Basics
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is a diverse field including any activities at the level of atoms and molecules (or more specifically between 1 and 100nanometers) that could have applications in the real world. In recognition of this diversity many people prefer to talk of nanotechnologies than of nanotechnology.
A common feature that many nanotechnologies exploit is the special properties that materials display at this scale. For example by dividing a certain volume of material into nanoscale particles you radically increase the surface area. This makes the material more reactive. That is why icing sugar dissolves more quickly than granulated sugar. Also the size of nano-scale particles means they may be able to enter body cells or pass straight through skin.
Just like any new technology (e.g. steam, electricity) all these special properties may be very useful or harmful depending on the situation.
Info cards
Lots! At this scale materials that we are familiar with can show new electrical, chemical and magnetic properties. We can manipulate individual atoms or even make tiny motors.
Nanoparticles are tiny pieces of a material. As the particles become smaller their surface area becomes relatively greater. This is why icing sugar dissolves more quickly than granulated sugar.
Nano-scale particles may be able to enter body cells or pass straight through the skin. Like any new technology (e.g. electricity) these properties could be either very useful or harmful.
Things behave in unusual ways. For example :
• Gold, normally unreactive, becomes more reactive and melts at a lower temperature.
• Copper stops becoming a good conductor of electricity.
Nanotechnology is an umbrella term used to describe any technology that deals with objects measuring from 1 to 100 nanometres, in at least one of their dimensions.
Gold and silver nanoparticles are observed in sedimentary rocks. Volcanic eruption produces nanoparticles, and some salt compounds in the sea contain nanoparticles.
A nanotube is like a tiny sheet of carbon rolled into a cylinder. It has a diameter of a few nanometers, about 10,000 times thinner than a human hair.
"Factories and research laboratories should treat manufactured nanoparticles and nanotubes as if they were hazardous and seek to reduce or remove them from waste streams."
Nanoparticles and nanotubes have different properties to the same chemical in larger form. Being so tiny, these particles may be able to penetrate cells and may sometimes be more toxic.
The UK Royal Society, an independent scientific body, recommended that people avoid exposure to airborne nanotubes until more research has been done.
A scientist, Eric Drexler, suggested that nano machines might self-replicate and consume all the material on Earth. This is no longer thought feasible and the author has retracted his claims.
They exhibit unusual strength (100 times stronger and 6 times lighter than steel) and electrical properties. This is potentially useful for drug delivery, as well as electrical and mechanical applications.
As of 2010, the USA and Japan are investing the most money. The EU
plus European countries will be spending more than 4 billion euros
over the next four years. Larger developing countries are also big
investors.
Silver nanoparticles have been used in socks to reduce smell. The anti-bacterial effect of silver is enhanced by the greater surface area at the nanoscale.
The US Navy has started putting nanoscale ceramic coatings on its ships. This stops sea creatures from fouling metal components and saves about a million dollars a year for each ship.
Magnetic nanoparticles can guide and position drugs at the site of disease. Nanotubes can be filled with drugs and delivery can be controlled from outside the body.
Minute particles of gold attached to DNA fragments can be used to detect disease-causing organisms, such as viruses or bacteria, in the blood.
Vaccines could be encapsulated in nanomaterials so that they would no longer need to be refrigerated. What will happen when these break down we don’t know, but is currently being studied.
Iron nanoparticles can be made to bind to cancerous tissue. They can then be heated up using magnetic fields and used to destroy the cancerous cells.
Currently, plastic hip replacements last around ten years. With a ceramic coating they could last for 40 years. This is because ceramics become much more durable at the nanoscale.
New lighting devices using carbon nanotubes could cut the electrical power used for illumination by up to half.
New materials could bring down the cost of solar cells. This could make the widespread production of electricity from solar cells a viable economic prospect.
Specialised nanoparticles could be used to detoxify polluted water, land or even air. We can now also create membranes with pores small enough to filter virus particles out of water.
Light emitting nanomaterials could be used to make paper thin TV screens that could be rolled up like a newspaper. They might only need a very low electric charge.
Issue cards
Is it acceptable to use processes developed for medical treatment to enhance the human body, such as improving people’s memory or slowing down the ageing process?
Some people think they will affect our lives as much as electricity or plastic, but no one knows how much of today’s nanoscience will actually be useful in the future.
Examples include, increasing drug resistance of viruses and bacteria, persistence of chemicals in the environment, nuclear accidents, oil spills and global warming. The effects of nanotechnology will be just as unpredictable.
The 'unimproved', those not enhanced, could be discriminated against.
How much should the public be involved in setting nanotechnology research agendas? And how?
The key equity issue is how we can use nanotechnology to help development, to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor worlds.
There are major uncertainties about what will happen if nanoparticles get inside organisms. One concern is that they will affect the way proteins work.
Nanoparticles are not new. We inhale them from the exhaust of diesel engines, cigarette smoke, hairspray, burning candles and toast.
There is virtually no information available about the effect of nanoparticles on species other than humans or about how they behave in the air, water or soil.
For innovation to flourish the pursuit of knowledge can not be constrained by regulation.
Although some argue that nanotechnology is ethically neutral, and its impact depends on how it is used, many say that technology reflects the values of its inventors, funders and society.
Is there a difference between research funded by industry and that funded by the state? Should different regulations apply? Is it OK for commercial research to be kept 'secret'?
Could nanotechnology widen the poverty gap?
Might strict regulations in the west cause manufacturers to move to poorer countries, forcing people there to deal with hazards that are prohibited here?
• Who controls their use?
• Who benefits from their use?
Should we be content to live a 'normal' life span, or should we try to stop the ageing process?
There is a danger of derailing nanotechnology if serious study of its ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social implications does not reach the speed of progress in the science.
"Good regulation is more important than any amount of public engagement." Jonathon Porritt, UK environmentalist.
The report of the UK Royal Society, an independent scientific body, says it should occur “before critical decisions about the technology become irreversible or ‘locked in’”. This tends to happen when companies start producing commercial products.
It is next to impossible to slow down or control some areas of science in one country when the world is so interconnected.
Can we realistically develop a regulatory process to govern such a diverse and rapidly developing field as nanotechnologies?
This may be enough to cover mundane applications in countries that have strong legislation in areas such as: health and safety at work, pharmaceuticals (drugs) and the environment.
Governments would have “unlimited surveillance capacity”, with the possibility of invisible monitoring and tracking devices.
The 21st-century technologies – genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics – are so powerful that they can create whole new types of accidents and abuses. For the first time, these are within the reach of individuals and small groups.
These would allow the shop and manufacturer to trace who has bought them and where they are. Is this more a benefit, e.g. to crime prevention, or a drawback, e.g. to privacy?
Story cards
Policies
Rapid nanotechnology expansion, minimum regulation
Promote rapid expansion of nanotechnologies, with the minimum of regulation, to ensure its benefits are realised as quickly as possible.
Proceed with nanoscience but regulate
Allow scientific research in nanotechnologies to proceed, setting new regulations alongside the potential developments which emerge.
Regulated nanoscience with public dialogue
As position 2. but opening public dialogue now on the directions of research and applications.
No nanoscience unless specifically and publicly agreed
Allow only the research and applications whose specific goals have been through an ongoing, widespread national public debate and dialogue.
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