Pew Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

Momentous change can come in tiny packages. Nanotechnologies have been hailed by many as the next industrial revolution, likely to affect everything from clothing and medical treatments to engineering. Although focused on the very small, nanotechnology—the ability to measure, manipulate and manufacture objects that are 1/100th to 1/100,000th the circumference of a human hair—offers immense promise. Whether used in cancer therapies, pollution-eating compounds or stain-resistant apparel, these atomic marvels are radically and rapidly changing the way we live. The National Science Foundation predicts that the global marketplace for goods and services using nanotechnologies will grow to $1 trillion by 2015 and employ 2 million workers.

findNano App Puts Nanotech in Your Pocket

Washington, DC - The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano , an application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. Nanotechnology, the emerging technology of using materials by engineering th

Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology: What Does the American Public Think?

Nanotechnology and synthetic biology continue to develop as two of the most exciting areas of scientific discovery, but research has shown that the public is almost completely unaware of the science and its applications. A groundbreaking poll of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) found 90 percent of Americans think that the public should be better informed about the development of cutting-edge technologies.

Nanotechnology, Synthetic Biology, & Public Opinion

A groundbreaking poll finds that almost half of U.S. adults have heard nothing about nanotechnology, and nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about the emerging field of synthetic biology, according to a new report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Peter D. Hart Research. Both technologies involve manipulating matter at an incredibly small scale to achieve something new.

Nanotech-Enabled Consumer Products Top the 1,000 Mark

Over 1,000 nanotechnology-enabled products have been made available to consumers around the world, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). The most recent update to the group’s three-and-a-half-year-old inventory reflects the increasing use of the tiny particles in everything from conventional products like non-stick cookware and lighter, stronger tennis racquets, to more unique items such as wearable sensors that monitor posture.

''Interactive Map Shows Nano Metros''

Looking for a job in nanotechnology? You might want to check out just where the nano hot spots are around the country. I have just the resource. The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies created an interactive map of the United States showing the locations of the more than 1,200 companies, universities, government laboratories, and organizations working in nanotechnology.

New Data Show Nanotechnology-Related Activities in Every U.S. State

Data released today by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) highlights more than 1,200 companies, universities, government laboratories, and other organizations across all 50 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia that are involved in nanotechnology research, development, and commercialization. This number is up 50 percent from the 800 organizations identified just two years ago.

Contaminated Site Remediation: Are Nanomaterials the Answer?

A new review article appearing in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) co-authored by Dr. Todd Kuiken, a research associate for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), focuses on the use of nanomaterials for environmental cleanup. It provides an overview of current practices; research findings; societal issues; potential environment, health, and safety implications; and possible future directions for nanoremediation. The authors conclude that the technology could be an effective and economically viable alternative for some current site cleanup practices, but potential risks remain poorly understood.

Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology

Since 1980, the capability of the federal agencies responsible for environmental health and safety has steadily eroded. The agencies cannot perform their basic functions now, and they are completely unable to cope with the new challenges they face in the 21st century. This paper describes some of these challenges, focusing on next-generation nanotechnologies, and suggests changes that could revitalize the health and safety agencies.

Stimulus Debate Highlights Need for Focus on Nanotech Risks

The nearly $800 billion stimulus package being debated in Congress contains a number of measures intended to improve information technology, infrastructure and the energy economy in the United States - all areas that will be greatly aided by nanotechnology. However, without an increased focus by the federal government on possible risks posed by engineered nanomaterials, many of the potential societal advancements created by the emerging technology could be compromised.

Nanotechnology and the Consumer

As part of a 6-DVD lecture series produced by the Museum of Science, Boston, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies director David Rejeski covers the topic of nanotechnology in consumer products. This set, Talking Nano, provides an excellent overview of nanotechnology.

World’s First Mandatory National Nanotech Rule Pending

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 gathered under the requirement will be used to evaluate the risks of engineered nanomaterials and will help to develop appropriate safety measures to protect human health and the environment.

Ethical Evaluations of Nanotechnology

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.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology has tremendous potential to contribute to human flourishing in socially just and environmentally sustainable ways. However, nanotechnology is unlikely to realize its full potential unless its associated social and ethical issues are adequately attended.

''House Introduces Nanotech Bill''

The House Science and Technology Committee introduced a bill Jan. 15 about the need to strengthen federal efforts to better comprehend the potential environmental, health and safety effects of nanotechnology.

Nanotech Safety High on Congress’ Priority List

The House Science and Technology Committee introduced legislation today that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks posed by engineered nanomaterials. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that promises to usher in the next Industrial Revolution and is the focus of an annual $1.5 billion federal research investment.

Report Faults U.S. Strategy for Nanotoxicology Research

The U.S. government lacks an effective plan for ensuring the safety of nanotechnology, a new report by the National Research Council (NRC) concludes. The report, released last week, finds that the current plan for coordinating federal research on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risks of nanotechnology amounts to an ad hoc collection of research priorities from the 25 federal agencies that make up the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), which coordinates federal nanotech programs. What's needed, it argues, are an overall vision and a plan for how to get there and to come up with the money to do so.

''More Nano Research Needed''

"The government needs a more comprehensive plan for studying the risks of nanotechnology, the National Research Council said Wednesday. While the committee that prepared the report did not evaluate the safety of nanomaterials, it was critical

''Life As We Don't Know It''

If you think of life on Earth as a magnificent incarnation of natural technology, then life has the classic double-edged character of all powerful technologies. This technology has produced a wondrous diversity of beings displaying a gorgeous marriage of form and function on hierarchical levels that span the range from cells to rain forests and beyond. Yet it also has created pathogens that indifferently kill millions of people each year, ecological disasters that wipe out species, and intelligent beings that deliberately perpetrate catastrophes on similar scales.

Scientists Call for Nanotechnology Oversight; Ultra-tiny Particles Carry Little-known Risks, Experts Say

Scientists are urging U.S. regulators to regularly screen the health and environmental effects of tiny engineered particles used in more than 800 consumer products, and step up oversight of the nanotechnology industry.

''Will bacteria develop resistance?''

Could the use of nanosilver products create another problem for medicine -- strains of bacteria that are resistant to silver? Although silver is not used to treat disease, it is used in hospital settings to speed wound-healing, prevent eye infections in newborns and as a coating for catheters, where it can cut infection rates.

Nanotechnology Oversight

The next presidential administration will face a host of complex policy issues concerning energy, the environment, food safety, consumer products and the workplace. One issue, however, that will impact virtually all of these policy areas is nanotechnology oversight.

''In Study, Researchers Find Nanotubes May Pose Health Risks Similar to Asbestos''

Nanotubes, one of the wonder materials of the new age of nanotechnology, may carry a health risk similar to that of asbestos, a wonder material of an earlier age that turned into a scourge after decades of use when its fibers were found to cause lung disease, researchers said Tuesday.

Nanotechnology's Future Depends On Who The Public Trusts''

When the public considers competing arguments about a new technology’s potential risks and benefits, people will tend to agree with the expert whose values are closest to their own, no matter what position the expert takes. The same will hold true for nanotechnology, a key study has found.

''Why Voters Play Follow-the-Leader''

As millions of Americans gather to vote for presidential candidates in tomorrow's Democratic and Republican primaries, what they are really being asked to do is make a number of policy choices.