Nanotechnology
Information on Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology
Nanotechnology is an experimental process that manipulates matter at the "nanoscale" (down to 1/100,000 the width of human hair) to create new products and materials. The nanoparticles in these products are so small, they can leach through our skin and cell and tissue membranes and spread through the environment in unpredictable ways.
Synthetic Biology is the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems that do not exist in the natural world and the redesign of existing biological systems to perform specific tasks.
News
July 31, 2007
With the joint release today of Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials, a broad international coalition of consumer, public health, environmental, labor, and civil society organizations spanning six continents called for strong, comprehensive oversight of the new technology and its products. The manufacture of products using nanotechnology - Ãa powerful platform for manipulating matter at the level of atoms and molecules in order to alter properties - Ãhas exploded in recent years. Hundreds of consumer products incorporating nanomaterials are now on the Read more
News
July 30, 2007
Nanoparticles can be so small that 100,000 match the thickness of a human hair.
Yet with new tools, like the scanning tunneling electron microscope, individual atoms inside those particles can be moved around with great precision to create entirely new materials with useful electrical and chemical properties.
Nanocarbons added to ceramic materials make for sturdy, lightweight body armor. Nanoclays added to plastic film create a barrier 50 times more air-tight than regular storage bags. Nanosilver added to clothing and shoe liners can kill odor-producing bacteria. Read more
Yet with new tools, like the scanning tunneling electron microscope, individual atoms inside those particles can be moved around with great precision to create entirely new materials with useful electrical and chemical properties.
Nanocarbons added to ceramic materials make for sturdy, lightweight body armor. Nanoclays added to plastic film create a barrier 50 times more air-tight than regular storage bags. Nanosilver added to clothing and shoe liners can kill odor-producing bacteria. Read more
News
July 26, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 2007 (ENS) - The risks and benefits of drugs and medical devices using nanotechnology should be subject to guidance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, recommends a new internal report by the agency's Nanotechnology Task Force.
The report recommends that the FDA consider development of nanotechnology guidance for manufacturers and researchers. Draft guidance documents would be open to public comment before being finalized.
"Nanotechnology holds enormous potential for use in a vast array of products," said Commissioner of Food and Read more
The report recommends that the FDA consider development of nanotechnology guidance for manufacturers and researchers. Draft guidance documents would be open to public comment before being finalized.
"Nanotechnology holds enormous potential for use in a vast array of products," said Commissioner of Food and Read more
Scientific Study
June 25, 2007
The Environmental Working Group claims its new study covering more than 700 sunscreen products currently retailing in the US market finds that most of the products fall short of manufacturer's claims or else contain potentially unsafe ingredients.
The study looked at name-brand sunscreens and worked towards a database that lists products, outlining the ones that offer the best combination of both safety and effectiveness.
According to the EWG this criteria takes into account sunscreens products that are deemed to have been formulated with 'safe' ingredients Read more
The study looked at name-brand sunscreens and worked towards a database that lists products, outlining the ones that offer the best combination of both safety and effectiveness.
According to the EWG this criteria takes into account sunscreens products that are deemed to have been formulated with 'safe' ingredients Read more
News
July 19, 2007
Nanotechnology in food and farming is inadequately regulated, say Australian researchers.
Rural sociologist Dr Kristin Lyons of Griffith University and colleagues present a survey of possible nano-applications in agriculture and food at the Rural Futures conference in Canberra this week.
"Despite significant investment from the agrifood sector in nanotechnologies, the need for nano-specific regulation in this area hasn't been recognised as a priority by the federal government," says Lyons.
She says the nano-agrifood industry will be worth more than US$20 Read more
Rural sociologist Dr Kristin Lyons of Griffith University and colleagues present a survey of possible nano-applications in agriculture and food at the Rural Futures conference in Canberra this week.
"Despite significant investment from the agrifood sector in nanotechnologies, the need for nano-specific regulation in this area hasn't been recognised as a priority by the federal government," says Lyons.
