July 2009

Nanotechnologies – five years on

by Andrew Maynard July 29, 2009

This piece was originally published by the Responsible Nano Forum as a foreword to reflections on the 5th anniversary of the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering report “Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties.” On July 29th 2004, the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering published “Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: opportunities and uncertainties.” It [...]

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TED talks science – 5 classic science talks, plus a couple of bonuses

by Andrew Maynard July 22, 2009

The internet is littered with videos of science lectures and science talks – witness the recently posted “100 Incredible Lectures from the World’s Top Scientists” for instance.  But it’s not easy to sift through the tedious, the impenetrable and the down right boring, to arrive at a core of science talks that really are worth [...]

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Experiments in science engagement – the exquisite corpse!

by Andrew Maynard July 14, 2009

Tim Jones has just posted a video of a new science engagement technique he’s working on over at his blog Zoonomian.  I was so impressed with the result that I asked his permission to post it here also. Before explaining what this is, take a look at the video – it’s ten minutes long, but [...]

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Questions

by Andrew Maynard July 12, 2009

When I was a kid, I was told by my physics teacher that there’s no such thing as a stupid question.  Clearly, he hadn’t been to enough scientific meetings! Actually, it’s a philosophy I’ve adhered to pretty closely over the past thirty years.  If someone wants to expand their knowledge or understanding, the fewer barriers [...]

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Nanotechnology: Weighing the risks of regulation

by Andrew Maynard July 8, 2009

I’m often intrigued by the evolution of an article from its early drafts to the final version.  To complement today’s commentary on nanotechnology regulation in the journal Nature, written jointly with David Rejeski, I thought it would be interesting to post an early draft of the same paper here.  This is what the piece looked [...]

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Engaging the public on nanotechnology

by Andrew Maynard July 7, 2009

Following up on my last post – Geoengineering the planet with nanotechnology ice-cream? – here’s a short video Zoe Papadopoulou and colleagues put together on The Cloud Project from my visit in June: Get the Flash Player to see this content. Although this was filmed before the finishing touches had been applied to the ice [...]

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Geoengineering the planet with nanotechnology ice-cream?

by Andrew Maynard July 5, 2009

Scientists and engineers have their moments. But it they are hard pressed to beat art students when it comes to sheer audacious creativity. Earlier this year I received an email so intriguing I couldn’t help but follow up on it. The email was from Zoe Papadopoulou, an MA student at the Royal College of Art [...]

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Industry critics give nanotechnology sunscreens the thumbs up

by Andrew Maynard July 3, 2009

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) – a US-based non-profit organization committed to using public information to protect public health and the environment – has just released what is probably the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the safety and effectiveness of using titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreens.  And their conclusion? On balance, [...]

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Nanotechnology on Twit TV’s Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour

by Andrew Maynard July 2, 2009

Just a quick post (at least, as far as the text goes). Last week, I had the pleasure of appearing on Twit TV’s Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour with Kristen Sanford and Leo Laporte. The conversation covered nanotechnology from every conceivable angle. I should have known with Leo’s opening question – asking what I thought of [...]

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Can innovation tunneling help organizations survive disruptive change?

by Andrew Maynard July 1, 2009

A couple of days ago, @michael_nielsen posted a thoughtful article on his blog tackling rapid and disruptive changes in the scientific publishing business – especially the challenge of overcoming organizational immune systems that actively obstruct change and adaptation. Reading through the piece, I was particularly struck by his conceptualization of the barriers to change faced [...]

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