by Andrew Maynard | May 2, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight
The author Neal Stephenson got it wrong—at least, if this week’s nano-news is anything to go by! In his landmark 1995 novel “The Diamond Age,” Stephenson described a future built on nano-innovation. But thirteen years later, nanotechnology seems to be ushering in...
by Andrew Maynard | Apr 18, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight, Policy
The most recent estimate from the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) puts nanotechnology risk research investment at $68 million for 2006 (the only year complete figures are currently available for—apparently). Yet theProject on Emerging...
by Andrew Maynard | Apr 5, 2008 | Nanotechnology, Oversight
Read some accounts of nanotechnology risks, and you might be forgiven for concluding that a single engineered nanoparticle can kill you. Of course, a little critical thinking soon dispels this notion—we are constantly bombarded with incidental nanoparticles from...
by Andrew Maynard | Mar 28, 2008 | Communication, Engagement, Nanotechnology, Oversight
The small American town of Sunnyville is a town in crisis. Against a backdrop of job losses that have decimated the local community, citizens are struggling to decide whether to welcome two major nanotech-enabled industries into the town, or whether to reject them...
by Andrew Maynard | Jan 26, 2008 | Oversight, Policy, Synthetic Biology
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...
