Six years earlier on the other side of the Atlantic in Cambridge, UK, the Nobel Laureates James Watson and Francis Crick – together with Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins – had proposed, and confirmed, the helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA): the genetic building block and coding machinery of cellular life.
Feynman was talking about the large spaces that exist between atoms in solids (the interatomic spacing) relative to the size of the atoms themselves. He knew intuitively that if we could manipulate materials at the atomic level, whole new possibilities in physics and engineering would arise. Many believe Feynman to be the father of what we now call nanotechnology.
What’s certain is that Feynman inspired generations of physicists, many of whom went on to work in pioneering research institutes and semiconductor companies in Silicon Valley. These companies designed and built machines to manipulate materials at the micron, sub-micron and now nanometre scale. Today we take it for granted that our laptops, tablets and smartphones contain silicon-based semiconductor integrated circuits with feature sizes of 40 nanometres (1/250th the width of a human hair, or just 73 silicon atoms across). Feynman’s vision made reality.
The work of Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins has inspired three subsequent generations of research in genomics. The elucidation of the structure of DNA and the more recent mapping of the human genome by Nobel Laureate biologist John Sulston and his team at The Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, is allowing us to better understand the role and function of genetics in human disease, and is driving the development of molecular diagnostic tests.
Importantly, our understanding of the role of genes in human disease is changing the way we think about delivering healthcare in the 21st century. One healthcare sector in particular that exploits the cross-fertilisation of this pioneering work (and the subsequent birth of microsystems technology and synthetic biology), is healthcare diagnostics.
The Affymetrix GeneChip®, manufactured and sold under licence by Roche Diagnostics, is a great example of the cross-fertilisation of Feynman’s ideas on molecular manipulation with the world of genetic biology. The GeneChip® is fabricated using a 28-step sequential photolithographic process, where selective light-activated patterning and protective chemistries are used to build linear sequences of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) onto a solid substrate – a manufacturing technique drawn unashamedly from the lithographic techniques used to pattern integrated transistors in the microchip industry. During a genetic test, the specific oligonucleotide sequences fabricated on the GeneChip® bind their complimentary sequence if present in the biological sample under analysis.
Today, devices like this are defining the needs and effectiveness of personalised (stratified) medicines for an ageing global population. The impact on future healthcare delivery is set to be enourmous. So, the work of these pioneering scientists from Cambridge and California of 60 years ago still inspires and underpins our daily lives in very many and often unexpected ways.
By Matthew D. Steinberg, a technology consultant who leads the healthcare diagnostics programme at Cambridge Design Partnership.
About Cambridge Design Partnership
Cambridge Design Partnership is an innovative technology and design consulting company that develops ‘first of a kind’ products in the medical, consumer and cleantech sectors. We combine leading engineering talent with business acumen and a deep understanding of the technical and human needs that drive innovation.
Cambridge Design Partnership’s multi-disciplined experts and proven process will benefit any multinational or ambitious company aiming to maximise their return on investment in innovation.
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Contact Laura Cavaliere at CDP for more information: [email protected] / +44 (0) 1223 264428
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