Things I Don't Know

There's little pride in admitting what you don't know. But that's the way of the world, I suppose. So here are a few things I don't currently understand, and probably never will.

Quantum Biology. Okay, I do have a handle on biology, after a fashion, and have been reading up on quantum, as in quantum computing or quantum mechanics. But quantum biology flummoxed me. From what I've read, quantum biology is the study of biological processes in terms of quantum mechanics. Which seems to me that you're using a term in the definition of that same term--which you're not supposed to do. The part I find interesting about quantum biology is that it hinges on the power of high-performance computers to precisely model complex biological processes.

To investigate QB, researchers are using the supercomputing facilities at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Scientific Computation Research Center(SCOREC) and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This kind of computing power will let researchers model complex biological systems with even greater accuracy: "The more atoms you include, the more accurate your system," says research team member Philip Shemella, a doctoral student in physics at Rensselaer. At least that makes sense to me.

DNA Nanotags. Just as I was getting a handle on RFID tags, the folks at Carnegie Mellon University have come up with "DNA nanotags." Tags I get. Nanotechnology I get. But everything I know about DNA I learned by watching the O.J. Simpson trial. According to a news release, "scientists have married bright fluorescent dye molecules with DNA nanostructure templates to make nanosized fluorescent labels that hold considerable promise for studying fundamental chemical and biochemical reactions in single molecules or cells. [This] improves the sensitivity for fluorescence-based imaging and medical diagnostics." Okay.

Much of the work on DNA nanotags is being done by scientists at CMU's Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, a really interesting research site whose mission is to develop fluorescence detection technologies for biomedical research and NASA space exploration. Clearly, I have a better grasp of the center's work on fluorescence imaging for life detection in extreme environments that the Center is doing in collaboration with CMU Field Robotics Center and NASA Ames Research Center, than the biomedical stuff. But then that leads us to the field of "astrobiology" -- the study of life in the universe -- where robotic astrobiologists will search for life on other planets, and I'm lost again. Did I mention that everything I know about astrobiology I learned on Star Trek?

Airport Security Screening. I admit I know something about airport security screening, having spent half my adult life in airports, it seems. But what I don't understand is how some of the screening devices that identify hazardous and toxic materials work. Luckily, researchers at Sandia National Labs do understand this stuff.

Moreover, they're working on next-generation screening devices that work in the underutilized terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between microwaves and infrared. The current project underway at Sandia is the Terahertz Microelectronics Transceiver Grand Challenge. "The technology being developed in the Grand Challenge can be used to scan for items such as concealed weapons or materials, explosives, and weapons of mass destruction," says Mike Wanke, principal investigator. "In addition, we believe it will find applications in advanced communication systems and high-resolution radars. However, the infrastructure needed to move the terahertz technology from the laboratory to the field is unavailable right now. We want to develop that infrastructure and invent the necessary technologies." Wanke added that over the past three years, "the terahertz situation has begun to change dramatically, primarily due to the revolutionary development of terahertz quantum cascade lasers." (There's that "quantum" stuff again.)

Wanke's team is currently developing the receiver, doing systems tests, and exploring packaging requirements. In addition to monitoring for concealed hazardous materials, Mike believes a terahertz system can be used to monitor the air for toxic materials. Here's a tip: If you want to contain hazardous vapors at airport security screening, don't ask me to take off my shoes.

Hopefully the boss won't be reading this. She thinks I really do understand all this stuff -- because I told her I did. I don't know what I was thinking.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 10:29 AM  Permalink