By the time this article goes live on the web Nature Nanotechnology will have published 94 letters and 55 articles reporting the results of original research carried out at laboratories around the world. Browsing through the different subject categories in the journal's archive, it can be seen that the most popular categories include 'electronic properties and devices' and 'nanobiotechnology'. Further browsing will give the clear impression that researchers from the United States dominate the world of nanotechnology, with a number of countries vying for second place, quite some way behind. Indeed, when the papers published so far in Nature Nanotechnology are classified according to the country in which the corresponding author was based at the time, we find that 47.6% of them come from the US, followed by 8% from the UK, 7.4% from Japan and 6.7% from Germany.

Classifying papers according to the affiliation of the corresponding author is clearly an approximation, but given the fact that papers can contain ten or more authors with affiliations in three or more countries, it is necessary to make such approximations if we want to understand which areas of the world are strongest in nanoscience and technology. Indeed, a recent study of a much larger sample of nanotechnology papers found that this 'first-author approximation' was fairly reliable.

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After a public consultation and several rounds of meetings, the Working Group of the Responsible Nano Code has finalized the Seven Principles of the Code for Responsible Nanotechnology and a series of Examples of Good Practice. These Examples will be the starting point for a more detailed Benchmarking Framework, which will used to independently assess the extent to which organizations involved in the research, production, retail and disposal of products using nanotechnologies are operating according to the Code. This Framework will be developed over the next 5 months.

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The policy, with final endorsement of industry, will be integrated into the Australian Organic Standard and put forward for consideration for inclusion in a base domestic safety-net standard, due to be released by Standards Australia at the end of this year.

BFA Standards Chair, Dr. Andrew Monk says the proposal takes a firm and clear stance on the use and application of nanotechnology, which has yet to be proven as safe.

“As with all technology choices, issues of consumer safety and environmental protection need to be balanced, assessing the “need” for the technology in the first instance. At this point the organic industry is taking the view that there is no confirmed need for nanotechnologies. There is noted divergence of views within the scientific community on safety and efficacy claims which impact both consumers and manufacturers”, said Dr. Monk.

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This international exhibition is a partnership between the Department of Science and Tech-nology (DST), the French government, and the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre.

Nanotechnology, has traditionally been defined as building things from the bottom up, and is the technology of an atom, which potentially holds the key to new materials, which could improve the quality of life of South Africans, as well as position the country to compete on a global level.

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…Companies already sell hundreds of products containing nanomaterials and say they believe these products are safe. But a major study released this month found that at least one nanomaterial, carbon nanotubes, appears to mimic the behavior of cancer-causing asbestos in the lung.

Critics of the industry say nanotechnology companies have little safety data about their products that addresses the unique health concerns raised by nanotechnology. "Research and business communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous than graphite," the researchers wrote in their study, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. "Our results suggest the need for further research and great caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided."

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Traditionally, the US has been seen as the bastion of consumer safety and protection. Legislation during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s set the world standards for safe toys, appliances, chemicals, and drugs. However, since the 1980s, those consumer protection standards and laws have been steadily eroded by the courts and lawmakers. 

…The high-profile nature of nanotechnology means that health scares such as last week's are certain to garner headlines that both consumers and legislators will read. Given that, it seems likely that even if the EPA doesn't decide to regulate the compounds, the EU probably will.

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The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is the ministry responsible for federal activities in the nanotechnology sector in Germany. Within its framework of 'leading-edge innovations' the BMBF supports key areas of nanotechnologies with promising prospects (NanoMobil, NanoChem, NanoFab, NanoforLife,NanoLux). The project NanoChance aims to support small and medium-sized companies in particular. The cooperative project NanoCare currently mainly focuses on studying possible risks of engineered nanoparticles. Beyond that, the federal agencies BAuA (Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), UBA (Federal Environment Agency) and BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) have developed a joint research strategy that addresses especially health and environmental risks of engineered nanoparticles. The strategy has been finalized in December 2007 and a final report has just been published (Nanotechnology: Health and environmental risks of nanomaterials – Research Strategy).

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Why are Kenya and other African countries slow to embrace nanotechnology? Kenya has rich human and natural resources that are fundamental ingredients to nurture nanotechnology.

New generations of nanotechnology-based products that are emerging in the world today will require Kenya to develop its ability to derive more benefits from global advances in this area.

