Oversight

The art of regulating nanotechnologies

by Andrew Maynard February 26, 2011

The recently published International Handbook on Regulating Nanotechnologies has a rather unconventional cover image. But it’s one that I must confess I am rather pleased with. The image is a photo of a piece of Murano glass that I picked up several years ago while visiting Venice. At the time I was participating in a [...]

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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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TSCA reform and engineered nanomaterials

by Andrew Maynard April 23, 2010

A bit of a wonky blog I’m afraid, but having seen relatively little on the recently introduced Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 and its relevance to engineered nanomaterials on the web, I thought I would post something short and sweet here. Just over a week ago, Senator Lautenberg introduced a bill in the US Senate [...]

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White House plans a new government policy coordination group on emerging technologies

by Andrew Maynard April 10, 2010

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) plans to form a new interagency group on emerging technologies, including nanotechnology and synthetic biology.  The announcement was make by Tom Kalil, deputy director for policy at OSTP, at a government-organized workshop on Risk [...]

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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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New carbon nanotube study raises the health impact stakes

by Andrew Maynard March 26, 2009

I’m looking at an electron microscope image of a carbon nanotube – as I cannot show it here, you’ll have to imagine it.  It shows a long, straight, multi-walled carbon nanotube, around 100 nanometers wide and 10 micrometers long.  There is nothing particularly unusual about this.  What is unusual is that the image also shows [...]

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New life, old bottles: The video

by Andrew Maynard March 25, 2009

A five-minute primer on the promise and challenge of first-generation synthetic biology As an addendum to the previous post on synthetic biology, the following interview from the Wilson Center provides a great overview of what synthetic biology is all about, and the potential challenges of ensuring its safe development and use: Get the Flash Player [...]

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Are we ready for synthetic biology?

by Andrew Maynard March 25, 2009

A new report looks at the challenges of regulating first generation products of synthetic biology. At the J. Craig Venter Institute, scientists are on the verge of creating a living organism from “dead” chemicals, by rebooting a microbe with a new—and completely artificially constructed—genome. At the University of California Berkeley, researchers are modifying microbes to [...]

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Biohacking—synthetic biology for the technologically marginalized

by Andrew Maynard December 26, 2008

Last June I wrote a short piece on biohacking, prompted by a UK report on the social and ethical challenges of synthetic biology.  At the time, I though the aspirations of the nascent biopunk community naively optimistic, but potentially worrying.  Six months on, biohacking is hitting the mainstream press—and gaining momentum. Maybe it was just [...]

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Saints or synners?

by Andrew Maynard December 17, 2008

Policy, public perceptions, and the opportunities and challenges of synthetic biology Synthetic biology—a supreme expression of scientific hubris, or the solution to all our problems? Like everything in life, I suspect that the answer to the question is far from black and white.  Yet what is clear is that this emerging science and technology that [...]

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Decoupling “nanotechnology”

by Andrew Maynard May 17, 2008

“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 that fall, slip or are forcibly [...]

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Synthetic biology and nanotechnology

by Andrew Maynard January 26, 2008

The popular computer game “SimLife” allows users to create and manipulate virtual people.  But what are the chances of us one day being able to do the same with real organisms: building new life-forms out of basic chemicals, so “SimLife” becomes “SynLife”? This week’s announcement by J. Craig Venter’s team (and the associated paper in [...]

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Are we on a nanotechnology joyride?

by Andrew Maynard November 25, 2007

Are we so caught up in the thrill of nanotechnology, that we are blind to future pitfalls?  Are we having the new technology ride of our lives—with someone else’s future?  Are we living for the nanotech moment, and leaving the consequences to others to deal with?  In short, are we on a nanotechnology joyride?

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Overseeing nanotechnology development

by Andrew Maynard November 18, 2007

If you’ve ever wondered how to deal with the complexities of regulating a twenty first century technology like nanotechnology, wonder no more.  Last week, President Bush’s top advisors on science and the environment published a set of “principles for nanotechnology environment, health and safety oversight”.

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Nanotechnology in context – Size matter

by Andrew Maynard November 1, 2007

In July 2007, a specially convened task force of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that size does in fact matter (FDA 2007).  The focus of the task force was not on the importance of “largeness”, but rather on the technology of the unimaginably small—nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the technology of manipulating matter [...]

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