NANO Magazine Lite August 2010

ISSUE NINETEEN AUGUST 2010

Lite

ISSN 1757-2517

THE MAGAZINE FOR SMALL SCIENCE

Featuring extracts from NANO Magazine Issue 19: Nanotechnology for Sustainability across the board Ethics and Nanotechnology How society determines the way it adopts technology

The Editorial Find out about the exciting range of articles in Issue 19 Events Calendar The best upcoming nanotechnology conferences and events News The latest research news from the nanotech world Issue 19 also features:

Nanomaterials for Architects and Architecture Architects need to learn more about nano to design sustainably

Discovering Nanotech’s Potential One architectural practice is developing their own nanoproducts

Biomimetics – Turning Nature’s Successes into Gold After 3.8 billion years, Mother Nature can teach us a thing or two

Interview: George Whitesides, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard Elder statesman of nanotechnology is turning his attention to healthcare for the world’s poor

Country Profile: Brazil Pursuing industrial innovation through nanotechnology

Nano – Maintaining Independence for an Ageing Population Offering a route to less intense intervention by healthcare professionals

PLUS: THE NANOYOU PROJECT: REACHING OUT TO SCHOOLS AND INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION

Read our favourite articles FREE at www.nanomagazine.co.uk

Take a closer look at magazine

nano

Read articles from Issue 16 - FREE ONLINE

Cantilever nanosensors – a breakthrough in the fight against drug-resistant infectious diseases Read what’s driving the development of new Technologies to combat hospital ‘superbugs’.

PLUS... Interview with Peter Singer Why nanotechnology should be for the benefit of the many, not the few.

Read articles from Issue 17 - FREE at www.nanomagazine.co.uk

Clean coal - an oxymoron, or a nanoreality?

PLUS... Designing Your Meal...

One Atom at a Time!

Read about how the whole field of clean coal technologies has become a national research and development priority in Australia, China, USA and the EU.

If only you knew what was involved in the making of your next meal!

Read articles from Issue 18 - FREE at www.nanomagazine.co.uk

Carbon Nanomaterials for Transport Read how carbon nanotubes, nanofibres and graphene are becoming increasingly important in many transport applications including aerospace, automotive, marine and rail.

PLUS...

Prizewinning nanoparticlebased ‘sharkskin’ for aeroplanes, ships and wind energy plants.

002 www.nanomagazine.co.uk to read these articles - and more - FREE! Visit

In this month's full issue of NANO

nano Issue 19, August 2010 Managing Director: Ottilia Saxl ottilia.saxl@nanomagazine.co.uk Assistant Editor: Fraser Shand fraser.shand@nanomagazine.co.uk Marketing: Jana Perlet jana.perlet@nanomagazine.co.uk Sales: Chris Arnold chris.arnold@nanomagazine.co.uk Design: Different Voice www.differentvoice.co.uk Website design: Tobias Haag tobias.haag@nanomagazine.co.uk Sales Liaison Manager: Scott McMillan scott.mcmillan@nanomagazine.co.uk Contact Print and Online Advertising: chris.arnold@nanomagazine.co.uk Subscriptions: scott.mcmillan@nanomagazine.co.uk Contributors Sylvia Leydecker, 100% interior; Martina Decker and Peter Yeadon, Decker Yeadon; Bharat Bhusan, Ohio State University; José d'Albuquerque e Castro, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Marc Pavlopoulos, CEA-Larsim; Yoel Rothschild and Dov Kipperman, ORT Israel; Ottilia Saxl, NANO Magazine; Amarnath Maitra, University of Delhi. ©2010 ION Publishing Ltd 6 The Alpha Centre, Stirling University Innovation Park Stirling FK9 4NF Scotland UK

013

Article contributions to NANO magazine come from a range of sources and while we always strive to ensure accuracy in reporting, NANO accepts no responsibility for inaccuracies that may arise. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of NANO magazine or IoN Publishing Ltd.

