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 | Feb 8, 2008 | Communication, Nanotechnology, Public Perception
What determines your view of nanotechnology—the message, or the messenger? Most of us would like to think it is the message that governs our internal risk-benefit analysis. But research published this week suggests other factors may be at work. Dan Kahan at Yale Law...
by Andrew Maynard | Feb 1, 2008 | Communication, Nanotechnology, Policy
Labeling – is there anything more contentious in the safe nanotech debate? Some are fearful that too much knowledge will confuse and worry muddle-headed consumers. Others can only see the marketing opportunities of a “nano-inside” label. Then you have the...
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...
by Andrew Maynard | Jan 12, 2008 | Ethics, Nanotechnology, Religion
With apologies to Arundhati Roi for “borrowing” the title of her moving book, what—if anything—has nanotechnology got to do with religion? Barnaby Feder of the New York Times takes on this issue in his latest posting to the Bits blog: “There may not be a lot of...
