Emerging Technology

Exploring speculated catastrophe and mundane reality

by Andrew Maynard February 4, 2012

Credit: James King Last semester, speculative designer James King worked with myself and a small group of science and public health students at the University of Michigan to explore how a fusion of science and creative art can lead to new insights and modes of communication.  The exercise was part of the A World of [...]

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Responsible development of… Unobtanium?

by Andrew Maynard June 4, 2011

I thought I’d post this spoof presentation for the fun of it on the responsible development of “unobtainium”, which seems to have some remarkable similarities with some other emerging technologies: If you’re a little mystified, blame David Berube – who encouraged the initial idea, and embellished it in his own presentation at a recent conference [...]

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Nanotechnology, climate and energy: over-heated promises and hot air?

by Andrew Maynard November 16, 2010

Friends of the Earth have just released a new report challenging claims that nanotechnology will lead to greener, more energy-efficient technologies, lower-impact technologies. I’ve only had the chance to skim through the report so far, and so don’t have detailed comments on it.  But on my initial skim a number of things struck me:

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International Handbook on Regulating Nanotechnologies – sneak peak of contents

by Andrew Maynard November 4, 2010

Back in the mists of time, I was approached with a crazy proposition – would I help co-edit a book on nanotechnologies regulation!  In a moment of weakness I said yes, and a little more than two and a half years later, the book is finally about to hit the shelves. I actually think the [...]

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What happens when you cross a spider with a goat? Complete the story:

by Andrew Maynard October 27, 2010

Complete the following: Setting: A well known and sometimes off-beat technology commentator explores new breakthroughs on a popular TV science and tech show. Story: Spiders’ silk is incredibly strong, but in short supply (ever tried harvesting silk from a spider?). So why not take the gene responsible for making spider silk, and splice it into [...]

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Beyond the obvious – lessons from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

by Andrew Maynard October 25, 2010

The immediate lessons from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are pretty obvious – we (or at least somebody) messed up!  But what about the less-obvious lessons – especially those concerning technology innovation and how it’s handled?  The Fall 2010 issue of Findings – the University of Michigan School of Public Health Alumni magazine – contains a [...]

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Limited resources and emerging technologies: China does the math

by Andrew Maynard October 20, 2010

New technologies depend on uncommon materials, and society depends on new technologies.  Which means that economies that develop the former and control the latter have something of an upper hand in today’s interconnected and technology-dependent world. This has clearly not escaped the notice of the Chinese.  China, which controls around 90% of the world’s rare [...]

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Rehabilitating “Risk”

by Andrew Maynard October 14, 2010

Now that I’ve had some time to get to grips with my new position as Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center, I thought it was high time I started letting people know something about where the Center will be heading over the next few years.  Cross-posted on the Risk Science Center’s home [...]

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Nanotechnology 2.0: The next ten years of nano risk research

by Andrew Maynard October 13, 2010

Sometime in the past couple of weeks – I’m not entirely sure when as accounts are conflicting – the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) posted a draft of a new report examining the long-term impacts and research directions of nanotechnology.  The “Nano2″ study was supported by the National Science Foundation under the direction of Mike [...]

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Lost in the Maize

by Andrew Maynard September 17, 2010

This week I exchanged the maze of academia for an entirely different maze – I spent most of the week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China.

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Ten weeks to save the world: Nature does the Singularity University

by Andrew Maynard September 15, 2010

You’ve heard the rumors and read the hype – but what really goes on at the Singularity University, based at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley?  Nature’s Nicola Jones recently went along to take a look, and her report has just been posted – it’s well worth reading. The Singularity University was co-founded in [...]

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Value-added nanotechnology

by Andrew Maynard August 24, 2010

The more the debate over what precisely nanotechnology is goes on, the more inclined I am to think that it’s something of an illusion.  Sure, nanoscale science is real.  And there are clearly technologies that exploit this.  But are they nanotechnologies, or are they simply clever uses of science, technology and engineering across multiple length [...]

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Smart science for the 21st century

by Andrew Maynard August 3, 2010

In February 2008, the National Academy of Engineering launched 14 grand challenges for engineering.  These were the inspiration for this post, but rather than focus on the challenges themselves, I thought it would be interesting to consider how science and technology are going to help address them.  Over two years on, the ideas I was [...]

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Smart science, biopunks and nanoparticles – August in the Archives at 2020 Science

by Andrew Maynard July 28, 2010

I‘m going to be taking a break from 2020 Science over the next few weeks, as I finally make the move with my family from DC to Ann Arbor.  But rather than let the blog languish, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to revisit some of my old posts.  So through August, [...]

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The safety of nanotechnology-based sunscreens – some reflections

by Andrew Maynard July 18, 2010

A few weeks ago, I set Friends of the Earth a challenge – What is your worst case estimate of the human health risk from titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide nanoparticles in sunscreens? The challenge came out of an article from FoE on nanomaterials and sunscreens, which I subsequently critiqued on 2020 Science.  Georgia Miller [...]

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ASME launches a new series of nanotechnology podcasts

by Andrew Maynard July 7, 2010

ASME – the organization that used to be known as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – has just launched a series of educational podcasts on nanotechnology that are well worth checking out. Between now and next February, the ASME Nanotechnology Institute will be posting new video and/or audio podcasts on their website every couple [...]

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The Global Redesign Initiative and the need for up-front investment in sustainable technology innovation

by Andrew Maynard May 31, 2010

The global financial crisis of 2008-09 laid bare the inadequacies of global systems in an increasingly interdependent world, and highlighted the need to rethink the “architecture of global cooperation” – the idea at the core of the World Economic Forum Global Redesign Initiative.  As the World Economic Forum publishes and discusses the outcomes of this [...]

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As scientists create the first synthetic cell, the future safety of synthetic biology will depend on sound science

by Andrew Maynard May 26, 2010

Last week’s announcement from the J. Craig Venter Institute that scientists had created the first-ever synthetic cell was a profoundly significant point in human history, and marked a turning point in our quest to control the natural world.  But the ability to use this emerging technology wisely is already being dogged by fears that we [...]

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Deja vu and synthetic biology – will we learn the lessons of nanotech and genetic modification?

by Hilary Sutcliffe May 25, 2010

A guest blog by Hilary Sutcliffe, Director of MATTER, a UK think tank which explores how new technologies can work for us all. The other day, I wrote a piece on the implications of synthetic biology where I  suggested that we “need to place discussions on a science basis, and not get over-distracted by ethical [...]

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It’s life Craig, but not as we know it!

by Andrew Maynard May 22, 2010

Typical.  One of the most anticipated technological breakthroughs in years hits the streets, and I’m completely off the web – holed up in an Italian hotel with no internet and no phone. I’m talking of course about J. Craig Venter’s team’s breakthrough in synthesizing a living organism, almost from scratch – published in the journal [...]

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