FEATURES Nanomaterials for Architects and Architecture ........................................012 Nano-aware architects are needed to design the sustainable buildings of the future.

Finding Nanotech’s Potential for architecture .........................................016 The Decker Yeadon agency isn’t waiting for new nanotechnology products – they are developing their own.

Biomimetics – Turning Nature’s Successes into Gold ..........................020 3.8 billion years in perfecting its products?

Bharat Bhusan shows that Mother Nature provides the best solutions.

INTERVIEW George Whitesides, Professor of Chemistry at Harvard .........................027 Multifaceted scientific genius, entrepreneur, and one of nanotechnology’s elder statesmen, is turning his attention to almost zero cost healthcare for the world’s poor.

COUNTRY PROFILE Brazil .....................................................025 José d’Albuquerque e Castro writes how Brazil is accelerating its pursuit of innovation through nanotechnology.

020

016 EDUCATION NANOYOU ............................................032 The leaders of an EU-project describe how to inspire the next generation through games, role playing and multimedia.

ETHICS Clarifying the Ethical Questions on Nanotechnology ..................................036 Marc Pavlopoulos sheds light on the sometimes surprising ways we adopt new technologies. What are the ethical questions we really should be asking?

MEDICINE Nanotechnology – Cost and Efficiency Benefits for an Ageing Population 040 Ottilia Saxl looks at what the ageing population needs, and how nanotechnology can deliver independence for longer.

OPINION

034 Does Nanomedicine Really Belong to the Field of Nanotechnology? ..........034 Amarnath Maitra argues that nanomedicine belongs to cell biology as nanotechnology deals only with entities dominated by surface atoms.

REGULARS Editorial.................................................004 Events ....................................................006 What’s new in nano .............................008 Nanoart..................................................043

L IA R ITO D E

Nanotechnology – making sustainability possible?

Nanotechnology is no longer a technology-in-waiting. It is already ubiquitous in its reach and effect. In this issue of NANO magazine, we look at many applications of nanotechnology to our everyday lives, and its promise for the future. For example, nanotechnology has great potential for architecture, and it is recognised that buildings are a major contributor to global warming. It is argued that if architects are better informed about Ottilia Saxl, Director, NANO Magazine nanotechnology and prepared to design-in innovative materials to make buildings more sustainable, this will have an immediate and beneficial effect. One architecture practice is already so committed to nanotechnology, the partners are even developing their own nanomaterials, to suit specific architectural applications.

Another theme this issue is inspiration from nature. Smart companies and researchers are looking at the natural world for a treasure trove of ideas that can form the basis of innovative new products and processes, and several exciting possibilities are explored in an article by a world expert in the field of biomimetics.

Nano risk and toxicology are favourite media subjects, but perhaps more importantly, how society perceives the benefits of nanotechnology will be critical to influencing its acceptance. What ethical questions should we really be asking, and are these are different for nanotechnology, as opposed to any new technology? A problem that affects us all is the growing costs of providing for an ageing population. Nanotechnology can offer ways to help older people retain the use of their faculties, and more importantly, their independence, for longer, while reducing the costs borne by the State. Healthcare, but for the world’s poor, is also a theme uppermost in the mind of George Whitesides, subject of the interview this month. Interestingly, what works

for the poor also works in favour of the rich, and many lessons can be learned. Finally, informing the general public is the key to acceptance of a technology, and the nanocommunity has not succeeded very well in this sphere. However, a far-sighted EUfunded project, NANOYOU, is reaching out to schools across Europe, and providing teachers and pupils with exciting teaching materials, so, if this generation isn’t particularly well-informed, the next one will be!

Nanotechnology in architecture is addressed compellingly by Sylvia Leydecker in this issue. She states that innovation-driven materials and products are critical in achieving green construction, which is now at the forefront of much architectural debate.

