end, aiding in the lizards one-of-a-kind grip strength.

In 2012, a group of scientists released an adhesive glue dubbed Geckskin that could secure 700 pounds to a smooth surface utilizing carbon nanotubes.

Although carbon nanotubes are thousands of times thinner than a human hair, they can be stronger than steel, lighter than plastic, more conductive than copper for electricity and diamond for heat, writes Michael Berger, an editor for online nanotechnology publicationNanowerk.

Thinner bonding lines give nano-fillers an advantage over traditionally used micro-scale adhesives, which increases strength and durability. Molecular chains bonded by a silicon, sulfur, carbon and hydrogen cocktail created a nano-glue in 2007 that could not only withstand high temperatures but became stronger as the heat increased.

Nano-ceramic coatings bond with a cars clear finish, forming a glossy, polymer-protected sealant that repels water, contaminants, UV rays and not to be left out damaging uric acid from bird droppings. They are most commonly made from silicon dioxide, but can also be sourced from silicon carbide or graphene.

Typically, the coatings can last two to five years, although the more concentrated mixtures on the market can last over a decade.

Nanotechnology gets in the game with its carbon nanotubes, silica nanoparticles, nanoclays and fullerenes that improve the performance of athletes and their equipment. Nanomaterials can increase strength, stiffness and durability of equipment while reducing weight, friction or wear resistance in uniforms. Its why golf clubs and racing bikes are lighter. Its why swimmers and skaters glide faster.

Carbon nanotubes, the most prevalent nanomaterial used in sporting goods, are six times lighter and 100 times stronger than steel and stiff as diamond, according to online nanotechnology publication AZoNano.

In tennis, these carbon nanotubes are infused to strengthen racquet frames, offering more control and power for the player. Nanoclay linings inside of tennis balls act as a barrier that retains inflating gasses and prevents leaks, optimizing bounce and allowing longer gameplay.

But how good is too good? An ethical dilemma arises in what is called technology doping, where regulatory institutions draw the line between talent and technology.

As reported by The Guardian, an international governing body banned swimsuits that contained nanofabrics after 168 world records were broken by competitive swimmers wearing the suits, giving competitors an unfair advantage. Speedos LZR Racer bodysuit can be linked to more than 90 percent of the gold medals won in the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to its polyurethane panel construction, which repelled water, increased buoyancy and reduced drag.

As demonstrated in a decades evolution of the smartphone, less is more in the world of computers. The aggressive focus on the efficiency of computer systems is driven by a concept known as Moores Law, established in 1965, which predicted that the number of transistors packed into a circuit of a given size would be able to double every two years, per advancements. Thus far, American engineer and author of the principle, Gordon Moore, has been right.

In 2021, IBM announced that it had successfully developed a silicon semiconductor sized at just two nanometers. It holds a 45 percent higher performance rate than todays most advanced chips, more than triple its size, a press release stated. For reference, this would allow 50 billion transistors to be crammed into a fingernail-sized chip.

Scientists anticipate Moores law to hit an inevitable wall, pushing primary composite silicon to its optimization limit. Thinner nanomaterials, like graphene, and structural formations, like one-dimensional carbon nanotubing, are currently being considered to architect the next generation of computing transistors.

More on Small-Scale ComputingWant to Learn Quantum Computing? Heres How.

Analytics and consulting company GlobalData identified some nanotech trends taking off in patient care.

Target specification is a technique where nanoparticles are attached onto drugs or artificial vesicles known as liposomes (essentially, encased water droplets designed for a specific purpose) to seek out specific cells and tissues. This allows medicine to treat diseased or cancerous cells of interest directly while avoiding the healthy ones, according to GlobalData.

Another use in the making, controlled drug release, would give care practitioners the ability to control the release of a drug or therapeutic compound by a trigger. Internally, this may be activated by a change in tissue as it develops around a tumor or, externally, by stimuli such as heat, light or ultrasound.

From Heinz to Hershey, the household brands filling out your refrigerator drawers and kitchen cabinets likely contain nanotechnology. AZoNanoestimated that there are more than 400 global companies participating in novel, lab-to-table developments.

