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• Tough love for science and technology innovation

  From 2020science.org : The National Research Council of the National Academies releases its review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research. And it’s not pretty. Most people Read More... Posted 13 December 2008 01:22 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 0 Comments Filed under: Nanotechnology, Risk, Policy, Oversight, Research, innovation, 2020 Science

• Nano-silver: Old problems or new challenges?

  The SafeNANO blog is no stranger to the use (and possible abuse) of nanometre-scale silver—products ranging from silver-enhanced socks and toothpaste to plush toys and cure-alls have all appeared in the spotlight recently. With each passing month, the Read More... Posted 09 September 2008 19:32 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 1 Comments Filed under: Nanoparticles, Exposure, Hazard, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Risk, Policy, Safety, Envrionment, Health, Oversight, Research, Nano Silver, Argyria, Strategy, Nanotoxicology

• Value-added nanotechnology

  Amidst the cacophony of debate swirling around the true meaning of nanotechnology, I head a voice or reason last week. The voice was that of Dr. Bernd Sachweh of BASF , speaking at the European Aerosol Conference in Thessoloniki. I paraphrase, but the Read More... Posted 03 September 2008 14:34 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 1 Comments Filed under: Exposure, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Risk, Benefits, Policy, Safety, Regulation, Oversight, Standards, Meetings, Novel materials, Definitions

• Late lessons from early warnings

  As the rate of technological progress advances, are we learning the lessons of past successes and failures? And are we applying these lessons successfully to nanotechnology? In 2001, the European Environment Agency (EEA) published a seminal report on Read More... Posted 20 July 2008 17:49 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 2 Comments Filed under: Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Risk, Policy, Safety, Oversight, innovation, Novel materials, Emerging technologies, Late lessons

• Benny the Bear comes clean

  Last December I highlighted the case of Benny the Bear—a soft toy using nano-silver to give it antimicrobial properties ( Benny the Bear, and the case of the disappearing nanoparticles ). It appeared at the time that the manufacturer was being rather Read More... Posted 28 June 2008 21:28 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 5 Comments Filed under: Nanoparticles, Risk, Policy, Safety, Business, Oversight, Uncertainty, Nano Silver, Consumer Products

• Synthetic biology, ethics and the hacker culture

  Read Thomas L. Friedman’s “The World is Flat” or Neal Stephenson’s “Cryptonomicon”, and you get a glimpse into how the hacker culture that emerged at the tail end of the twentieth century revolutionized the digital world. Will a confluence of emerging Read More... Posted 13 June 2008 19:36 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 6 Comments Filed under: Nanotechnology, Risk, Public engagement, Outreach, Risks, Perception, Engagement, Policy, Safety, Regulation, Oversight, Research, Synthetic Biology, Sustainability, Hacking, Biopunk, Synbio

• A shift in emphasis for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative

  Emulated around the world, the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has set the pace for government-driven nanotechnology research and development. Yet as the science and technology of working at the nanoscale mature, the challenges of transforming Read More... Posted 06 June 2008 18:24 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 1 Comments Filed under: Nanotechnology, Risk, Benefits, Policy, Congress, Safety, Envrionment, Sustainability, Strategy, Senate

• Carbon nanotubes: the new asbestos? Not if we act fast.

  Mix carbon nanotubes and asbestos together (metaphorically) and you get an explosive mix—at least if news coverage of the latest publication coming out of Professor Ken Donaldson’s team is anything to go by. The research— published on-line today in Nature Read More... Posted 21 May 2008 00:19 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 6 Comments Filed under: Hazard, Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Risk, Policy, MSDS, Carbon Nanotubes, Safety, Toxicology, Consumer Products, Asbestos

• Decoupling “nanotechnology”

  "Nanotechnology" as an overarching concept is great for sweeping statements and sound bites, but falls short when it comes to real-world decision-making. As nanoscale technologies are increasingly used in everything from antimicrobial socks to anti-cancer Read More... Posted 17 May 2008 23:04 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 2 Comments Filed under: Risk, Dialogue, Risks, Perception, Benefits, Policy, Safety, Regulation, Industry, Business, Oversight, Research, Nano Silver, Decoupling

• Nanotechnology—in bed with Madonna?

  (Added Oct 24 2008: This article is also available at 2020science.org ) If you want proof that nano is mainstream, just pick up the U.S. May edition of fashion magazine “Elle.” Sharing cover-space with Madonna is the latest article on nanotech and the Read More... Posted 25 April 2008 11:49 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 4 Comments Filed under: Nanoparticles, Public engagement, Risks, Engagement, Benefits, Policy, Safety, Regulation, Industry, Business, Consumer Products, Elle, Senate, John Kerry, Madonna

• U.S. nanotechnology risk research funding—separating fact from fiction

  The most recent estimate from the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) puts nanotechnology risk research investment at $68 million for 2006 (the only year complete figures are currently available for—apparently). Yet the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Read More... Posted 18 April 2008 12:24 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 0 Comments Filed under: Nanomaterials, Nanotechnology, Risk, Policy, Safety, Research, Strategy, Funding

• US town faces nanotechnology crisis

  The small American town of Sunnyville is a town in crisis. Against a backdrop of job losses that have decimated the local community, citizens are struggling to decide whether to welcome two major nanotech-enabled industries into the town, or whether to Read More... Posted 28 March 2008 20:08 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 1 Comments Filed under: Public engagement, Dialogue, Engagement, Benefits, Policy, Safety, Industry, Envrionment, television, Power of small

• Smart science for the 21st century

  Can current approaches to doing science sustain us over the next one hundred years? An increasing reliance on technological fixes to global challenges — including nanotechnology — demands a radical rethink of how we use science in the service of society. Read More... Posted 06 March 2008 22:24 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 1 Comments Filed under: Public engagement, Policy, innovation, Synthetic Biology, Sustainability, Energy

• Antarctica—a test-bed for international nanotechnology regulation?

  Could Antarctica serve as a model for the global management of nanotechnology? Speaking at this week’s International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Melbourne Australia ( ICONN2008 ), Alan Hemmings [1,2] and co-author Julia Jabour [2,3] Read More... Posted 01 March 2008 06:11 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 0 Comments Filed under: Nanomaterials, Policy, Regulation, Oversight, Antarctica

• Codes of conduct, and the hare and tortoise of sustainable nanotechnology development

  Reading the just-released European Commission’s recommendations on a code of conduct for responsible nanosciences and nanotechnologies research ( pdf download, 92 KB . Also see the recent SafeNano news item on the code), I cannot help wonder if the race Read More... Posted 15 February 2008 19:26 by andrew.maynard@physics.org | 0 Comments Filed under: Benefits, Policy, Safety, Regulation, Industry, Business, Oversight, innovation, Code of Conduct, Sustainability