Ms Leydecker believes that nanomaterials have a huge potential in this area, which is yet to be realised, as architects have not yet engaged fully with what is available. As a basic principle, she call for architects, planners and project developers to learn

and understand the possibilities offered by nanotech, if they are to meaningfully address sustainability in their work.

Following on from a plea that architects become more acquainted with nanotechnology, the Decker Yeadon agency in New York has come up with new concepts based on nanotechnology that could shape the future of homes and offices.

They are so convinced by its benefits that they have just invested in making Buckypaper, a new material which has an electrically conductive coating of multiwalled nanotubes. As half of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. can be attributed to buildings, it is hoped that this new material will reduce cooling-costs and green house gas emissions in hot climates. Other nano-based ideas for sustainable buildings are discussed, including low power smart devices that would help control ambient temperatures.

◊nano

In a world where nanotechnology products are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, the search for new and better nano-based products continues. Mother Nature has evolved an answer to many problems over the 3.8 billion years since life is estimated to have first appeared on earth. By gaining an understanding of how the natural world works, we can imitate nature to produce new and better materials, devices and processes.

The emphasis on nanoscience and nanotechnology since the early 1990s has provided a significant impetus in mimicking nature, using nanofabrication techniques for commercial applications. It is estimated that the 100 most important products based on biomimetics have generated about US $1.5 billion over 2005-2008, and annual sales and product diversity are expected to continue to increase dramatically. Bharat Bhusan takes us on a whistle stop tour of the natural world and some of its attributes that are leading to new commercial products.

The ethical debate on nanotechnology is an exciting one, which poses many complex questions - such as how we perceive nature, as opposed to artefact; the possible redefinition of the norms of health and disease; the likelihood of Transhumanism (which forecasts that nanotechnology will radically transform our world, and even ourselves); questions such as the fair distribution of the benefits of nanotechnology; and the nature and extent of scientists’ responsibility for the consequences of technological innovations. Marc Pavlopoulos explores how we can ask the right questions, and discusses the surprising ways in which society adopts a new technology.

The subject of this month’s interview is Harvard Professor George Whitesides.

Professor Whitesides is not only successful as an academic, but is also named on over 50 patents. A lifetime of knowledge and experience has led him to a profound understanding of what society needs from science. His view is that, where science thrives on complexity, and unexpected outcomes, society needs simplicity allied to function, and at low cost. And once given the ‘tools’ that meet this definition, Professor Whitesides predicts “People will build stuff you cannot begin to imagine”. At present, one of his interests focuses on the delivery of healthcare in the developing world, at close to zero cost. These low cost solutions paradoxically also represent major opportunities in combating the spiralling and unsustainable costs of healthcare in the developed world.

Nanoscience and nanotechnologies are widely seen as having huge potential to bring benefits to many areas of research and application, and are attracting rapidly increasing investments from Governments and from businesses in many parts of the world. At the same time, it is recognized that their application may raise new challenges in the safety, regulatory or ethical domains that will require societal debate. Nanotechnologists are often criticised for their lack of interest or inability to communicate the issues around nanotechnology to the general public. One way to improve understanding is by engaging young people in dialogue about its ethical, legal and social aspects.

NANOYOU (Nano for Youth) is a project

funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme that aims to achieve this through an appealing variety of media, games, role playing and other interactions.

The country profile this month is Brazil. In the last few decades, many South American countries have sloughed off their old images of corruption and poverty, and replaced them with a go-ahead, entrepreneurial culture and an increasingly fairer distribution of wealth and opportunity. Brazil may have been a little later in getting to grips with the potential of nanotechnology, but investment and strong policies linking science and industry are reaping the benefits. José d’Albuquerque e Castro who has been involved in nanotechnology in Brazil, both from within University and Government, gives an all-round perspective on the state of the technology and where it is headed.

The cost of supporting the needs of an ageing population is growing, with longer life expectancies. This month’s article on nanomedicine by Ottilia Saxl, explores the broader issues of how nanotechnology can provide important benefits to an ageing population, in terms of prolonging independence and quality of life for as long as possible, while reducing costs.