The fields leading actors silver, titanium dioxide, silica, clay, gold and zinc are the most commonly engineered elements used to manipulate food products on the nanoscale, according to the Center for Food Safety.

Nano-iron has been used to treat water, breaking down organic pollutants and killing microbial pathogens during decontamination.

The fluffy, perma-moist texture of mayonnaise is made possible by nano-emulsion, where fatty, oil droplets overcrowd water and create pockets. Developers believe they can lower the condiments fat percentage even more by injecting the fat molecules with water. Nestl uses this process to guarantee a uniform thawing experience across its frozen aisle products while Unilever reduced the fat percentage of its ice creams from 16 to 1 percent.

Aesthetically speaking, yogurt and coconut flakes rely on titanium dioxide to appear as vibrantly white as possible.

Taste, looks and texture are not the only application of nanotech in the food sector. Smart packaging, decked out in nanosensors and antimicrobial activators, like nano-silver, are in production to extend shelf life, improve food safety, indicate contaminated or spoiled products, repair packaging tears and even release preservatives while food products sit in a wrapper.

Today, nanotechnology stops beers from going flat by infusing nano-clay flakes into the plastic bottle walls, barricading fizzy carbon dioxide from escaping and oxygen, breaching its way in, from spoiling the beverage.

Looking forward, bioavailability by way of nanostructures aims to optimize nutritional value in order to demonstrate clear benefits. Researchers are looking to splice table salt to nanometric sizes roughly one thousand times smaller than it typically appears, The Guardian reported. Increasing salts surface area means that the flavor can spread more efficiently. This would increase the salts surface area one-million fold, meaning that the flavor can spread more efficiently, reducing salt intake and blood pressure woes without sacrificing any flavor.

Researchers at Northeastern University have developed a fire-retardant aerogel, made up of cellulose nanofibres and metallic phase molybdenum disulphide.The ultra-lightweight, durable material contains a crosslinking structure. Building nano-barriers into housing materials would help block out oxygen while inhibiting toxic substances to release and fuel a fire, ultimately certifying its inflammability.

Currently, the team at Northeastern are seeking out commercial and development opportunities to build their fire-retardant nanotech into housing, industry connection platform In-Part reported in a blog post.

In its adolescence, the industry itself is still dreaming up what reengineering matter on the nanoscale can do for society.

Its direct hand in COVID-19 response is a top example of this. Tech innovation journal Nano Today attributed the 95-percent efficacy rate of two mRNA-based vaccines specifically to the use of nanocarriers, made up of lipid nanoparticles. Its a standout marker for modern medicine that lays the groundwork for fighting against future pandemics, as stated in the journal.

Nanotech is also showing promise in tackling climate change, by optimizing energy generation. On an individual scale, this can mean more storage embedded into electric car batteries or, on an industry scale, solar panels with higher conversion rates.

Nanowerk highlighted the work of Zhong Lin Wang, a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, who has been developing nanogenerator technology since 2005.

Wang and his team is exploring how to harvest mechanical energy from organic and inorganic materials, essentially operating a system of energy through movement. His work has shown that nanogenerators can be driven by irregular mechanical motion, which includes involuntary biomechanisms such as the vibration of vocal cords or the pulses of a heartbeat to even a hamster wheel or a flag flapping in the wind. Stimuli currently being experimented with include light, temperature variations, glucose any naturally occuring source that holds a high conversion efficiency.

Although nanotech innovation of tomorrow is small-scale, its kind of a big deal.

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10 Top Nanotechnology Examples | Built In

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Nanotech: Exploiting Nanomaterial Properties to Create New Products …

Posted: at 10:28 pm

Nanotechnology refers to the field of science that manipulates matter on a near-atomic scale to design new structures, materials, and devices that thrive at nanoscale dimensions. This technology is crucial for the progress and evolution of several scientific disciplines, including medicine, manufacturing, energy, and materials science and engineering.

In the metric system, a nanometer refers to a unit of length. The word nano is derived from the Greek word Nanos, which equates to dwarf or something extremely small. Technically, one centimeter = 1/100 of a meter while a nanometer (nm) = one billionth of a meter. Thus, all nanoscale structures typically have a dimensional range or length between 1 and 100 nanometers.

