A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter—25,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, 200 times smaller than a typical virus, about the size of 3-4 atoms laid end-to-end. At that tiny scale, matter can exhibit some strange, new behaviors. Nanotechnology is all about harnessing those behaviors to create new devices and materials. Imagine a new material that is 100 times stronger than steel, with only one-sixth the weight! Imagine making a transistor out of a single molecule! Imagine molecular machines that practice personalized nanomedicine by repairing damaged cells. These are still dreams, but scientists and engineers in laboratories all over the world are working to make these dreams a reality—to turn the promise of nanoscience into technologies for the benefit of human society.

• Source: nanohub.org

Nanotechnology and the Study of Human Diseases - MIT World Video Lecture Series

Subra Suresh fleshes out the promise of nanotechnology, at least in regard to our understanding of disease. His talk, which focuses on malaria and its impact on red blood cells, demonstrates how the fields of engineering, biology and medicine are converging.

• Video Lecture