The UK government has failed to fund adequate research into potential risks posed by developing nanotechnology, a report by leading advisors has warned.

As well as not spotting possible harmful effects, the UK risked losing its world lead in nanoscience, it said. The Council for Science and Technology (CST) review examined progress on government commitments made in 2005.

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Imagine building materials that are as strong as steel at a fraction of the weight, and inexpensive solar cells that can be printed onto almost any surface. Or consider smart medical treatments that target cancerous tumors with minimal side effects, and you begin to scratch the surface of what a new technology - nanotechnology - can achieve.

You also begin to appreciate why global spending on nanotechnology research and development continues to grow, exceeding an estimated $12 billion in 2006.

Yet, this investment - and the almost limitless opportunities that motivate it - are at risk because governments and industries around the world are not effectively addressing questions about the potential adverse health and environmental effects posed by nanotechnology.

Read the full op-ed here. 

Scientists: Canada urged to study risks of technology that manipulates atoms into new materials

EDMONTON - Scientists in the emerging field of nanotechnology are warning Ethat Canada must make a serious effort to examine the safety of nano-products, and consider whether the country needs new laws to govern them.They say nanotechnologies may pose few risks to human health or the environment, but unless the issue is carefully studied and explained to the public, the new technology and its economic benefits may suffer from the same kind of public backlash that greeted the arrival of genetically modified foods a decade ago.

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Researchers at UC San Diego have discovered that iron-containing nanoparticles being tested for use in several biomedical applications can be toxic to nerve cells and interfere with the formation of their signal-transmitting extensions.

… Many researchers throughout the world are also studying the use of iron-containing nanoparticles in gene therapy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other medically important applications. While studies have focused primarily on the many potential uses of nanoparticles, Jin said more attention should be paid to their safety. "Our experience leads us to conclude that any analysis of the biocompatibility of nanoparticles should include not just a toxicological study of the component parts," said Pisanic, "but also an examination of the total structure as a whole."

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We all knew this was going to happen.

Nanotechnology has become the neglected stepchild of the markets. The hype and fervor surrounding it a few years ago gave way to warnings that the science would yield precious few applications -- and profit -- for years.
Then came disappointment and then, in the minds of investors at least, oblivion.

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Helsinki, Finland -- Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, today announced its latest research that shows impressive growth for the Finnish nanotechnology sector. The number of Finnish companies active in nanotechnology has more than doubled from 61 to 134 in just two years. Over 40 of these companies already have commercial products based on nanotechnology. Development has been seen in all of the key sectors of the Finnish economy, from electronics to forest products. The main factor behind the increase in activity is Finland's National Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Programme, FinNano.

Read the full press release here.

Nanotechnology promises to bring sweeping technological advances in coming years, according to a new study released by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.

According to the 20-page study, “Nanotechnology: The Future is Coming Sooner Than You Think,” nanotechnology will lead to dramatic breakthroughs in many areas including medicine, communications, computing, energy, and robotics.

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The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) have agreed to establish a new scheme for joint funding of Japanese-German cooperative research projects, among them nanotechnology. After consultations between the two parties, “Nanoelectronics” has been selected as the first field of research for which the joint funding scheme will be applied.

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In the earliest days of nanotechnology, researchers and the public paid much more attention to potential applications than possible problems. The now-discredited fear of ‘grey goo’ -- self-replicating nanobots run amok -- might seem an exception to this rule, but even that was somewhat romantic, as removed from the nitty-gritty reality of nanotech as a belief that Star Trek-style food synthesizers would soon do our cooking. 

Read the full blog here.

Is nanotechnology a ground breaking powerful new technology? Or is it neither new nor really a singular technology? We are told that it heralds "the next industrial revolution". Will its effects be revolutionary? Or familiar and incremental? Is nanotechnology's development inevitable? Or precarious? Are its implications nothing to be afraid of? Or are they so profound as to give cause for alarm? Does nanotechnology raise important new ethical issues or not?

Australian ethicist Dr Robert Sparrow from the Centre for Human Bioethics at Monash University claims that widespread hypocrisy about nanotechnology is a worrying sign and he provides a detailed new critique of the contradictions inherent in the emerging debate about nanotechnology in an essay that is posted on the Friends of the Earth website.

Read the full article here.

The size, type, and dispersion of nanomaterials could all play a role in how these materials impact human health and the environment, according to two groups of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In new studies, the teams found that while carbon nanotubes inhibited growth in mammalian cells, they sustained the growth of commonly occurring bacteria.

The seemingly contradictory findings highlight the need for society to better grasp the impacts these infinitesimally small particles could have when released into the environment or the human body, the researchers said. Both results were presented at the 233rd American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in Chicago, March 25-29, 2007.

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Scientists now able to touch, see and manipulate some of nature's tiniest particles

EDMONTON -- A shiny new building rises from the snowy campus of the University of Alberta, a brash, imposing upstart amid the older faculties of physics, chemistry and engineering.

…But nanoscience isn't magic. And scientists caution we can't conjure up anything our hearts desire, because even at the nano scale we remain bound by nature's rules.

"People have been misled into thinking that anything will be possible, and that's just not true," says Wolkow.

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have determined manufactured nanoparticles do not inflict a negative impact on ordinary soil.

The first published study concerning the environmental impact of manufactured nanoparticles addressed concerns the microscopic particles might be harmful to organisms.

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Fuel-cell-powered balsa-wood cars are propelling Heritage High School students in Broadland, Illinois into the age of nanotechnology. An article in today's The News-Gazette.com "Students' cars to illustrate power of nanotechnology" describes the results of what teachers learned at a Nanotechnology Teacher Enhancement Program at the University of Illinois last summer and brought back to their classrooms.

Read the full article here.