To better visualize the nanoscale size, lets look at some of the examples. If you observe the human skin under a magnifying glass, you reach the millimeter dimension = 1/1000 of a meter. Instead, if you use a microscope to study the skin, you work at a micrometer scale (1/1000 of a millimeter), which allows you to examine the skin cells. Typically, cells, bacteria, and silicon chips are measured in micrometers.

A nanometer (10-9) scale is smaller and primarily used to measure atoms and molecules. An atom that makes up all matter around us has a width in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 nm; a human hair is 50k nm to 100k nm thick, a single DNA strand is 2.5 nm wide, and a sheet of paper is 75k nm thick. This tiny dimensional space represents the nanoscale world.

In the 20th century, researchers across the globe made a revelation that fundamentally changed our understanding of nanoscale materials. According to scientists, materials with at least one facet length, breadth, or height in the 1 to 100 nm range tend to reveal distinct physical and chemical properties compared to the same materials at the macroscale capacity.

Lets consider an example of silver material. If we break it down into smaller proportions, each piece still showcases basic properties such as density, texture, boiling point, thermal conductivity, and others, just like the original silver. However, all these properties change at the nanoscale level based on size, shape, and composition. This implies that the properties exhibited by materials at the nanoscale are not manifested by the same material at any other length.

Although it is hard to define the size or composition parameters at which the properties of a material change, material dimensions have their own relevance. For example, gold material expresses different colors at different nanoscale dimensions. It is orange in color at 100 nm and green at 50 nm. However, it is worth noting that gold particles show distinct catalytic properties that vary according to material size only at lengths below 5 nm.

Nanometer materials have existed for years. However, scientific tools and techniques to observe and manipulate them have come to the fore only in recent decades. Its development dates back to the 17th century when the optical microscope was developed. The microscope made the invisible world of biological organisms visible to humans. However, it had a serious bottleneck of magnification as the wavelength of visible light ranges between 400 to 750 nm, which is far more than any nanoscale material.

With the introduction of the electron microscope in 1931, this limitation of the visible light spectrum was resolved. Fast forward to 1981, the first scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was introduced, which not just allowed professionals to view tiny objects but also fiddle with unique object qualities that varied according to their size, shape, and composition.

Today, STM and electron microscopes are vital units in nanotech labs as they bring the world of nanoscale particles of 0.05 nm or lesser size to life. These advanced instruments are crucial to capture the dynamic properties shown by nanomaterials and harness them to solve modern-day problems such as improving fuel efficiency, building advanced computers, designing complex medical diagnostic equipment, or promoting the use of renewable energy sources.

See More: Top 10 Applications of IoT in 2022

Nanotechnology has penetrated all walks of life, from food processing and efficient drug delivery to the design of small transistors used by electronic chips. With the proliferation of IoT devices recently, nanotechnology applications have grown significantly. According to an October 2022 report by MarketWatch, the global nanotechnology market reached a valuation of $1.97 billion in 2021 and is estimated to climb to $34.3 billion by the end of 2030.

Although nanotechnology has multidisciplinary applications, lets look at the top six areas where nanotechnologies significantly impact today.

Nanotechnology Applications

Advancements in nanotechnology have led to the development of nanomaterials that are used across day-to-day applications, from fabrics, cosmetics, and sportswear, to camera displays and eyewear. With the help of nanotech, material properties can be tweaked to make them durable and stronger, have better electrical & thermal conductivity, and so on. Typically, in the clothing sector, fabrics can be made wrinkle-free and resistant to micro-bacterial growth.

Nanomaterials are also an important component of lithium-ion batteries. For instance, a nanotech firm, Nano One Materials Corp., has joined hands with Johnson Matthey, a sustainable technology company, to develop low-cost nanomaterials that would be specifically used in lithium-ion batteries. Such batteries could find applications in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, or even the energy storage domain.

