by Andrew Maynard | Dec 26, 2008 | Oversight, Synthetic Biology
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,...
by Andrew Maynard | Dec 1, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight
Navigating the minefield of airborne nanoparticle exposure Nanotechnology—like other emerging technologies—presents a dilemma: If you’re making new substances with uncertain health risks, how low is low enough when it comes to managing exposure? The issue is...
by Andrew Maynard | Nov 11, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight, Policy
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report on Novel Materials Imagine for one naïve moment that we have a pretty good handle on managing the environmental impact of existing manufactured “stuff”. Then someone comes along and invents some “new stuff” that...
by Andrew Maynard | Nov 6, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight
UK Consumer Organization Which? Releases New Report Who needs an emerging technologies blog when you have The Daily Mail? For those of you that missed it, Wednesday’s on-line issue of the British tabloid newspaper highlighted “The beauty creams with nanoparticles...
by Andrew Maynard | Oct 31, 2008 | Environment, Nanotechnology, Oversight
Twelve months ago today I held a bag of multi-walled carbon nanotubes up before a hearing of the U.S. House Science Committee. I wanted to emphasize the discrepancy between the current state of the science on carbon nanotubes, and a tendency to classify this...
by Andrew Maynard | Oct 20, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight
Is the RBC Life Sciences® nanotechnology product Slim Shake approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)? According to the BBC Radio 4 science program Frontiers—broadcast on Monday evening—there may be some doubt. But I get ahead of myself. The...
