May 2011

The ultimate rules list for accepting speaking engagements

by Clare Maynard May 30, 2011

I think I might have just accepted one speaking engagement too many!  After years of patiently bearing the brunt of my grueling travel schedule, my wife Clare has finally put her foot down.  Sorry folks – if you want me to speak at your meeting, these are the new rules! After nearly 24 years of [...]

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International Standards Organization guidelines for evaluating nanomaterial risks – are they any good?

by Andrew Maynard May 26, 2011

In June 2005, the chairman and CEO of DuPont, together with the President of the Environmental Defense Fund, co-authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “Let’s Get nanotech Right”.  The piece called for broad multi-stakeholder collaborations to help identify and address potential health, safety and environmental issues arising from the development and commercialization [...]

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Australian Education Union advises against using nanoparticle-based sunscreens in schools

by Andrew Maynard May 22, 2011

Last week, the Victoria branch of the Australian Education Union (AEU) passed a resolution recommending that “workplaces use only nanoparticle-free sunscreen” and that sunscreens used by members on children are selected from those “highlighted in the Safe Sunshine Guide produced by Friends of the Earth” as being nano-free.  The AEU also resolved to provide the [...]

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A new look for the US National Nanotechnology Initiative

by Andrew Maynard May 16, 2011

A few weeks ago, the US National Nanotechnology Initiative website – www.nano.gov – underwent a much-needed facelift.  The NNI’s web portal was creaky when I was part of the Initiative several years ago now.  And it’s somewhat ironic that the world’s leading interagency initiative on one of the most prominent cutting edge technology platforms has [...]

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A plug for the 2011 Risk Science Symposium: Risk, Uncertainty and Sutainable Innovation

by Andrew Maynard May 13, 2011

Registration is now open for the 2011 Risk Science Symposium, and as I’m chairing it, I thought it worth giving a bit of a plug here. The symposium brings together a fantastic cast of experts from very different backgrounds to explore the intersection of technology innovation and human health risk – with the aim of [...]

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Optogenetics and mind control – on the borders of the plausible?

by Andrew Maynard May 8, 2011

Tomorrow, I will be speaking at the Marshal M. Weinberg Seminar on Optogenetic Manipulation of the Brain at the University of Michigan – not a subject I must admit that I am that familiar with.  Fortunately, there are other speakers who will be doing much of the heavy-lifting, including Karl Deisseroth – a leading optogenetics [...]

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Peer review in a pool of one

by Andrew Maynard May 2, 2011

Exploring new ideas, messing around with disciplinary boundaries, making unusual and innovative connections – surely that’s what cutting edge research is supposed to be about these days?  Certainly it’s something many researchers aspire to – at least on those grant proposals where “interdisciplinary”, “Multidisciplinary” and even “transdisciplinary” are essential buzz-words.  But let me tell you, [...]

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