The education system should introduce a nanotechnology curriculum to position Kenya as a global player in this emerging area of science and technology.

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The study used a computer simulation only, not actual physical science. And we don't know whether or not these carbon spheres would necessarily damage the cells they inhabit.

But that's exactly the point, right? While the complete biochemical theories behind these processes is admittedly a bit beyond us, it really seems like while one group is high-fiving that we can deliver drugs directly into cells, another group says, "----, this stuff penetrates our cells!"

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Radiation therapy is a time-honored and effective component of modern cancer therapy, but its ultimate utility is limited by the fact that some cancer cells are resistant to ionizing radiation.

Researchers at the University of Texas now believe that nanotechnology can aid radiation treatments tremendously. It has been discovered that penetrating tumors with gold nano articles and near-infrared radiation, dramatically improves the response of tumors to radiation therapy.

Nanotechnology works by inducing a mild increase in temperature, in the tumors using gold nano particles and infrared light. This temperature rise increases the blood flow throughout the tumors, particularly those regions where a disrupted network of blood vessels cause unavailability of oxygen.

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A new study into the potential health hazards of the revolutionary nano-sized particles known as ‘buckyballs’ predicts that the molecules are easily absorbed into animal cells, providing a possible explanation for how the molecules could be toxic to humans and other organisms.

Using computer simulations, University of Calgary biochemist Peter Tieleman, post-doctoral fellow Luca Monticelli and colleagues modeled the interaction between carbon-60 molecules and cell membranes and found that the particles are able to enter cells by permeating their membranes without causing mechanical damage. Their results are published in the current Advance Online Publication of Nature Nanotechnology, the world’s leading nanotechnology journal.

“Buckyballs are already being made on a commercial scale for use in coatings and materials but we have not determined their toxicity,” said Tieleman, a Senior Scholar of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research who specializes in membrane biophysics and biocomputing. “There are studies showing that they can cross the blood-brain barrier and alter cell functions, which raises a lot of questions about their toxicity and what impact they may have if released into the environment.”

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Researchers and analysts are calling on the federal government to fund a study of the potential health risks of carbon nanotubes -- the building blocks of nanotechnology.

A study out of the University of Edinburgh that was released this week showed that some forms of the nanotubes can cause cancer much like asbestos does. The study shows that long, thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which look like asbestos fibers, actually behave like asbestos and can cause cancer of the lung lining.

…The study released this week showed that nanotubes, which are built in many different forms, pose health risks when they're long and thin. Shorter and curlier nanotubes don't appear to have the same effect.

Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and a co-author of the paper, told Computerworld that if a foreign material enters the lungs, scavenger cells will engulf the matter and move it into the higher airwaves where it can be coughed up or swallowed. The problem with the long, thin nanotubes is that the scavenger cells can't wrap themselves around them and die trying.

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…"The findings presented by AeA reconfirm our efforts," Bagley said.

"Pennsylvania's economic climate is attracting new tech businesses and putting a new generation of Pennsylvania's skilled employees to work. Our high-tech sectors are the cornerstone of our growth, and the tech industry is attracted to Pennsylvania because of the quality of our workforce, our world-class universities, strong economic development programs and the economic climate we're creating.

"Pennsylvania has been at the cutting edge of nanotechnology for several years through our Pennsylvania Nanotechnology Initiative," Bagley said.

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Certain types of carbon nanotubes could cause the same health problems as asbestos, according to the results of two recent studies. In one, published yesterday, tests in mice showed that long and straight multiwalled carbon nanotubes cause the same kind of inflammation and lesions in the type of tissues that surround the lungs that is caused by asbestos. The other study, also done in mice, showed that similar carbon nanotubes eventually led to cancerous tumors.

Carbon nanotubes, tube-shaped carbon molecules just tens of nanometers in diameter, have excellent electronic and mechanical properties that make them attractive for a number of applications. They have already been incorporated into some products, such as tennis rackets and bicycles, and eventually they could be used in a wide variety of applications, including medical therapies, water purification, and ultrafast and compact computer chips. "It's a material that's got many unique characteristics," says Andrew Maynard, a coauthor of one of the studies, which appears in the current issue of Nature Nanotechnology. "But of course nothing comes along like this that is completely free from risk."

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