Foresight Nanotech Institute’s 2007 “Unconference” introduced an effective new approach to conferences this past weekend, as participants self-organized into two intense days of ad-hoc, informative sessions ranging from breaking news in molecular assembly (“Diamond Mechanosynthesis: A Direct Pathway to Diamondoid Nanofactories,” presented by Ralph Merkle and Robert A. Freitas Jr.), AI, life extension, and energy to uploading, quantum lithography, and virtual worlds.

The conference was held at Yahoo headquarters, allowing Foresight to cut the conference price to $99.