Nanotechnology Project

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Public Perceptions

Events

  • events/archive September 29, 2009 Nanotechnology, Synthetic Biology, and Biofuels: What does the 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. For the fourth year in a row, Hart Research and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies conducted a representative national telephone survey on public awareness of nanotechnology, and for the second year in a row the public was also asked about synthetic biology.
  • events/archive September 23, 2009 Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation: Securing the Promise of Nanotechnologies Nanotechnology will impact our lives on a global scale. Over the past year experts from the London School of Economics, Chatham House, Environmental Law Institute and the Project have been examining issues of transatlantic regulatory cooperation.
  • events/archive April 28, 2009 Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was founded, automobiles ran on leaded gasoline without catalytic converters. A landmark report by J. Clarence Davies, Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology, describes how existing health and safety agencies are unable to cope with the risk assessment, standard setting and oversight challenges of 21st century technology. video
  • events/archive March 25, 2009 Synthetic Biology: The Next Biotech Revolution Is Brewing Early applications of synthetic biology may be adequately addressed by the existing regulatory framework for biotechnology, but further advances in this emerging field are likely to create much greater challenges for the U.S. government, according to a new report authored by Michael Rodemeyer of the University of Virginia. video
  • events/archive January 14, 2009 Nanotech and Your Daily Vitamins Historically, the regulation of dietary supplements has been a significant challenge for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the fact that some of these products are now being manufactured using nanotechnology creates an additional layer of complexity. Is FDA equipped to meet the emerging regulatory challenge of dietary supplements that use engineered nanomaterials? video
  • events/archive January 8, 2009 Synthetic Biology: Is Ethics a Showstopper? Synthetic biology promises to enable cheap, lifesaving new drugs to treat the 350-500 million people who suffer from malaria, and to create innovative biofuels that can help solve the world’s energy problems. But are synthetic biologists playing God? Will synthetic biology’s expected products and profits be stymied by policymakers and the public? Join us and explore these unresolved questions with Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • events/archive November 14, 2008 Synthetic Biology: Coming up Fast! Synthetic biology is being touted by scientists and venture capitalists as “the next big thing.” Researchers claim to be on the brink of creating artificial life in a laboratory and making the world’s first synthetic microbes. But will the promises and pitfalls of synthetic biology catch governments, ethicists, biosafety and biosecurity experts, and the public by surprise? video
  • events/archive September 30, 2008 Nanotechnology? Synthetic Biology? Hey, What’s That? Nanotechnology and synthetic biology are two of the most exciting fields in science. They are the focus of venture capitalists, government and university laboratories, major corporations, and startup companies. But how much have Americans heard about these two fields that promise to change virtually every aspect of their lives—from sources of energy, to drugs and health care, and even weapons? video
  • events/archive July 23, 2008 Nanotechnology and Oversight: An Agenda for the New Administration Few domestic policy areas that the new administration must address will have greater long-range consequences than nanotechnology — a new technology that has been compared with the industrial revolution in terms of its impact on society. If the right decisions are made, nanotechnology will bring vast improvements to almost every area of daily living. If the wrong decisions are made, the American economy, human health and the environment will suffer.
  • events/archive June 5, 2008 *POSTPONED - Small is Beautiful: A European View of Nanotech Cosmetics and Safety BusinessWeek magazine claims the $60 billion international beauty products industry is “making a big bet on nanotech.” Today, nearly a hundred cosmetics are in the Project’s online inventory of consumer products. How does a company like Paris-based cosmetics leader L’Oreal—which ranks No. 6 among nanotechnology patent holders in the U.S.— apply “The Precautionary Principle” to nanotechnology cosmetic products?
  • events/archive April 2, 2008 New Nanotechnology Television Series Does “Sweat the Small Stuff” The Project and National Science Foundation will host the Washington, DC, premiere event for the television series “Nanotechnology: The Power of Small”. The series’ three programs explore critical questions about nanotechnology’s potential impact on privacy, the environment and human health and will include remarks by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a co-chair of the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus.
  • events/archive October 23, 2007 Join “Consumers Talk Nano” What are the possible risks and benefits of nanotechnology and consumer products?
  • events/archive September 25, 2007 Nanotechnology: What’s That? Nanoscience and nanotechnology are two of the hottest fields in research, investment, and manufacturing. But how many Americans know what nanotechnology is? Does the U.S. public feel that the potential benefits of nanotechnology will outweigh potential risks? video
  • events/archive June 11, 2007 Perspectives on Nanotechnology: Business, Government and Public Health Scientists have hailed nanotechnology as the next great scientific revolution, poised to create revolutionary changes in the daily lives of people worldwide. At an event hosted by the Project at the Dirksen Senate Office building, a panel of experts offered different perspectives on the budding potential of nanotechnology, but also cautioned that exploiting the unpredictable properties materials exhibit at the nanoscale may have as much potential to harm as to help. video
  • events/archive December 13, 2006 Nanotechnology: The Story Behind the Headlines Little science is big news, or is it? Does the media tend to hype nanotechnology, or neglect it? Do newspaper headlines focus more on nanotechnology’s risks than its benefits? How do journalists write stories on a technology about which most Americans know next to nothing and that is invisible to the human eye? video