In the healthcare sector, nanotech is extensively used while exercising therapy techniques, designing diagnostics, and developing efficient drug delivery systems. For example, Medlab Clinical Limited, a biotech company, has developed NanoCelle, a drug delivery platform that creates nano-sized particles and ingests them directly into a patients bloodstream via oral, buccal mucosa (cheek). Recently, Medlab received a New South Wales (NSW) Government grant to develop a nasal vaccine for COVID-19, which will be delivered via this non-invasive NanoCelle platform.

Nanotech is also employed to develop antiviral drugs. For example, NanoViricides is a company that designs nanomaterials specifically used for antiviral therapy. The firm also develops nanomedicines that can fight viral infections, such as the ones observed in influenza, HIV/AIDS, or dengue fever.

In the food industry, nanotech is applied to intensify food flavor and color while performing food processing steps. It is also vital for food preservation as microbes can significantly reduce the foods shelf life. Considering the consequences, nanotech-based food packaging solutions are used to maintain the safety and quality of food products.

Also, during the agricultural cultivation process, farmers can now use nanomaterials as this tends to keep a check on pesticide use on crops and yet deliver essential nutrients to them. Thus, from food production, processing, and preservation to packaging, nanotech has become an indispensable part of food science.

The rate of technological advancement has overthrown the well-known Moores Law, which predicts that the number of transistors on silicon chips grows 2x each year. Circuits have gotten smaller and smaller at a rapid pace. For instance, in 2015, tech giant IBM revealed that it would use transistors of 7 nm size. A couple of years later, the organization announced the launch of a 5 nm chip. In 2021, the company disclosed that it had created a 2 nm chip that showed 45% higher performance than the previously designed 7 nm chips.

Similarly, Samsung, a telecom leader, designed a nanotech process that gives tiny chips more power than state-of-the-art chips. In mid-2021, Samsung partnered with Synopsys to advance the 3 nm gate-all-around tech that can benefit AI applications, 5G devices, and high-performance computing applications. In 2022, the semiconductor company ordered mass production of 3 nm chips that consumed 45% less power and 23% enhanced performance over 5 nm chips, such as Apples M1 and M2 chips.

In the energy sector, nanotech is primarily used to develop energy storage solutions and advance oil & gas recovery processes. For instance, PyroGenesis Canada, a tech company, uses plasma-based techniques to help oil & gas companies design sustainable solutions for oil & gas exploration and production. This plasma-based approach is also adopted by several manufacturing industries and 3D printing companies.

Moreover, in the renewable energy area, nanotech is employed to elevate the performance of solar cells. For example, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a national laboratory in the US, developed nanocones out of zinc oxide, boosting solar cells overall efficiency.

Nanotechnology is pivotal when it comes to developing environmental applications. For instance, the International Institute of Nanotechnology, which promotes nanoscience research in the US, has created a nanocomposite membrane that absorbs and releases water pollutants such as phosphates. The membrane helps control phosphate pollution in rivers, lakes, and other water bodies.

Nanotech is also used in air quality treatment. For instance, Nanomatrix Materials, an Indian firm, has designed AC filters that rely on graphene-silver nanotechnology to keep the indoor air clean while protecting users from airborne viruses. In other words, typical air conditioners are transformed into air purifiers.

Such purifiers also aid in addressing the COVID-19 issue. In 2020, Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel collaborated with Rice University and developed graphene-based air filters capable of self-sterilizing and purifying the surrounding air. These filters also help in decontaminating water bodies.

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Today, nanotech innovations have become an inevitable part of our everyday lives. Our households invariably reveal a nanotech touch as routinely used products such as cosmetics, fabrics, furniture, adhesives, and even vehicular paints are a consequence of nanomaterial engineering.

Lets look at some use cases of nanotechnology.

Nanoparticles such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are added to cosmetic products such as sunscreens because they block UV light. These fine particles are capable of absorbing and scattering visible light. As a result, modern sunscreens feel light and appear transparent when applied to the skin.

Nanoparticles such as silica exhibit water-repellent properties. They are either sprayed on the fabric surface or woven into it to ensure water does not enter the fabric. It is widely used in umbrellas and raincoats.

Clothing apparels such as T-shirts, trousers, and even socks have silver nanoparticles sprayed over them due to their antibacterial properties. These nanoparticles tend to kill microbes that evoke strong odor, allowing the apparel to be used for a longer duration without having to be washed. Moreover, ultra-fine particles of titanium dioxide are used to make cotton fabrics wrinkle-free.