She discusses how nanotechnology research is leading to a range of medical interventions that can extend the use of faculties and senses for longer, and also technological advances that can reduce dependency on expensive healthcare professionals. n

For information on all the content of past issues visit bit.ly/nanobackissues

S NT E EV

Events Calendar EVERY MONTH WE HIGHLIGHT THE LEADING CONFERENCES AND SUMMITS WHERE INDUSTRY EXPERTS, ACADEMICS AND POLICY MAKERS CONVENE. August 20 – August 22 International Nanoscience Conference (INASCON 2010), Baarlo, The Netherlands The aim of the conference is to focus on the students in contrast to most conferences where it is the more established researches that are focused upon. A criterion for European innovation in the field of nanotechnology in the future will without a doubt be teamwork between European Universities. To facilitate this teamwork we feel that it is essential to start networking between students as early as possible. www.inascon.eu August 29 – September 2 Commercialization of Micro-Nano Systems Conference (COMS 2010), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA COMS brings together leaders from all over the world and every sector of industry. From high tech companies, national labs, regional development and government agencies, investment and consulting groups, market researchers, educators and students; all sharing, learning and creating partnerships in an open interactive setting. This is a powerful environment focused on accelerating commercialization activity among established and emerging micro and nano businesses. www.mancef-coms2010.org September 12-15 3rd International conference on Advanced Nano Materials (ANM 2010), Morocco The aim of the conference is to bring together worldwide leading experts of nano technology for the exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge. Therefore, the conference will provide a unique forum convening researchers, scientists and engineers from industry, research laboratories and academia to address state-of-the-art developments in all aspects of Nanotechnology. www.anm2010.nanoac.org September 13-17 X International Conference on Nanostructured Materials (NANO2010), Rome, Italy The X international Conference on nanostructured Materials (NANO) is the highest level international Conference designed to bring together the international communitity of scientists and engineers interested in recent developments on nanostructured materials in many different fields. It will foster the exchange of ideas, techniques, experiments and applications in this exciting and rapidly developing field. www.nano2010.mlib.cnr.it/cms September 19-23 Adriatic School on Nanoscience, Dubrovnic, Croatia The aim of the first School is to provide young scientists, primarily PhD students working in the nanosciences, with a systematic overview of modern nanoscience through selected contributions from the field's most relevant experts. Beyond that, it is intended to establish ASON as an international forum for the growing community of young scientists and engineers working in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this manner ASON is conceived to flexibly adjust to encompass the most recent advances and developments in these rapidly evolving disciplines, including related characterisation techniques and applications. www.rathanea.hr/ason-1 September 19 – 24 International Microscopy Congress (IMC17), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The event for an update on the challenges at the frontiers of applied scientific research, bringing together, through all forms of microscopy, advances on Nanotechnologies and applications, Medicine and health, Energy conversion, Environmental protection, and much more. www.imc-17.com

September 21 Nanotechnology Innovations For High Performance Motorsport, Cranfield University, UK With 30% of sales revenue being spent on innovation within the motorsport industry and a list of potential applications for nano scale techniques and products within the motorsport sector continuing to grow, this exclusive event, hosted by CEMMNT, will explore the challenges and benefits of applying the innovations in nanotechnology to this highly competitive and highly innovative sector.

