2020 Science Archives
Here you’ll find all the currently existing posts on 2020 Science, in reverse date order. Feel free to browse through them, or if you’re looking for something specific, use the search box below.
The Global Redesign Initiative and the need for up-front investment in sustainable technology innovation
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...
What’s “I’m A Scientist…” all about? Check out the video
The good folks at I'm A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here have just posted a new video on YouTube about the event. It gives a great overview of what I'm A Scientist is all about, and what makes it special: http://www.youtube.com/v/e1T4zi-DIh8 I...
Nano Dispersants and nano hysteria – time to think about the science folks!
Catching up with my email after a long day off the net, I see that a group of Non Government Organizations (NGOs) are urging EPA not to allow the use of an alleged nanotechnology-based dispersant in the Gulf of Mexico. The letter from thirteen...
As scientists create the first synthetic cell, the future safety of synthetic biology will depend on sound science
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...
Want advice? Never trust your family!
As you'll have realized from my post last week, I will be competing in I'm A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here in in a couple of weeks' time. I'm going to be attempting to capture the event from my perspective through a series of rather shorter, more...
Deja vu and synthetic biology – will we learn the lessons of nanotech and genetic modification?
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...
It’s life Craig, but not as we know it!
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...
I’m a scientist – and I’m going to be hanging on for dear life’s sake!
I can't sleep, I'm distracted, I keep breaking out in a cold sweat. And the reason? I have a deceptively simple question going my head - and I don't know the answer! The question... well, I'll come to that in a minute. I'd rather put the moment...
Building trust between science and society: A Scientist’s Manifesto
Having recently finished Robert Winston's "Bad Ideas? An Arresting History of our Inventiveness," I was rather taken by his concluding "Scientist's Manifesto" - a fourteen-point guide to help strengthen the relationship between science and...
Public participation in nanotechnology – should we care?
A guest blog by Barbara Herr Harthorn, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California Santa Barbara. A couple of weeks back, my colleague David Guston wrote here about engaging the public on nanotechnology. ...
Nanotechnology policy and regulation timeline
Marc Saner at Carleton University in Canada sent this timeline of key nanotech policy events to me the other day. It's probably the most comprehensive compilation of events influencing the development of nanotech policy in America, Europe and...
Power to the people – should citizens be more involved in assessing energing technologies?
Does the US need more public participation in assessing technologies and their potential impact on society, and informing decisions on their development and use? Richard Sclove - author of a new report on technology assessment - thinks yes; but...
Found in translation – Journalist Andréia Azevedo Soares’ take on a Brazilian nanotechnology documentary
Language is often seen as a barrier to communication. But sometimes it provides a valuable buffer between hearing, understanding and responding, and allows unique perspectives that are often drowned out to be heard. A few weeks ago, I was...
TSCA reform and engineered nanomaterials
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...
The nanotech gamble – double or nothing?
There's a bit of a brouhaha over nanotechnology safety brewing over at AOL Online. A few weeks ago, investigative reporter Andrew Schneider posted a series of articles questioning both the safety of nanotechnology-enabled products entering the...
The secrets of engaging teens with science
A guest blog by Sophia Collins, producer of the on-line teen science event "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!" "itz hometime but we want to stay and ask questions" These are the words of a 14 year old student, at a school in inner-city London....
White House plans a new government policy coordination group on emerging technologies
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...
Cultivating ingenuity & humility in an increasingly complex world
To coincide with my move to the University of Michigan, Seed Magazine has just published a series of ten questions and answers on what I do and what motivates me as a scientist. You can read how well I fared (or didn't, as the case may be) with...
Making sense of nanotechnology – a piece of cake!
The quality's a bit flaky, but I thought I would upload this video for a bit of fun. It's the first - and possibly the last - time I will simultaneously attempt to unravel the mysteries of nanotechnology... while baking a cake! Filmed at the...
Public Engagement with Nanotechnology
A guest blog by David H. Guston, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University. The President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) has recently put the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)...
New horizons – Goodby DC; hello University of Michigan
As many of you will have picked up from recent blogs, I am moving on from my position as Chief Science Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. From April 1, I will be taking up the post of Director of the University of Michigan Risk...
“I’m a Scientist…” – Seriously addictive science engagement!
The website "I'm a Scientist - Get me out of here" should come with a government warning - something along the lines of "Visiting this site could seriously disrupt your professional, social and personal live while altering your perceptions on...
The UK Nanotechnologies Strategy – disappointing
Ten years ago, President Clinton laid the foundation stone of the current global Nanotechnology Initiative. In a speech given at at Caltech, he announced the formation of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative, and set a chain of events in...
UK nanotech strategy – unavailable due to technical difficulties
It seems the UK government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is having a "leaves on the track" moment this morning (a scathing cultural reference, for those of you Brits too young to remember!). The newly-minted UK nanotechnology...
Engaging the public on science? Surely you’re joking!
I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago where engaging the public (or "publics" to be more accurate) in science came up. In the course of discussions, I mentioned an initiative by Research Councils UK to involve members of the public in...
British Science in the 21st century: The Royal Society on securing Britain’s future prosperity
It's a week for significant science reports. Following hot on the heels of the UK Expert Group on Science and Trust's report on Monday comes what could well be a seminal work on science in 21st century Britain from the Royal Society. In "The...
New report on Science and Trust emphasizes acknowledging risk and uncertainty
A new report released today from the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Expert Group on Science and Trust emphasizes the need to address risk and uncertainty in developing and using science and technology within society. ...
Why we need technology ratchets
A lot of things keep me up at night - everything from the trivial ("did I remember to brush my teeth?") to the to the profound ("does it matter?" ). But recently, I've been plagued more than usual in the wee small hours by the challenge of...
Nanotechnology and cancer treatment: Do we need a reality check?
Cancer treatment has been a poster-child for nanotechnology for almost as long as I’ve been involved with the field. As far back as in 1999, a brochure on nanotechnology published by the US government described future “synthetic anti-body-like...
US government kicks nanotechnology safety research up a gear
It looks like the US is heading for some serious action on addressing the safe development and use of nanotechnology-enabled materials, products and processes in 2011. Reading through the just-released National Nanotechnology Initiative's (NNI)...