Center for Nanotechnology in Society
University of California, Santa Barbara
www.cns.ucsb.edu
WEEKLY CLIPS
January 28 – February 4, 2008
Weekly Clips from CNS-UCSB are now available online:
http://www.cns.ucsb.edu/clips/
January 30, 2008
EU nanotechnology R&D in the field of health and
environmental impact of nanoparticles
The European Union has released a 124-page publication on nanotechnology
research funding addressing in particular the health and environmental impact of
nanoparticles: EU nanotechnology R&D in the field of health and environmental
impact of nanoparticles.
Following its commitment of addressing upfront the potential risks, the European
Commission has boosted support for specific collaborative research into the potential
impact of nanoparticles on human health and the environment since the Framework
Programme 5 (FP5). These activities have been continued and reinforced in FP6 and
in FP7 where several topics were launched specifically addressing the safety of
nanomaterials. At the same time, the EU Members States have also been funding
research in that field, but a consolidated overview of these ongoing or finished
projects was not yet available so the magnitude of these national efforts was difficult
to evaluate.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4315.php
January 29, 2008
Research suggests nanoparticles could lodge
themselves within the body, cause respiratory
problems
New Delhi: The science of nanotechnology—dealing with particles a thousand times
thinner than a strand of human hair—may itself be new, but with scientists coming up
with applications for nanoparticles in the electronics, chemical and pharmaceutical
industries, the government wants to understand the polluting and toxic effects of
these particles.
A growing body of research also suggests that nanoparticles could easily lodge
themselves within the body and cause respiratory problems. In 2006, several
German firms were forced to withdraw their cleaning products, all of which claimed to
use nanoparticles. Many of these products caused respiratory problems. But a study
by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment found that while these effects
were caused by the products, none of them actually contained nanoparticles.
Suspended particulate matter (SPM), a major component of diesel and petrol
emissions and defined as particles 2.5-10 micrometres in diameter—that’s a
thousand times larger than nanoparticles—are already a matter of concern.
http://www.livemint.com/2008/01/29232654/Big-dilemma-overnanotechnolog.html
January 30, 2008
Nanotechnologies for Consumer Products Provides
Analysis of Impact of Nanotechnology on the
Consumer Products Market to 2015
Nanomaterials have already been incorporated into a number of consumer products
including golf clubs and sunscreens. However, these are relatively unimpressive
applications when put in the context of the wave of products we will witness in the
next five-ten years. Nanotechnology for Consumer Products is in depth look at how
nanotechnology will revolutionize the consumer products market with leading-edge
applications in: -0- -Household Care -Personal Care -Fragrancing -Packaging -Food
Products -Fabric Care and Textiles, Baby Care -Supply Chain Tracking -Consumer
Electronics -Leisure Equipment and Luxury Goods
This report includes:
-- Analysis of key nanotechnologies and commercialization activity thereof
-- Analysis of impact of nanotechnology on the consumer products market to 2015
-- Analysis of most promising product areas
http://www.pr-inside.com/nanotechnologies-for-consumer-products-providesr412223.htm
January 30, 2008
From Here to There: Nanotechnology Roadmap
Foresight Nanotech Institute, a leading nanotechnology think tank and public interest
organization, and Battelle, a leading global research and development organization,
have officially unveiled "Productive Nanosystems: A Technology Roadmap."
Productive nanosystems are molecular-scale systems that make other useful
materials and devices that are nanostructured.
This Technology Roadmap for Productive Nanosystems is a first attempt to map out
the R&D pathways across multiple disciplines to achieve atomically precise
manufacturing. For the past three years, working groups comprised of over 70
research scientists, nanotechnology theorists, and business leaders have
collaborated to create a common framework for understanding and defining these
pathways.
The working groups also identified the challenges that must be overcome in
developing these systems and the applications that they can address. The Roadmap
provides a structure for formulating research and commercialization agendas for
achieving atomically precise manufacturing. The intended audiences for the
Roadmap include governments, corporations, research institutions, investors,
economic development organizations, public policy professionals, educators, and the
media.
http://www.pr-inside.com/from-here-to-there-nanotechnology-roadmap-r411699.htm
January 29, 2008
The quiet crisis - the future of U.S. engineering,
from nanotechnology to civil infrastructure
If you belong to the sizeable number of flag-waving, hand-on-the-bible type of
Americans who believe that America has assumed it's god-given role as leader of the
free world (if you don't live in this country, don't laugh; unfortunately this is not a joke)
you probably haven't read Thomas L. Friedman's book 'The World Is Flat: A Brief
History of the Twenty-first Century' (but then of course you wouldn't read something
from an East Coast liberal columnist for the New York Times). In a chapter titled 'The
Quiet Crisis' Friedman quotes Shirley Ann Jackson, the 2004 president of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and president of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute since 1999: "The sky is not falling, nothing horrible is going to
happen today" says Jackson. "The U.S. is still the leading engine for innovation in the
world. It has the best graduate programs, the best scientific infrastructure, and the
capital markets to exploit it. But there is a quiet crisis in U.S. science and technology
that we have to wake up to. The U.S. today is in a truly global environment, and those
competitor countries are not only wide awake, they are running a marathon while we
are running sprints. If left unchecked, this could challenge our preeminence and
capacity to innovate." A roadmap project on the future of engineering in the U.S. is
coming pretty much to the same conclusion. The fundamental knowledge
undergirding engineering practice increasingly requires research at the extremes,
from nanotechnology to the mega level of global systems such as civil infrastructure,
energy, and climate change as well as the mastery of new tools such as cyber
infrastructure and quantum engineering. The report urges that this requires far
greater attention by government and industry to the support of the long-term basic
engineering research necessary to build the knowledge base key to addressing
society’s needs. This is increasingly challenged both by the relentless pace of new
technologies and their declining ability to attract a diverse cadre of the most capable
students compared to other professional programs such as law, medicine, and
business administration.