This event is FREE to attend. Contact George Guildford at george.guildford@cemmnt.co.uk www.cemmnt.co.uk/news.php/ high-performance-motorsport-event October 20-22 NanotechItaly 2010, Venice, Italy The aim of the conference is to give a comprehensive picture of nanotechnology activity, perspectives and needs in Italy; Present the latest developments and trends at world level about research, applications and governance; Foster a debate amongst representatives of industry, public research, the financial community and governmental bodies to promote the development of nanotechnologies and cooperation. www.nanotechitaly.it October 19-21 MATERIALICA 2010- Product Engineering in Motion, Munich, Germany Europe’s top event for material-driven and provider-oriented product innovations focussing on important sectors of engineering and materials such as composites, lightweight metal design, high performance and functional ceramics and surface- and nanotechnology. The sophisticated visitor and exhibitor structure has had a great share in implementing innovative technology solutions within core industries like automotive, aerospace, engineering, medical engineering and sports and consumer goods. www.materialica.com October 23-28 Nanomedicine: Reality Now and Soon, ESF-UB Conference, Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain The application of nanotechnology will have a major influence in many fields of medicine. Novel nano-based materials appear in drug delivery systems, diagnostics, imaging, biosensing, and medical materials and devices. This conference aims to provide detailed understanding and discuss the clinical utility of those areas of nanomedicine which are close to application or already clinically applied/on the market. www.esf.org/activities/esf-conferences/details/2010/ confdetail329.html?conf=329&year=2010 October 25-29 Iran Nano, Tehran, Iran The goals of the Iran Nano conference include: discovering research and industrial potentials in the field of nanotechnology and introducing them to the market; fostering research-industry linkages and collaborations in the field of nanotechnology; providing nanotechnology companies with the opportunity to participate in international markets and raising public knowledge on nanotechnology. festival.nano.ir

Keep up-to-date on the latest and best nano-events at bit.ly/nanoevents

â—Šnano November 16-18 NANOSAFE 2010, Grenoble, France The objectives of the conference will be to make available the major progresses and future trends in the domain of the safe production and use of nanomaterials. Topics include Exposure assessment, Characterization, Detection and Monitoring, Nanomaterials life cycle, Toxicology and Environmental impact. www.nanosafe.org November 19-21 International Conference on Nanotechnology (Nanotech India 2010), Kerala, India This conference is aimed at pulling together industry leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors to create a platform for discussion on the issues and opportunities that are vital in commercializing Nanotech innovations. It is no wonder then that this conference has emerged as the premier nanotechnology research and business event in India. www.nanotechindia.in/nano210.php December 8-9 Technology World in partnership with UK NanoForum, London, UK Technology World and UK NanoForum have joined together for 2010 to bring you the only event where UK science and technology excellence meets face to face with senior international business professionals.

This joint event will showcase over 200 industry and academic exhibitors and host around 2000 senior business decision makers from over 25 countries. Connect with innovators, manufacturers, scientists and service providers and take advantage of the unique business partnering opportunities. www.technologyworld.uk.com

To advertise your event here, please contact: scott.mcmillan@nanomagazine.co.uk

◊nano

Nanotechnology means dentists could bring teeth back to life cientists are reporting an advance toward the next big treatment revolution in dentistry – the era in which root canal therapy brings diseased teeth back to life, rather than leaving a “non-vital” or dead tooth in the mouth. In a report in the monthly journal ACS Nano, they describe a first-of-itskind, nano-sized dental film that shows early promise for achieving this longsought goal (“Nanostructured Assemblies for Dental Application”).

S

Nadia Benkirane-Jessel and colleagues note that root canal procedures help prevent tooth loss in millions of people each year. During the procedure, a dentist removes the painful, inflamed pulp, the soft tissue inside the diseased or injured tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels.

Regenerative endodontics, the development and delivery of tissues to replace diseased or damaged dental pulp, has the potential to provide a revolutionary alternative to pulp removal.

The scientists are reporting development of a multilayered, nanosized film – only 1/50,000th the thickness of a human hair containing a substance that could help regenerate dental pulp.

Previous studies show that the substance, called alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone, or alpha-MSH, has antiinflammatory properties. The scientists showed in laboratory tests alpha-MSH combined with a widely-used polymer

produced a material that fights inflammation in dental pulp fibroblasts.

