Nanotechnology


Tracking the Spread of Biological Technologies -- Robert Carlson  -- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists  -- November 21, 2008
Genetic Engineering

The author argues that the current rate of scientific advances is leading to a convergence of "biological, algorithmic, and micromechanical innovations necessary to build a desktop gene printer." He calls for more careful assessment and regulation of these technologies.


Nanotechnology 'Culture War' Possible, Study Says -- PhysOrg.com  -- December 7, 2008
Nanotechnology

Rather than infer that nanotechnology is safe, members of the public who learn about this novel science tend to become sharply polarized along cultural lines, according to a study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School in collaboration with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

Center for Responsible Nanotechnology

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Submitted by Greg Schnippel on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 16:07

Nanodot: Foresight Institute

Nanotechnology blog from the Foresight Institute.

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Submitted by Greg Schnippel on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 16:01


Handle with Care -- Cornelia Dean  -- New York Times  -- August 11, 2008
Nanotechnology

A growing number of experts say it is time for broad discussion of how and by whom geoengineering should be used, or if it should be tried at all. Similar questions are being raised about nanotechnology, robotics and other powerful emerging technologies. There are even those who suggest humanity should collectively decide to turn away from some new technologies as inherently dangerous.


Nanotechnology and the Developing World: The Regulatory Gap -- Brandon Keim  -- Worldchanging.org  -- August 16, 2006
Nanotechnology

A survey of recent studies and projects to bridge the nanotechnology regulatory gap in the developing world.


Molecule-sized Switch Could Control DNA Machines -- Scott Fields  -- LiveScience.com  -- June 18, 2006
Nanotechnology

A molecule-sized switch just 50 nanometers wide may someday control microscopic machines and also could make DNA sequencing faster, less expensive, and more precise.


FDA urged to limit nanoparticle use in cosmetics and sunscreens -- Keay Davidson  -- San Francisco Chronicle  -- May 17, 2006
Nanotechnology

Two environmental activist groups have petitioned the U.S. government to pursue new regulations on numerous products such as sunscreens and cosmetics that contain potentially hazardous nanoparticles but lack adequate warning labels of their possible health effects.


The space elevator: going down? -- Jason Palmer  -- Nature  -- May 22, 2006
Space Elevator

Is it possible to make a cable for a space elevator out of carbon nanotubes? Not anytime soon, if ever, says Nicola Pugno of the Polytechnic of Turin, Italy. Pugno's calculations show that inevitable defects in the nanotubes mean that such a cable simply wouldn't be strong enough.


Empowering the Really Little Guys -- Glenn Harlan Reynolds  -- KurzweilAI.Net  -- April 10, 2006
Genetic Engineering

"Individuals are getting more and more powerful," says author Glenn Reynolds in his insightful new book, An Army of Davids. "With the current rate of progress we're seeing in biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, it seems likely that individuals will one day -- and one day relatively soon -- possess powers once thought available only to nation-states, superheroes, or gods.

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