Nanoparticles such as silver, copper, and zinc are applied on household furniture because they can fight against pests or fungi that develop over time. Moreover, titanium dioxide particles are also applied in some cases as it acts as a dust and contaminant repellent.

Applying nanomaterial-based coatings and varnishes can extend the life of any furniture while lowering its maintenance costs. According to a research study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the flammability of upholstered furniture reduces by 35% when coated with carbon nanofibers.

Nanotechnology is often used to develop durable adhesives. Generally, adhesives become less sticky at higher temperatures. However, nano-glue developed by US researchers harnesses molecular chains to stick to surfaces and make them capable of withstanding high temperatures, unlike traditional adhesives. These developed adhesives are only 1 nm thick and are suitable for electronic chips and machines usually exposed to high temperatures.

Vehicles have nano-ceramic coatings that mix with sealants to protect them from UV light and contaminants. These nanocoatings also safeguard vehicles from bird droppings composed of uric acid.

Nanorepel, a nanotech company that produces surface protection coatings for cars, has developed a high-performance coating that not only protects cars from bird waste but when applied on upholstery car components, stays free from stains and dirty spots.

In the sporting industry, nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes or silica nanoparticles are applied to sports equipment to enhance performance. These materials are key to equipment durability as they reduce equipment wear and tear and weight, amplifying its overall strength. As such, golf clubs, skateboards, tennis racquets, and sports bikes feel lighter when used by sportspeople.

Also, nanoclays applied on the interiors of tennis balls optimize ball bounce and prevent leakage, if any. As a result, these tennis balls can withstand longer rallies during a match.

See More: What is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)? Meaning, Working, and Applications in 2022

Nanotechnology provides a pathway to study and design new materials that improve our lives. However, it is worth noting that nanotech does not refer to typical products such as electronic chips or smartphones. Instead, it defines a process that exploits the properties of nanomaterials to design and develop such products and devices.

In 1908, Henry Ford came up with the idea of introducing assembly lines in automobile manufacturing plants. As a result, the cost of production lowered significantly, and the end product became substantially affordable. Thus, common US citizens could buy less expensive yet new automobiles. The improved automobile manufacturing framework eventually led to the industrial revolution like none other.

Similarly, nanotech has great potential to start another industrial revolution as it has a quantifiable impact on different sectors such as healthcare, the environment, clothing, etc. Only time will reveal how we adapt to nanotech advancements in the future.

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Entheogenic drugs and the archaeological record – Wikipedia

Posted: at 10:27 pm

Archaeological records of drugs used in a ritual context

Entheogenic drugs have been used by various groups for thousands of years. There are numeroushistorical reports as well as modern, contemporary reports of indigenous groups using entheogens, chemical substances used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context.[1]

A Finnish study assayed psilocybin concentrations in old herbarium specimens, and concluded that although psilocybin concentration decreased linearly over time, it was relatively stable. They were able to detect the chemical in specimens that were 115 years old.[2]

The Maya, Olmecs, and Aztecs have well-documented entheogenic complexes.[3] North American cultures also have a tradition of entheogens. In South America, especially in Peru, the archaeological study of cultures like Chavin, Cupisnique, Nazca[4] and Moche,[5] have demonstrated the use of entheogens through archaeobotanical, iconographic and paraphernalia.[6][7]

The Olmec (1200 BCE to 400 BCE) lived in Central America and are largely viewed by many as the mother culture of Aztecs and Maya. The Olmecs left no written works on their belief structures, so many interpretations on Olmec beliefs are largely based on interpretations of murals and artifacts. Archaeologists state three reasons for believing that the Olmecs used entheogens:

The Maya (250 BCE to 900 CE) flourished in Central America and were prevalent even until the arrival of the Spanish. The Maya religious tradition was complex and well-developed. Unlike the Olmec, the Maya possessed religious texts that have survived to this day. The Maya religion displayed characteristic Mesoamerican mythology, with a strong emphasis on an individual being a communicator between the physical world and the spiritual world. Mushroom stone effigies, dated to 1000 BCE, give evidence that mushrooms were at least revered in a religious way.

