“Molecular nanotechnology will have a tremendous impact on all aspects of life in the twenty-first century,” declared Ralph C. Merkle, a research scientist at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in California. Merkle, one of the field’s pioneers, was named the 1998 corecipient (along with Stephen Walch of the Thermosciences Institute at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California) of the Foresight Institute’s 1998 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology for Theoretical Work. According to Merkle, among the benefits of mastering molecular nanotechnology—a proposed process for building large structures by the precise manipulation of individual atoms and molecules—will be not only major reductions in manufacturing costs, but also reduction in twenty-first-century society’s dependence on fossil fuels, reduction in environmental pollution of all kinds, and increased food production for the world. With molecular nanotechnology, the manufacturing process could come close to its theoretical maximum efficiency and minimum waste. Thinking of the scrap and shavings produced by cutting metal or wood, Merkle observed: “There is nothing fundamental about spewing out random undesired atoms to the environment as part of the manufacturing process.”

A forecast of technological developments in the processes involved in manufacturing computers. The forecast is based on two principles. The first principle is demonstrated (albeit in nascent form) by scanning probe microscopes, which even now let us move individual atoms and molecules. The second principle is self-replication, which will let us inexpensively make things in enormous quantities. Taken together, these two principles will revolutionize how we make computers-and quite a few other things as well. Watkins' vision of growing complex 3D computers is moving closer to reality.

New Cryptographic protocols which take full advantage of the unique properties of public key cryptosystems are now evolving. Several protocols for public key distribution and for digital signatures are briefly compared with each other and with the conventional alternative.

The knapsack problem is an NP-complete combinatorial problem that is strongly believed to be computationally difficult to solve in general. Specific instances of this problem that appear very difficult to solve unless one possesses "trapdoor information" used in the design of the problem are demonstrated. Because only the designer can easily solve problems, others can send him information hidden in the solution to the problems without fear that an eavesdropper will be able to extract the information. This approach differs from usual cryptographic systems in that a secret key is not needed. Conversely, only the designer can generate signatures for messages, but anyone can easily check their authenticity.