Center for Nanotechnology in Society
University of California, Santa Barbara
www.cns.ucsb.edu
WEEKLY CLIPS
November 12 - 19, 2007
Weekly Clips from CNS-UCSB are now available online:
http://www.cns.ucsb.edu/clips/
November 14, 2007
Unknown health impact of nanotech worries some
San Francisco (Reuters) - Nanotechnology has been hailed as the science of the
future, with micro-particles already powering innovations that remove lines from
faces, strengthen beer bottles and clean clothing without water.
Yet early studies also indicate some of these particles, enabled by the latest in
engineering science, can cause cancer.
The problem is that these particles may be harmful to the human body, and scientists
say it will be years before they fully understand their effects. Nanoparticles are small
enough to slip unnoticed through a cell membrane but large enough to carry foreign
material between strands of DNA.
There are no long-term health studies on the issue, but researchers have seen brain
cancer develop in fish that ingest a small number of carbon nanoparticles. Rats that
inhale carbon nanotubes have lung problems similar to those caused by asbestos.
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1221261620071114
November 14, 2007
The challenge of regulating nanomaterials
As the nanotechnology industry thunders ahead, filling consumer
products with nanomaterials, experts worry about the lack of adequate
oversight and regulation.
Get ready for a nanolife. Wake up in a bed with cotton sheets made bug-free with
silver nanoparticles, brush your teeth with toothpaste bristling with nanogold, step
into pants made dirt- and moisture-resistant through nanofibers, and go out with
nanosunscreen on your skin. These nanobased consumer products are already on
the market around the world, and the list is growing.
Nanomaterials could make life smoother. They promise to provide cleaner water and
new ways to precisely target cancer cells. But despite the potential that
nanotechnology holds, scientists, environmentalists, and policy experts around the
world are concerned about its unknown risks.
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/nov/policy/rcnanoregs.html
November 14, 2007
Nanotechnology use in food applications: a
scientific and regulatory challenge
The growing use of nanotechnology in food applications poses new challenges for
both science and regulation in Europe’s food and nutrition market, an industry expert
has said.
EAS-Italy nutritional product regulatory affairs manager Stefanie Geiser said that as
the nanotechnology market continues to grow regulators and scientists are actively
working to find regulatory and risk assessment models to embrace its research and
safety aspects.
The first nano-food contact material (a silicon dioxide coating) has already been
approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) this year, and a second,
titanium nitride, is under review. However, EFSA has said that it will not be able to
meet the European Commission’s mandate for a complete generic risk assessment
of nanotechnology by 31 March 2008, because of the vast range of existing
nanomaterials with completely divergent physical/chemical properties and safety
profiles.
http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=19897&zone
id=2
November 15, 2007
EFSA begins assessment on nanotechnology
The growth and complexity of nanotechnology in food applications poses new
challenges for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which will meet next week
to begin discussions on its regulation and risk assessment.
The European Commission has issued a mandate for a complete evaluation of
nanotechnology by 31 March 2008 but, because of the vast range of existing
nanomaterials with differing properties and safety profiles, EFSA has said it will not
be able to meet this deadline.
Instead, it has proposed to issue an initial scientific opinion by next summer, and
plans to set up a working group of 10 to 15 member state scientific experts to build
on existing opinions of scientific advisory bodies and third countries.
http://foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=81378
November 18, 2007
Op-Ed: New products: Nanotechnology’s impact will
be enormous
By Kenneth D. Williamson
Nanotechnology is on the public tongue, often with accounts of new products or new
techniques which may make us more comfortable, richer or happier.
The uniqueness of nano is its very small size, at the level of atoms or small
molecules. These tiny particles are in unusual conditions, so that their physical and
chemical properties are different than normal, and often where mysterious “quantum
effects” are significant.
These phenomena can be harnessed to provide new and better products of great
variety: improved sunburn lotion, better tennis racquets, more comfortable clothing,
better building materials, gizmos for our cars and appliances, smaller and more
powerful computers, and improved communications, even improved cryptography for
coding and spying. Additionally, new nano medical techniques promise to
revolutionize both diagnosis and treatment of patients.
http://wvgazette.com/section/Opinion/2007111710
November 19, 2007
Market for Nanotech Products Expected to Be
$1.5T in 2017
…Although the technology has been around for decades — Gore-Tex is a
nanotechnology — it wasn’t until the U.S. government established the National
Nanotechnology Initiative in 2001 to support research that it began attracting
widespread public attention.
Today, nanotechnology is used to make sunscreens more effective, car bumpers
stronger and fabrics stain repellent. In the future, nanotechnology could help
surgeons detect tumors with greater precision and keep soldiers from entering
battlefields where toxins have been released.
…Economists predict a $1.5 trillion global market for nanotech products in 10 years.
Nanotechnology could create as many as 2 million U.S. jobs by 2015.
http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=95529294.1566226.1556269.526
3902.20458702.957&aID2=119704
November 15, 2007
Niche Manufacturing: Nanotechnology Thinks Big
Australian manufacturing, from the perspective of the national science body, CSIRO,
remains critical to the national economy. This is why CSIRO continues to invest
considerable time, resources and belief in its future.
A cornerstone is CSIRO’s research into nanotechnology, an exciting new field in which
Australian companies have the chance to establish a global footing. It is not a
panacea, nor of interest to every company, but because it is new-generation
technology it brims with opportunities for science and industry to explore. Central to
this has been the creation, with Australian Government backing, of a new national
research initiative for manufacturing – the Niche Manufacturing Flagship – with a
focus on nanotechnology.
…However, she is also quick to keep the task ahead in perspective: “There are a
number of reports about the potential size of this market, and it’s often talked of in
terms of trillions of dollars. But when and how we might see that sort of market
evolve is unknown.”
For researchers and industries that have begun to explore nanotechnology it is a little
like the discovery of electricity generation. The technology looms as something quite
extraordinary, but the full breadth of its application has to be intensively researched.
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20071511-16593.html
November 19, 2007
First examples for nanotechnology risk framework
Back in February we reported that Environmental Defense and DuPont have been
working together to develop a nanotechnology risk framework for the responsible
development, production, use and disposal of nanoscale materials (Nanotechnology
risk framework by Environmental Defense and DuPont). One of the main goals of
developing this framework has been to do so in an open, transparent manner with
other groups, companies and institutions who are also working to assess the
potential risks and benefits of nanomaterials. Since then, DuPont conducted three
demonstration projects in order to evaluate the comprehensiveness, practicality, and
flexibility of the Framework. The three nanomaterials under consideration differed in
terms of composition, structure, intended application, stage of development, and
DuPont's role in the development, evaluation, or potential use of the material.
http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=3347.php
November 14, 2007
How About an X Prize for Green Nanotechnology?
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Seeks
Partners
More and more chemists, engineers, researchers, and developers are engaging in
the area of "green nanotechnology". Unfortunately, the "greening" of nanotechnology
has received very little attention from policymakers, and it receives only a small
fraction of the total nanotechnology research and development investment. "Green
nano" should become the rallying cry for the socially responsible investment (SRI)
community and a logical target for the growing number of investors in "clean tech."
One way to capitalize on the promise of green nano and catalyze this advancement is
through a prize that recognizes achievements and stimulates innovation in green
nanotechnology. We hope that others will join us in this important endeavor as we
begin the stakeholder process to develop, launch, and sustain a green nano award.
http://www.nanotech-now.com/columns/?article=134
The trademarks and logos identified in this publication are the property of their
respective owners. The views presented by the selection and arrangement of
materials here do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation of
The Regents of the University of California.
To be removed from this email list, please reply to valerie@cns.ucsb.edu