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Moving forward in the semantic soup of artificial molecular machine taxonomy

Nature Nanotechnology volume 17, pages 1231–1234 (2022)Cite this article

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Let’s motor through the fog of molecular machine terminology, not only by defining our own words clearly, but by embracing the coexistence of multiple meanings in a rational and structured manner.

In these moments of confusion, I often wonder: why do we molecular machinists so often debate the meaning of our own rhetoric? Since these debates usually take place in private or behind the closed doors of peer review, I hope to offer an open-door glimpse of insight on this issue. Further, to curb semantic debates that can slow down an otherwise productive conversation, I will propose a strategy to ‘move forward’ through these viscous moments and ‘grease the gears’ of discussion.

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Fig. 1: Artificial molecular machine semantics.
Fig. 2: A taxonomy of artificial molecular machines (AMMs).

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  1. ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Carson J. Bruns

  2. Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    Carson J. Bruns

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Bruns, C.J. Moving forward in the semantic soup of artificial molecular machine taxonomy. Nat. Nanotechnol. 17, 1231–1234 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01247-5

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