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
Creating order from disorder – the YouTube Symphony way
I was skeptical - really skeptical - that the folks doing the mashup could pull it off. But I was wrong. They managed to create something in virtual space that is quite possibly unique, and that is most definitely greater than the sum of the parts....
Twitter: changing your perspective on reality, 140 characters at a time
13 “Twits” Who Will Change Your Perspective on Reality Back in the days when Twitter was a mere slip of a social media service—around four months ago by my reckoning—it was a byword for meaningless web-chatter and banal exchanges. But the service is growing up...
Geoengineering goes mainstream
Twelve months ago, geoengineering seemed little more than the fancy of science fiction writers and fringe scientists. Now, an increasing number of people are viewing it as a viable - if extreme - option for curbing global warming. This shift was hammered home today...
Communication: Science and technology in a connected world
Part 3 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century I’m fascinated by the power of communication. The idea that someone’s perceptions and actions can be changed by information received through sight, sound or touch, is rather profound. Even...
Coupling: Actions and consequences in a shrinking world
Part 2 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century In the previous post in this series I introduced the idea of the three “C’s:” Coupling Communication and Control—three factors that together challenge conventional ideas on how science and...
Building better batteries, the Chinese way
Reading yesterday’s New York Times, it seems China could well be poised to leapfrog the West in advanced battery technology (China Vies to Be World’s Leader in Electric Cars). According to the article, Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country...
What Nanotechnology Can Do for Your Average Donut
A guest blog by Dr. Frans Kampers, director of the Wageningen biotechnology center for food and health innovation (BioNT) at the Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands. Using nanotechnology to make food better—it seems like a good idea, but does...
New carbon nanotube study raises the health impact stakes
I’m looking at an electron microscope image of a carbon nanotube - as I cannot show it here, you'll have to imagine it. It shows a long, straight, multi-walled carbon nanotube, around 100 nanometers wide and 10 micrometers long. There is nothing particularly unusual...
Confessions of a “media hog”
There are some things they don’t cover in media training, like giving interviews while suffering from stomach flu, talking to reporters thousands of miles away while on a dodgy cell phone connection, or speaking intelligently while your three-year-old niece runs rings...
New life, old bottles: The video
A five-minute primer on the promise and challenge of first-generation synthetic biology As an addendum to the previous post on synthetic biology, the following interview from the Wilson Center provides a great overview of what synthetic biology is all about, and the...