Scholars Probe Nanotechnology's Promise and Its Potential Problems
From: Sam Wormley (swormley1_at_mchsi.com)
Date: 06/02/04
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Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2004 16:44:59 GMT
Ref: http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-6/p30.html
Scholars Probe Nanotechnology's Promise and Its Potential Problems
With a revolution in everything from toys to tumors on the horizon,
scientists in the nanotechnology arena are working to gain the
public's trust.
Hoping to both anticipate pitfalls and head off a publicity fiasco,
policymakers and scientists are promoting research and public
discussion on environmental, ethical, economic, and other societal
implications of the burgeoning field of nanotechnology.
Loosely defined as the purposeful creation of structures 100
nanometers in size or smaller, nanotechnology "is a real revolution
because it is changing in a fundamental way how we build things,"
says Mihail Roco, who chairs the White House subcommittee that
coordinates the multiagency National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).
Scientists predict that applications of nanotechnology will go far
beyond their current uses—in sunblock, stain−resistant
clothing, and catalysts—to, for example, environmental
remediation, power transmission, and disease diagnosis and
treatment.
But realizing nanotechnology's potential requires public trust, says
Vicki Colvin, director of Rice University's Center for Biological and
Environmental Nanotechnology. The human genome project set a good
example, she says, with 3−5% of its federal funds earmarked for
studying implications of the research. That's in contrast to the
nuclear energy and genetically modified organism industries, which
are hobbled by bad public relations, she adds. "In GMO, they
belittled the concerns of the people, and didn't take the risks
seriously. I'd like nanotechnology to be a field that learns from the
past."
See: http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-57/iss-6/p30.html
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