A Word from the Naysayers
There aren't many of them. Experts seem to agree this all will happen in the coming decade, though fully functioning artificial organs could be further off.
Company Close-Up
Organovo, a start-up in Los Angeles, is working on a process in which a bioprinter will squirt multiple layers of human tissue cells onto special paper. When the cells are arranged in the right way, the resulting artificial tissue can serve as a stand-in for human subjects in drug testing. "We may never be able to completely replicate a kidney," says co-founder Gabor Forgacs, a University of Missouri researcher who developed the technology. "But at some point we'll be able fabricate a biodevice from a patient's own cells that will duplicate the most important functions of a kidney and that won't be rejected by the patient's immune system."
Smart Materials: Shape-shifting Color-changing Self-repairing And That's Just the Wallpaper.
The Big Idea
Scientists are learning to custom-design matter by assembling molecules into microscopic structures such as spheres, tubes, and lattices. These nanoshapes can change a substance's properties, resulting in materials that are stronger, lighter, shinier, electrically conductive, heat resistant, flexible, slippery, or sticky. The structures of some nanomaterials bend and change shape when given an electrical jolt, so that a material's properties can be altered at the flip of a switch -- it can change color, for example, or become transparent. Nanoengineers can even carve out molecular gears and levers that act as microscopic machines; in theory, some materials could be self-repairing, and others could carry out tasks inside our bodies, like scraping plaque from artery walls. Eventually, there may be few products sold that don't incorporate some nanomaterials.
Time to Market
Some nanotech-enhanced materials are available. A flood of higher-tech ones are expected in three to seven years. Practical nanomachines are at least 10 years away.
Start-Ups to Watch
Currently, nanomaterials are being mixed with, or applied as a coating on, conventional materials to alter their properties. Much of the progress has been driven by large companies such as Dow Chemical and DuPont (NYSE:DD). But a number of start-ups have staked out impressive claims. New York-based ApNano Materials makes lubricating nanocoatings for engine parts; Oxonica, in the United Kingdom, produces nanoadditives that improve sunscreens and diesel fuel; Oakland, California-based Nano-Tex manufactures products that make clothing stain-resistant, softer, and more breathable. "Nanotechnology has been in the research stage for about 20 years, and we're just now seeing it come to fruition," says Jurron Bradley, a senior analyst at high-tech market intelligence firm Lux Research in New York.
A Word from the Naysayers
The emergence of nanomaterials is considered inevitable by most experts -- though there is skepticism about nanorobots.
Company Close-Up
SDC Materials in Tempe, Arizona, makes nanomaterials that can fend off bullets that punch through ordinary bulletproof vests. The nanomaterials are to be used in body armor for the U.S. military. Other substances help medical equipment kill bacteria on contact and create special inks that can be printed out as electronic circuits on paper. "If you design the right additive, you can dramatically improve the properties of a material for only a slight increase in cost," says CEO Max Biberger. The company has raised $11 million and posted its first revenue last year.
Brain Enhancement: The End of Stupid
The Big Idea
Intelligence is all about chemicals made and passed around by your brain cells. So why not add more of the right chemicals and boost smarts and memory? Scientists know how to make fruit flies and mice smarter, and efforts to come up with a treatment for Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders are leading to drugs that enhance memory and cognition in humans. Recent insights into learning-oriented brain cells called mirror neurons even hold out the possibility that someday we will have pills that will impart particular types of skills, such as computer programming or business decision making.
Time to Market
Drugs and treatments that improve memory and slow brain decline in patients with Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases are expected within five years. Drugs that make ordinary people smarter could be commonplace within 10 years.
Start-Ups to Watch
At least 40 brain-enhancing drugs are under development, most of them designed to target Alzheimer's. CoMentis, based in South San Francisco, is working on separating the brain-boosting powers of nicotine from its addictive and other unhealthy side effects. Helicon Therapeutics, in San Diego, is working on a drug that can help convert short-term memories into long-term ones. Also in San Diego, Ceregene is developing a treatment for decaying brain cells that works via an injection of a harmless virus infused with a protein that keeps such cells functional.
A Word from the Naysayers
Brain wonder drugs have a long and discouraging history, as far back as Freud's touting of cocaine. The drugs under study today may turn out to have unacceptable side effects -- or they may just not do all that much for most people, which has been the case with several promising Alzheimer's treatments so far, including the much ballyhooed Aricept. What's more, the FDA will probably approve neurodrugs only for people with serious disorders, not for those of us who merely feel a bit off our game. On the other hand, that didn't limit the availability of Prozac, notes Casey Lynch, managing director of the market strategy firm NeuroInsights. "Markets tend to be expandable in psychiatry," she says. "Once there's a good drug for the condition, a lot of people suddenly seem to have the disorder."
Company Close-Up
Researchers at Accera, in Broomfield, Colorado, believe that in some forms of impairment, brain cells are actually starving for glucose, the basic food of cells. The answer could be as simple as finding an alternative food source for brain cells. Accera's drug, Ketasyn, aims to fill the bill. The treatment has made it through initial clinical trials; now, the company hopes to speed the drug's time to market by labeling Ketasyn a medical food. Physicians prescribe medical foods, but they are less tightly regulated than drugs and normally don't require large trials, which means the stuff could be on the market as soon as this year. The company has raised $12 million and is said to be looking for another $30 million to build a sales and marketing organization.
