SAFENANO Community

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 coy about the use of nanotechnology, leading to me suggesting: “perhaps it’s time for Benny to come ...

''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 drugs, perhaps its time to rethink how we talk about the myriad diverse technologies ...

(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 beauty business.Elle might not be your first choice of reading for cutting edge ...

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 towards successful and sustainable nanotechnologies is becoming something of a hare and ...

Labelling – is there anything more contentious in the safe nanotech debate?  Some are fearful that too much knowledge will confuse and worry muddle-headed consumers.  Others can only see the marketing opportunities of a “nano-inside” label. Then you have the nano-doomsday merchants, who seemingly would like nothing better than to slap a ...

It’s been a long slog, but the end of 2007 is in sight.  A year of endless meetings, papers by the bunch, and more frequent flyer miles than any sane person should rack up (got to get that Carbon footprint under control). But did this all add up to progress on the safe nano front?  Here’s my personal and admittedly subjective round-up of ...