Our lives are about to be changed by new technologies that operate on a scale that is smaller than can be seen by the most optical microscopes. Devices inspired by living cells and measured in nanometers--billionths of a meter--are the basis of this nanotechnology revolution. In TRAVELS TO THE NANOWORLD, Miniature Machinery in Nature and Technology , Michael Gross takes us to this world to explore natural processes and new technologies that will make modern machines look like relics from the Stone Age.The living cell provides a starting point. All its vital processes, including chemical reactions, catalysis, movement, data storage and processing, and energy conversion, are directed and carried out by structures whose dimensions are on the nanometer scale. As biochemist have come to understand the mechanisms of this "nanotechnology of nature”, the chances of generating artificial systems of similar performance have grown rapidly. These highlights of cutting-edge research are grouped into the more biological approaches, including workings of proteins, genes, and cells, followed by the development of applications including supramolecular chemistry, small-scale technology, and biotechnology. TRAVELS TO THE NANOWORLD concludes with a discussion of present applications and future prospects for nanotechnology.