"Microfluidics Is Revolutionizing Biology by Shrinking Test Devices to Lilliputian Dimensions. Leading the Charge Is Caltech Physicist Stephen Quake." Some quotes from this story in today's LA Times Magazine:
Since producing that first chip in 1999, Quake's lab has churned out a series of increasingly complex micro-scale chips that are replacing conventional full-size machines. One can sort cells, an essential piece of lab equipment that makes it easier to track the results of each experiment, while another chip can replicate snippets of DNA, giving scientists more genetic material to work with. A third device, called a flux stabilizer, is a prototype for an implanted drug-delivery system that would continuously dispense medication deep inside the body, and eliminate the need for injections or remembering to take pills.[Update 3/8/04] This report in the Boston Globe today, titled "Nanotech being seen as next big thing: States, colleges jockey for research dollars," begins:Currently the lab is working on a DNA sequencer on a chip that would replace today's $300,000 dishwasher-sized machines. Also under development is a method of automating the growing of cell cultures, an essential part of biological research. This would "liberate researchers from the tyranny of pipetting," says Quake, a time-consuming process akin to feeding a litter of kittens with an eyedropper around the clock. * * *
But it was the device called the multiplexer, which was showcased in an October 2002 cover story in Science, that catapulted his team ahead of established rivals. Quake and his collaborators unveiled a chip that some experts consider a rudimentary version of a biological microprocessor. The one-inch-square grid is a gleaming triple-layered matrix containing 2,056 microvalves and 256 chambers to mix chemicals, and it can run tens of thousands of chemical reactions every hour. * * *
"A lot of people had made chips with single pumps, and valves, but Steve put it all together and made systems that could do really complicated processes," says David J. Beebe, a microfluidics expert and biomedical engineer at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "He is really the leader in taking this silicone technology and matching it with appropriate applications, and demonstrating that this could work. Before, microfluidics was limited to electrical engineers who knew how to use silicon and glass. But his work using more flexible materials really opened up the field."
Not so long ago, almost every state wanted a "silicon" of some sort, a forest, a prairie, or even just an alley. Next, their longings turned to "bio." Today, everybody wants "nano." Nanotechnology is the latest rage among states and regional groups looking to revive battered economies. Nanotech research centers are sprouting on university campuses from Atlanta to Phoenix to Fargo, N.D., and states are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to get in on the ground floor of what is alternately described as the "next big thing" and "next industrial revolution."Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports here that Loudoun County, Virginia is hoping its medical research campus will trigger a boom. The Chicago Tribune reports here that "Seattle hopes seeding nurtures biotech powerhouse."Some quotes:
Since the dot-com bust in the late 1990s, many cities and states are scrambling to attract biotech businesses that bring well-paying jobs and lucrative tax revenues. Seattle has a formidable advantage in that cutthroat competition. Its persuasive statistics include a well-educated population: nearly 47 percent of the residents have at least a college degree, nearly twice the national average, according to 2000 U.S. census figures.And a front-page story in the Indianapolis Star today, available here, is headed: "[Indiana's] Image of intolerance may cool job climate: High-tech sector might be wary of state, study suggests." Posted by Marcia Oddi at March 7, 2004 06:51 PM"This kind of economic opportunity, in this neighborhood, is really something I think any mayor in America would give their right arm for," said Mayor Greg Nickels, an advocate of the redevelopment project. Born in Chicago, Nickels moved to Seattle in the 1960s when Boeing recruited his father.