Confidence level: I’m a computational physicist working on nanoscale simulations, so I have some understanding of most of the things discussed here, but I am not specifically an expert on the topics covered, so I can’t promise perfect accuracy. I want to give a huge thanks to Professor Phillip Moriarty of the university of Nottingham for answering my questions about the experimental side of mechanosynthesis research.
>For example, in 2003 the Nanoputian project successfully built a nanoscale model of a person out of organic molecules. They used cleverly chosen reaction pathways to produce the upper body, and cleverly chosen reaction pathways to produce the lower body, and then managed to pick the exact right conditions to mix them together in that would bond the two parts together
As a chemist by training, I don't think this is actually that impressive. They basically did a few Sonogashira couplings, which are rather easy reactions (I did them regularly as an undergrad).
The Nanofactory collaboration didn't die out in 2017, they just went underground. They got acquired by the Canadian Bank Note corporation, which provided some internal funding alongside a $40M CAD grant from the Canadian government (SIF loan 813022). Their patent applications make for interesting reading: https://www.onscope.com/ipowner/en/owner/profile/1827206-cbn-nano-technologies-inc.html
There are other people working on direct-to-diamondoid mechanosynthesis as well, so the field is hardly dead.
>For example, in 2003 the Nanoputian project successfully built a nanoscale model of a person out of organic molecules. They used cleverly chosen reaction pathways to produce the upper body, and cleverly chosen reaction pathways to produce the lower body, and then managed to pick the exact right conditions to mix them together in that would bond the two parts together
As a chemist by training, I don't think this is actually that impressive. They basically did a few Sonogashira couplings, which are rather easy reactions (I did them regularly as an undergrad).
If you want something impressive, look at the synthesis of vitamin B12: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12_total_synthesis
Also . . . you don't need "diamondoid" technology to make nano-replicators that kill everything. Highly engineered bacteria could do the trick.
The Nanofactory collaboration didn't die out in 2017, they just went underground. They got acquired by the Canadian Bank Note corporation, which provided some internal funding alongside a $40M CAD grant from the Canadian government (SIF loan 813022). Their patent applications make for interesting reading: https://www.onscope.com/ipowner/en/owner/profile/1827206-cbn-nano-technologies-inc.html
There are other people working on direct-to-diamondoid mechanosynthesis as well, so the field is hardly dead.