The late Maya archaeologist, Dr Stephan F. de Borhegyi, published the first of several articles in which he proposed the existence of a Mesoamerican mushroom cult in the Guatemalan highlands as early as 1000 B.C This cult, which was associated from its beginnings with ritual human decapitation, a trophy head cult, warfare and the Mesoamerican ballgame, appears to have had its origins along the Pacific coastal piedmont. Borhegyi developed this proposition after finding a significant number of small, mushroom-shaped sculptures in the collections of the Guatemala National Museum and in numerous private collections in and around Guatemala City. While the majority of these small stone sculptures were of indeterminate provenance, a sufficient number had been found during the course of archaeological investigations as to permit him to determine approximate dates and to catalog them stylistically (Borhegyi de, S.F., 1957b, "Mushroom Stones of Middle America," in Mushrooms, Russia and History by Valentina P. Wasson and R. Gordon Wasson, eds. N.T.)

Archaeologist Stephan F. de Borhegyi wrote:

"My assignment for the so-called mushroom cult, earliest 1,000 B.C., is based on the excavations of Kidder and Shook at the Verbena cemetery at Kaminaljuyu. The mushroom stone found in this Pre-Classic grave, discovered in Mound E-III-3, has a circular groove on the cap. There are also a number of yet unpublished mushroom stone specimens in the Guatemalan Museum from Highland Guatemala where the pottery association would indicate that they are Pre-Classic. In each case the mushroom stone fragments has a circular groove on the top. Mushroom stones found during the Classic and Post-Classic periods do not have circular grooves. This was the basis on which I prepared the chart on mushroom stones which was then subsequently published by the Wassons. Based on Carbon 14 dates and stratigraphy, some of these Pre-Classic finds can be dated as early as 1,000 B.C. The reference is in the following".....(see Shook, E.M. & Kidder, A.V., 1952. Mound E-III-3, Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala; Contributions to American Anthropology & History No. 53 from Publ. 596, Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. (letter from de Borhegyi to Dr. Robert Ravicz, MPM archives December 1st 1960)

The most direct evidence of Maya entheogen use comes from modern descendants of the Maya who use entheogenic drugs today.[citation needed]

The Aztec entheogenic complex is extremely well documented. Through historical evidence, there is proof that the Aztecs used several forms of psychoactive drugs. These drugs include Ololiuqui (the seed of Rivea corymbosa), Teonancatl (translated as mushroom of the gods," a psilocybe mushroom) and sinicuichi (a flower added to drinks). The Xochipilli statue, according to R.G. Wasson, gives the identity of several entheogenic plants. Other evidence for entheogenic use of the Aztecs comes from the Florentine Codex, a series of 12 books vividly describing the Aztec culture and society, including the use of entheogenic drugs.

There are several contemporary indigenous groups who use entheogens, most notably Native Americans of the Southwestern United States.[citation needed] Various tribes from California have been known to use strong alcoholic drinks as well as peyote to achieve visions and religious experiences.[citation needed]

During the Paleolithic, there is ample evidence of drug use as seen by preserved botanical remains and coprolites. Some scholars had suggested that the "Flower Burial" in Shanidar Cave, a Paleolithic site in Iraq, was evidence of a shamanic death ritual, but more recent evidence and analysis has contradicted that claim. The most direct evidence we have from the Paleolithic in terms of art comes from Tassili, Algeria cave paintings depicting Psilocybe mairei mushrooms[8] dated 7000 to 9000 years[9] before present.[10][11][12] From this region, there are several therianthropic images portraying the painter and the animals around him as one (an often cited effect of many psychedelic drugs, Ego death or unity). One image, in particular, shows a man who has formed into one common form with a mushroom.[13][14]

There are several Paleolithic sites that display therianthropic imagery.[citation needed] However, there is some debate as to whether or not sites like Lascaux or Chauvet were entheogenically inspired.[citation needed]

A cave painting in Spain has been interpreted as depicting Psilocybe hispanica.[8][15]

Psychedelic Timeline by Tom Frame. Psychedelic Times.

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