Nanotech

Think about the possibilities if resources, cost and environmental impact were no barriers to what we could build.

Nanotechnology is about building things from the bottom up, at the molecular level. This approach could revolutionize medicine by delivering drugs directly to cells or help us with current environmental challenges, such as reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, and developing cleaner production processes. In a world defined by molecular manufacturing, we can create new materials, devices, and machines with enhanced properties, leading to an economically abundant future and the potential for space exploration.

Learn all about nanotech by clicking the "Intro" node, understand potential risks by clicking the "Risks" node, discover the most hopeful scenarios by clicking the "Hope" node and find out how to get involved under "Action" node.

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NANOTECH

Nanotech: Atomic-Scale Manufacturing

Tiny Machines - Richard Feynman. Introducing the concept of nanotechnology. Sci-fi content
Nanotechnology: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation - Eric Drexler. Technical book explaining the fundamentals and implications of nanotechnology. Book
Drexler and Smalley make the case for and against nanotechnology - Rudy Baum. Summarizes the Drexler Smalley debate about molecular manufacturing. Academic paper
Nanotechnology’s Spring - Eli Dourado. Easy-to-digest intro to the early promises of nanotechnology and recently accelerating progress. Forum/blog-post
What Happened to Molecular Manufacturing? - Allison Duettmann. Introductory article on the promises of molecular manufacturing. Article
The Prospects of Molecular Manufacturing – Anna-Sofia Lesiv. Discusses the frontier of atomic-scale manufacturing, exploring theoretical capabilities whilst acknowledging challenges. Article
Bottleneck Analysis: Positional Chemistry - Adam Marblestone. Workshop summary that provides a good overview of state of the art and open challenges. Article
Molecular Systems Engineering Platform - Eric Drexler. A new platform to facilitate the design and engineering of molecular nanotechnology. Video
Protein-based Assemblies and Molecular Machines - David Baker. Current state of the art in protein-based molecular machines. Video
Introduction to CadNano - Shawn Douglas. Current state of the art in software for molecular machines. Video
In-silico design, Visualization, and Analysis of Large DNA and RNA Nanostructures- Erik Poppleton. Current state of the art in software for molecular machines. Video
Criss-cross DNA Origami - Will Shih. Current state of the art of DNA origami. Video
Software-facilitated Design Atomically Precise Manufacture - Andrew Tuberfield. A DNA printing prototype. Video
The Science Behind Fold-It - Game showing the current state of the art in software for molecular machines. Misc.‍
A Day Made of Glass... Made possible by Corning – Corning Incorporated. Video depicting a world where real-time information is delivered seamlessly and everyday surfaces are transformed into sophisticated electronic devices. Video

Nanotech: Atomic-Scale Manufacturing

Atomically Precise Manufacturing - EA Forum. Landing page to EA’s APM section with intro to the topic and a list of links. Forum/blog-post
Risks from Atomically Precise Manufacturing - Benjamin Hilton. On risks and benefits of APM and potential avenues for addressing the risks. Forum/blog-post
My Thoughts on Nanotechnology Strategy as EA Cause Area - Ben Snodin. On whether and how Nanotechnology should feature as an effective altruist cause area. Forum/blog-post
Gray Goo is Unlikely - Bhaut. On why we may not have to worry about gray goo risks from nanotechnology soon. Forum/blog-post
Diamondoid Bacteria Nanobots: Deadly Thread or Dead-end? - Titotal. Argues that mechanosynthesis is likely not a viable near-term molecular manufacturing strategy. Forum/blog-post
Nanotechnology Catastrophic Risk Map - Alexey Turchin. Visual map of various X-risk scenarios from Nanotechnology. Forum/blog-post
Evaluating Future Nanotechnology: The Net Social Impacts of APM - Seth Baum. Weighing risks and benefits from future molecular nanotechnology. Academic paper‍
Nano Policy Briefings collected by the Foresight Institute. On risks and policy advice regarding nanotechnology. Content list

Nanotech: Atomic-Scale Manufacturing

Nexus - Ramez Naam. On a nano drug that allows mind-melding. Sci-fi content
Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson. A girl adventuring in a nanotechnology-defined future. Sci-fi content
Radical Abundance, Engines of Creation, Nano-solutions for the 21st Century - Eric Drexler. Various nanotechnology-focused books that inspired much early work on nanotechnology. Book
What Does The Future Hold For Molecular Machines? | James Cooper - Foresight Institute. Concepts and technology trees to advance toward atomically precise manufacturing.
Nanotechnology And The Resource Fallacy - Stephen Gillet. On how advanced nanotechnology may fundamentally help reframe our resource constraints. Book

Staying up to Date

Foresight Molecular Machines Program and the annual Feynman Prizes - Foresight Institute’s nanotechnology programs, including fellowships, prizes and workshops to support progress in this domain. Website/Blog

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Organizations and Projects

Institute for Molecular Manufacturing - Conducting and catalyzing research on Atomically Precise Manufacturing. Organization/project‍
Zyvex Labs - Developing ‘Atomically Precise Manufacturing’ to create society-changing devices—devices in which control of the location of individual atoms at the single-lattice-site level yields unprecedented capabilities. Organization/project