The first study to look at the health effects of microscopic, manufactured "nanoparticles" on aquatic animals has found troubling evidence that the molecules -- which scientists are starting to make for research and industry -- can trigger organ damage and other toxic effects.
As nano, bio, info and cognitive technology increasingly converge, proponents of NBIC (the somewhat clunky acronym for this multitech intersection), are calling for the legal, ethical and regulatory implications to be considered from the very beginning.
A collective effort to gather more information about the health and environmental risks from nanotechnology is now under way among corporate, academic, and government researchers.
Nanotechnology, the hot young science of making invisibly tiny machines and materials, is stirring public anxiety and nascent opposition inspired by best-selling thrillers that have demonized the science -- and new studies suggesting that not everything in those novels is fantasy.
The authors argue that the developing world has more to lose from a moratorium on nanotechnology then they have to gain. They survey the potential benefits to the developing world from nanotechnology research and call for "a new international network to assess emerging technologies for development, identify the potential risks and benefits of nanotechnology incorporating developed and developing world perspectives".
Regulations are needed to ensure that the products of industrial nanotechnology do not pose unexpected risks to human health, British scientists say.
British scientists called for more research into the safety of nanoparticles, materials so small that their dimensions can be measured in atoms, following evidence they can lodge in the brain.
Mike Treder argues for greater emphasis on preparing for the implications of nanotechnology.
When researchers fashion nanomaterials so small that their dimensions can be measured in molecules, the unusual and potentially valuable characteristics of those materials tend to show up immediately. But as businesses race to exploit those benefits, investors and policy makers are finding that pinpointing the potential environmental and health impacts of nanotechnology could take years.
The authors make the case for developing a "collaborative international administrative council" to deal with the risks from molecular manufacturing.