When the U.S. enacted its 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development
Act in 2003 it was clearly understood that the impact of nanotechnologies on all
aspects of society would be deeply transformational. As the National Nanotechnology
Initiative was set up, its goals were not only defined as "maintaining a world-class
research and development program aimed at realizing the full potential of
nanotechnology" but also to "facilitate transfer of new technologies into products for
economic growth, jobs, and other public benefit."
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=4272.php
February 4, 2008
Nanotechnology Safety Examined in Report that
Looks at the Effectiveness of Conventional
Protection Against Nanoaerosols
Are conventional protective devices such as fibrous filter media, respirator cartridges,
protective clothing and gloves also efficient for nanoaerosols?
Long before the final conclusions of toxicology research studies on the potential
hazard of nanomaterials, it is today necessary to apply the principle of precaution by
implementing among other, efficient personal protections against engineered
nanoparticles. In this study, carried out in the frame of the Nanosafe2 project,
different conventional individual protection devices well-qualified for micron size
particles such as fibrous filters, repirator cartridges, protective clothing and gloves
were tested with graphite nanoparticles ranging from 10 to 150 nm.
Main results
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
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Fibrous filters are even more efficient for nanoparticles!
HEPA filters, respirator cartridges and mask made with fibrous filters are even
more efficient for nanoparticles.
Non woven fabrics seem much more efficient (air-tight materials) against
nanoparticle penetration.
Warning: Nanoparticles may penetrate through commercially available gloves!
Thus use at least 2 layers of gloves.
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=5811
February 2, 2008
Achieving the balance between public awareness
and Nano hype - The launch of Tata Nano
Skeptics fear a nanotech hype in coming years leading to a dot-com type bubble
adversely effecting the industry. Despite a number of differences between internet
technologies and nanotechnologies, the fear is well founded as most major
technological innovations follow a similar adoption curve as captured by Gartner. A
quick look at Google trends does not show any correlation between launch of "Nano"
branded products (IPod Nano and Tata Nano) and public interest in
nanotechnologies. More efforts are needed to educate the public on the potential
risks and benefits of nanotechnologies to minimize the impact of a possible hype by
adopting an attitude of "cautious optimism".
Last week, I was discussing the formation of "The Indus Nanotechnology Association"
(TINA) by a group of Indian Americans in the valley and somebody mentioned the
word "hype" and drew parallel with the "dot com bubble" of 2001 when start-up
companies with little or no revenues (and oftentimes without a product) demanded
sky-high valuations on nothing more than an idea. Investor community was taken in
by the hi-sounding jargons and by the early successes of companies like Yahoo, and
Hotmail joined the bandwagon of "internet revolution". A similar pattern can be
observed if we cursorily examine the state of affairs in the global nanotechnology
"industry". Early starters like Nanosys, CNI, Nanomat successfully managed to raise
venture capital but have not been able to achieve profitability or indeed sustain
themselves in some cases. A further argument is- unlike dot com companies,
nanotech companies require lot more funding for R&D, product development and
highly specialized equipments and therefore the potential adverse impact of a burst
would be even more severe. To quote "in some years the dot come bubble will be
nothing compared to this".
Quite obviously, I was defensive about the industry and made certain noises about
why there should be no concerns of a nanotech bubble and how there are
fundamental differences between internet technologies and nanotechnologies as
summarized below.
http://www.nanotech-now.com/columns/?article=168
February 4, 2008
Nano-manufacturing: The next big thing
Small is the new big. As is evident from reducing size of all the equipments and
accessories that we are using. And helping produce smaller objects is the new
technology called nanotechnology. It is the science of controlling matter on a scale
smaller than one micrometer.
