Welcome to the 2020 Science Archive
2020 Science started life in 2007 as a nanotechnology blog written by Andrew Maynard on SafeNano. In the following years it developed into a personal blog addressing emerging technologies, responsible innovation, risk, science communication, and the intersection between science and society more generally.
Andrew made he decision to wind the blog down in 2019 as his focus and writing developed in new directions. This archive contains most of the original posts (there have been occasional clean-ups of content). For more recent articles etc. please visit andrewmaynard.net. And thanks for visiting!
BROWSE THE ARCHIVE
Could some nanoparticles inflict harm across normally tight biological barriers?
A new paper published on-line today in Nature Nanotechnology hints that some nanoparticles could cause damage to cells on the other side of normally tight barriers - such as the blood brain barrier or the placenta - without actually crossing the barriers. It's a...
Speaking power to truth – the unfortunate case of David Nutt
Sitting 3000 miles away from London in Washington DC, I've been following the dismissal of Professor David Nutt as the UK government's senior scientific advisor on the misuse of drugs, with interest. Not being steeped in British drugs politics, I was only vaguely...
Do scientists encourage misleading media coverage?
As scientists, how we love to rail against the incompetence of the media. As self-proclaimed keepers of the truth, we decry - usually rather vocally - the misinterpretation and misuse of our precious studies. And as we commiserate together on the injustices of the...
Risk Innovation… You what?! (Desparately seeking advice!)
Here's something I've been chewing over for the past few weeks: How do you capture succinctly the idea of developing innovative new approaches to identifying, assessing, managing and otherwise dealing with risks to human health? What I've ended up with is "Risk...
Riding the wave: Rethinking science & technology policy
Part 8 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Much to my embarrassment, I’ve just realized that it was over four months ago that I wrote the previous blog in this series – a series that was supposed to evolve over just a few weeks! Most...
Do peer review journals need a media code of conduct?
Since when did peer review journals start to put press hits before published data? Scientific peer review journals are a cornerstone of modern science - providing an authoritative repository of scientific discovery that researchers and others can examine, test and...
Is too much choice bad for the health?
Sunday morning breakfast - a croissant, a coffee, and a stress-free morning. But wait a minute... I wonder how healthy all that butter is? When did I last have my cholesterol levels checked? Were they high? Will my crisp, moist butter croissant push me into a...
“Nano” from the 1970’s. Don Eigler, eat your heart out!
Twenty years ago, Don Eigler became the first person to manipulate and position individual atoms, making the breakthrough that many consider a pivotal moment in modern nanotechnology. Unknown to Don and the rest of IBM team though (I assume), they were pipped to the...
So you’re curious about nanotechnology…
Curious, concerned or just plain confused about nanotechnology? The new website Nano & Me might be just what you are looking for. Funded in part by the UK department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and developed by the Responsible Nano Forum, Nano &...
Enough with the nano already!
Okay, so I've been letting work interfere with my blogging life over the past few weeks, which has led to an interminable series of impenetrable blogs on nanotechnology. I promise I'll try and lighten up over the next few weeks (although I'm afraid there are still a...