Scientists and public differ on views about nanotechnology regulation

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jun 19, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to regulating nanotechnology - a burgeoning global industry with wide-ranging potential applications - a new study led by professors Dietram Scheufele at the University of Wisconsin-Madison ...

Nanotechnology 'culture war' possible, study says

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 07, 2008 | 4.2 / 5 (13) | 12

Rather than infer that nanotechnology is safe, members of the public who learn about this novel science tend to become sharply polarized along cultural lines, according to a study conducted by the Cultural ...

Nanotech in your vitamins

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jan 14, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 3

The ability of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency's lack of statutory authority ...

Ethical evaluations of nanotechnology

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jan 27, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Recent action in Congress to reauthorize the U.S. federal nanotechnology research program offers the chance to address the social and ethical issues concerning the emerging scientific field, experts say.

World's first mandatory national nanotech rule pending

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jan 28, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

The Canadian government reportedly is planning to release in February the world's first national regulation requiring companies to detail their use of engineered nanomaterials, according to environmental officials. The information ...

EarthTalk: What is 'nanotechnology'?

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

May 25, 2009 | 3 / 5 (5) | 4

Dear EarthTalk: What is "nanotechnology"? I've heard that nanoparticles are already in consumer products, yet we haven't really studied their potential health impacts. (Dan Zeff, San Francisco)

Scientists invent 1.2nm molecular gear

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Jun 15, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 1

Scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), led by Professor Christian Joachim, have scored a breakthrough in nanotechnology by becoming the first in the world to invent a molecular gear ...

For nano, religion in US dictates a wary view

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

Dec 07, 2008 | 3.7 / 5 (44) | 37

When it comes to the world of the very, very small — nanotechnology — Americans have a big problem: Nano and its capacity to alter the fundamentals of nature, it seems, are failing the moral litmus test of religion.

People in the US and the UK show strong similarities in their attitudes toward nanotechnologies

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 09, 2008 | 3 / 5 (4) | 1

The results of a new U.S.–U.K. study published in this week's journal Nature Nanotechnology show that ordinary people in both countries hold very positive views of nanotechnologies and what the future of these technologies might ...

Nanotech safety high on Congress' priority list

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jan 16, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

The House Science and Technology Committee today introduced legislation that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health ...

DNA 'tricked' to act as nano-building blocks

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Apr 13, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (8) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- McGill researchers have succeeded in finding a new way to manufacture nanotubes, one of the important building blocks of the nanotechnology of the future. Their building material? Biological DNA.

A promising niche for nanotech

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Jun 24, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

In a cluster of rather drab buildings overlooking the Charles River, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are incubating a tiny technology that packs an enormous punch.

SRNL to study applicability of solar cell coatings

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

Jun 25, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

A project under way at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory will study how special coatings that mimic structures found in nature can increase the usefulness of solar energy as a vital part of ...

Pack 'Em In -- Gold Nanoparticles Improve Gene Regulation

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Feb 23, 2009 | 4 / 5 (1) | 0

Investigators at Northwestern University have found that packing small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules onto the surface of a gold nanoparticle can protect siRNAs from degradation and increase their ability to regulate genes ...

Experts argue nano food-additives require new oversight

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

Dec 18, 2008 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 1

Nanotechnology policy experts are urging that food additives that contain nanoscale materials be subject to new safety testing to ensure that their use does not pose unintended risks.