The new show Fringe premiered Tuesday on Fox! The action drama spotlights fringe sciences which are concepts in science that seem outrageous in the mainstream but are being developed for practical use. And believe it or not researchers are delving into some of those ideas right here in Little Rock.
"Nanotechnology has brought the world something that we didn't have before. We basically are able right now to have a new set of materials that have completely new properties that we have never studied before," says Alex Baris, chief scientist at the UALR Nanotechnology Center.
So why new materials? Well, let's explain. Let's say a pile of gravel is a block of gold. We know gold has a certain color and texture. But when you break it down to the atomic level, you find it has a different color and reacts differently with substances like a whole new material. And all these new materials can be studied for use in everything from fuel to electronics to medicine.
"We hope to be able to deliver some of these materials to tumors, for instance, and basically kill them," explains Baris.
Nanotechnology is a young science, it's only been around for the past 10 years and Arkansas is on the cutting edge. Baris says researchers are working with nanotechnology at UALR, U of A Fayetteville and UAMS.
"What I would like to see is all of these efforts come together into one major effort state-wide because we can be much stronger together," says Baris. And it's a growing field with a lot of interest from young people who want to make big changes in the world. "They want to do research because they believe in the outcome of their research," says Baris.
And he thinks the show Fringe may help the field grow even more. "I'm sure most people are not aware of how powerful these instruments are, some of these technologies are. So I am kind of looking forward to see exactly what the show is going to show us."
UALR researchers are working on several projects, but some of them have to do with nanotechnology applications in cancer treatment and solar energy.