The industry especially would have to take risks as the initial investment in the nanomanufacturing facilities might be very high. This industry is highly cost-intensive , but
considering the current economic boom which is leading to high profits, the profit
making companies can consider investing in these technologies. The government, on
its part, needs to incentivise this industry as well, just as it has supported the IT and
manufacturing industry with its industry friendly policies.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/ET_Cetera/Nanomanufacturing__The_next_big_thing/articleshow/2754410.cms
January 28, 2008
Nanotechnology: The Big News is Small
Washington, D.C. -- Americans are famous for building big: the tallest sky scraper, the
biggest jet, the widest plasma TV screen. But now U.S. entrepreneurs are considering
thinking small. Nanotechnology uses particles 80,000 times smaller than a human
hair; yet the new technology has the potential to quickly clean up pollution, cure
serious illnesses, and make the computer silicon chip obsolete. While EPA looks
forward to new environmental breakthroughs, the Agency’s first commitment is to
protect human health and the environment. Therefore EPA has awarded 21 grants
totaling $7.34 million to universities to investigate potential adverse health and
environmental effects of manufactured nanomaterials.
The grants were awarded through EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) research
grants program in partnership with the National Science Foundation's (NSF), National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) who awarded another eight grants for a total
of 29. Nine of the grants focus on potential toxicity, and 12 grants study the fate and
transport of nanomaterials in the environment.
"Nanotechnology is an exciting new field with the potential to transform
environmental protection. But it is critical to know whether nanomaterials could
negatively impact health or the environment,” said George Gray, Assistant
Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “By performing research
on potential adverse affects, EPA is doing what is right for both human and
environmental health and technological progress.”
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/7acfb14b11808efb852573de006b3
f4b?OpenDocument
February 4, 2008
Why Voters Play Follow-the-Leader
What do you think is more dangerous? Terrorists getting their hands on a biological
weapon that can be smuggled into the country or another hurricane like Katrina?
Which is the smarter way to keep Social Security solvent? Raise the retirement age or
raise taxes? How can the current economic crisis be averted? Give Americans cash to
spend or slash mortgage interest rates to restart the housing market?
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.
…In another experiment conducted with the Washington-based Project on Emerging
Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Kahan
found that when volunteers heard about the risks of nanotechnology from different
experts, they gravitated toward the views of experts who seemed to share their
personal values -- individualists followed the lead of experts who appeared to be
individualists, while people who believed in hierarchy were most likely to be
influenced by experts who espoused similar views. Once volunteers decided which
experts were most like them, it did not make a difference whether the experts said
nanotechnology was risky or safe -- either way, the volunteers agreed with them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020302572_pf.html
January 30, 2008
Ultrafine particles in emissions found to cause
heart disease
Unregulated pollutants play important role in the development of conditions
such as atherosclerosis
Air pollution has been suggested as a risk factor for developing heart disease for
several years, but a new UCLA study has found ultrafine particles from vehicle
emissions that may lead to heart attack or stroke.
These unregulated ultrafine particles, potentially the most toxic air pollutant particles,
are 10 times smaller than the fine-sized particle pollutants regulated by current
vehicle emission standards.
In the first animal study of the impact of ultrafine particles, UCLA scientists, in
collaboration with researchers from several other universities, determined that
atherosclerosis was exacerbated by ultrafine particles more than by fine particles.
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory process that involves a hardening of the arteries
due to plaque buildup, and can lead to heart attack or stroke.
http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2008/jan/30/ultrafine-particles-emissionsfound-cause-heart-di/
January 28, 2008
Call for scientific data on applications of
nanotechnology and nanomaterials used in food
and feed
The European Commission has requested an initial scientific opinion from the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) relating to the risks arising from nanoscience
and nanotechnologies on food and feed safety and the environment.
The request also asks to identify the nature of the possible hazards associated with
actual and foreseen applications in the food and feed area and to provide general
guidance on data needed for the risk assessment of such technologies and
applications. The request is handled by the EFSA Scientific Committee who in
November 2007 appointed an expert working group to prepare a draft opinion. A
draft of the opinion is scheduled to be published for public consultation in July 2008,
which is reflected in the short deadline for submission of data.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4264.php
January 31, 2008
Can Nanotechnology Economically Reduce Carbon
Dioxide Emissions?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a naturally occurring gas that the plants in your garden use to
produce oxygen. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. However, when excess
carbon dioxide is produced, for example in power plant emissions, it can be a major
factor in global warming.
Electric power plants fired by fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) produce about a third
of the man-made carbon dioxide released into the air in the United States. Several
methods exist or are under development to try to reduce the problem. The challenge
seems to be developing a method that can be inexpensively and easily retrofitted into
existing power plants.
Nanotechnology may be one way to help reduce carbon dioxide in a cost-effective
way.
One conventional method that nanotechnology may improve upon is called
‘scrubbers'. One company called CO2 Solution is using genetic engineering to
produce an enzyme that is more effective in removing carbon dioxide gas from the
exhaust than materials currently in use. The exhaust from a power plant bubbles
through a scrubber (which CO2 Solution calls a "bioreactor") containing the enzyme.
The carbon dioxide is then converted into bicarbonate in solution with water. This
method, which is almost in the pilot plant stage, makes strides in improving
effectiveness, but existing power plants would have to be retrofitted to use the new
bioreactor, so there is probably some significant cost to implementing this solution in
existing plants.
http://www.nanotech-now.com/columns/?article=167
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