by Andrew Maynard | Sep 15, 2016 | Emerging Technology, Ethics, Future, Responsible Innovation, Technology Innovation
Imagine infusing thousands of wireless devices into your brain, and using them to both monitor its activity and directly influence its actions. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, and for the moment it still is – but possibly not for long. Brain research is...
by Andrew Maynard | Jul 26, 2016 | Communication, Emerging Technology, Nanotechnology, Science Communication, Technology Innovation
The latest video from Risk Bites takes a four minute dive into what nanotechnology is, and why it’s important. It was created as a primer for 5th graders – which probably means that there’ll be a lot of 5th graders at heart watching it! It also...
by Andrew Maynard | Jul 23, 2016 | Emerging Technology, Future, Responsible Innovation, Technology Innovation
Elon Musk – CEO of Tesla Motors – has just revealed the second part of his master plan for the company. And it’s a doozy. Not content with producing sleek electric cars (which to be fair, was only ever a stepping stone to greater things), Musk wants to fundamentally...
by Andrew Maynard | Jun 15, 2016 | Nanotechnology, Risk, Technology Innovation
Just a few years ago, carbon nanotubes were front and center of discussions around the safety of engineered nanomaterials. These days, not so much. So what happened? Did we do the science and discover that they’re just as safe as any other form of carbon? Or...
by Andrew Maynard | Mar 29, 2016 | Emerging Technology, Nanotechnology, Public Health, Risk, Technology Innovation
Back in 2008, carbon nanotubes – exceptionally fine tubes made up of carbon atoms – were making headlines. A new study from the U.K. had just shown that, under some conditions, these long, slender fiber-like tubes could cause harm in mice in the same way that some...
by Andrew Maynard | Jan 15, 2016 | Fourth Industrial Revolution, Future, Technology Innovation
In April 2000, Bill Joy famously wrote in Wired Magazine: Our most powerful 21st-century technologies – robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech – are threatening to make humans an endangered species. At the time, Joy was an accomplished technologist and chief...