She says the nano-agrifood industry will be worth more than US$20 Read more
News
July 12, 2007
You can't see it, but it makes sunscreen clear, tennis rackets light and khaki pants stain repellent. And someday, it might help cure cancer.
It's called nanotechnology.
Dealing with particles that are 1/100,000th as wide as a human hair, nanotechnology is one of today's most promising avenues of research in medicine, science and manufacturing.
But experts say it could also be one of the most perilous, dealing as it does with particles so minuscule they can be ingested into the lungs or seep into the bloodstream through the skin without detection.
Read more
It's called nanotechnology.
Dealing with particles that are 1/100,000th as wide as a human hair, nanotechnology is one of today's most promising avenues of research in medicine, science and manufacturing.
But experts say it could also be one of the most perilous, dealing as it does with particles so minuscule they can be ingested into the lungs or seep into the bloodstream through the skin without detection.
Read more
News
May 15, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC, May 15, 2007 (ENS) - The Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC, said today that the Bush administration has not done enough to protect citizens from the potentially dangerous effects of nano-scale chemistry.
Nanomaterials, engineered on the molecular and atomic scale, are already being used in more than 500 consumer products such as bandanges, baby wipes, sunscreen, toothpaste, and lipstick.
Nanoparticles, which can be a thousand times smaller than a red blood cell, can pass easily into the bloodstream when inhaled, swallowed or applied to the skin. " Read more
Nanomaterials, engineered on the molecular and atomic scale, are already being used in more than 500 consumer products such as bandanges, baby wipes, sunscreen, toothpaste, and lipstick.
Nanoparticles, which can be a thousand times smaller than a red blood cell, can pass easily into the bloodstream when inhaled, swallowed or applied to the skin. " Read more
News
May 2, 2007
As the UN's top climate science panel, the IPCC, prepares to criticise the idea of geoengineering, one maverick geoengineering company, Planktos Inc, has announced it is about to dump several tonnes of tiny particles into the waters around the Galapagos Islands, covering an area larger than Puerto Rico. Doing so, they claim, will re-engineer the atmosphere, win them commercial carbon credits and perhaps a shot at the $25 million prize for greenhouse gas reduction put up by Richard Branson. Mainstream scientists are sceptical and environmental and social justice groups are crying foul.
Read more
Read more
News
April 26, 2007
Web note: For more information on the potential hazards of nanotechnology please visit the OCA's Cloning, Patenting, Biopiracy, Nanotechnology page.
WASHINGTON, DC, April 26, 2007 (ENS) - The ability to use nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and build a "clean" economy now exists, finds a new report "Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than You Think." But environmentalists are at odds about how green nanotechnology can be. Not all nanoparticles are harmful to human Read more
WASHINGTON, DC, April 26, 2007 (ENS) - The ability to use nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and build a "clean" economy now exists, finds a new report "Green Nanotechnology: It's Easier Than You Think." But environmentalists are at odds about how green nanotechnology can be. Not all nanoparticles are harmful to human Read more
News
April 16, 2007
As the science of tiny particles seeps into commercial markets, controversy is swelling over whether the nanotechnology industry can be trusted to regulate itself.
Nanotechnology, which involves using extremely small particles to make electronics, cosmetics and other products, is considered as a potential watershed for various industries - and a potential ecological hazard. But one recent attempt to forge a partnership between environmental advocates and nanotech-business interests has bred fears that the appearance of industry self-regulation could trump government oversight. Read more
Nanotechnology, which involves using extremely small particles to make electronics, cosmetics and other products, is considered as a potential watershed for various industries - and a potential ecological hazard. But one recent attempt to forge a partnership between environmental advocates and nanotech-business interests has bred fears that the appearance of industry self-regulation could trump government oversight. Read more
Pages
for NanotechnologyDownloads
Videos
Scientific Studies