Fibroblasts are the main type of cell found in dental pulp. Nano-films containing alphaMSH also increased the number of these cells. This could help revitalize damaged teeth and reduce the need for a root canal procedure, the scientists suggest. n

Drinks leave a trail of crumbs that could be used to track people’s movement he bottled water, soda pop, or micro brew-beer that you drank in Pittsburgh, Dallas, Denver or 30 other American cities contains a natural chemical imprint related to geographic location. When you consume these beverage you may leave a chemical imprint in your hair that could be used to track your travels over time, a new study suggests.

T

The findings, believed to be the first concerted effort to describe the use of beverages as a potential tool to investigate the geographic location of people, appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (“Links between Purchase Location and Stable Isotope Ratios of Bottled Water, Soda, and Beer in the United States”).

Lesley Chesson and colleagues explain that the body removes hydrogen and oxygen atoms from water (H2O), and beverages containing water, and incorporates them into proteins, including the protein in hair.

Hydrogen and oxygen exist in different forms, or isotopes. The proportions of those isotopes vary in a predictable way geographically, with higher values in lowlatitude, low-elevation, or coastal regions, for instance, and lower values elsewhere. Since manufacturers usually use local or regional water sources in producing beverages, isotope patterns in hair could serve as a chemical “fingerprint” to pinpoint the geographic region where a person has been.

cities and found that patterns in the beverages generally matched those already known for the tap water. They noted that the isotope pattern in beverages tends to vary from city to city in ways that give cities in different regions characteristic “iso-signatures.” A person who drinks a beer or soda in Denver, Des Moines, or Dallas, for instance, consumes a different isotope signature than a person in Las Cruces, Las Vegas, or Laramie. The finding may help trace the origin of drinks or help criminal investigators identify the geographic travels of crime suspects and other individuals through analysis of hair strands, the study suggests. n Source: American Chemical Society

The scientists analyzed isotope patterns in bottled water, soda pop, and beer from 33

Get the latest nano news straight to your RSS reader at bit.ly/nanorss

E UR T A FE

A Guide to Clarifying Ethical Questions on Nanotechnology Marc Pavlopoulos, CEA-Larsim and ObservatoryNano ONE AREA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY WHERE ETHICAL CONCERNS SEEM OUT OF PLACE IS NANOMEDICINE. A CURE FOR CANCER SEEMS MORE AND MORE WITHIN OUR REACH; HOW CAN SUCH PROSPECTS BE ETHICALLY QUESTIONED?

hile discussions and media coverage often focus exclusively on toxicology and risk assessment, the ethical debate on nanotechnology poses a vast array of questions. These could include issues such as our concept of nature, as opposed to artefact; the possible redefinition of our norms of health and disease; nanoICTinduced modifications in all aspects of communication; the validity of human dignity in relation to technological development; the likelihood of future prophesies such as Transhumanism (which forecasts that nanotechnology will radically transform our world, and even ourselves); the question of a fair distribution of the benefits of nanotechnology; and the nature and extent of the responsibility of scientists for the consequences of technological innovations. This is a large and complex debate, and it very difficult to sort the right questions out from bogus and superficial ones; and it is unclear whether these questions are specific to nanotechnology or common to other emerging technologies.

W

Is Nanotechnology Doomed because it Artificializes Everything?

The first step is to dispel bogus questions.

Take the intuitive difference we tend to make between natural and artificial. Most of us

◊nano

believe that what is natural is wholesome, genuine and good for us, while artificial products are likely to be dangerous, hazardous and generally suspicious. But, according to the scientific picture of nature, this contrast does not make sense: if Nature is whatever follows the laws of physics, then every thing is natural - even artefacts! For artefacts, too, obey the laws of physics. If one really wants to understand the opposition between Nature and Artefact, one has to go deep into history and philosophy, back to Aristotle’s notion of the natural, as the character of what moves by itself, as opposed to artefact, which is set into motion externally.

What does this talk of nature and Aristotle have to do with the debate on nanotechnology? Nanotechnology may blur the distinction between nature and artefact.

Nanotechnology-enabled devices can enter the bodies of living creatures, and interact with their components at the nanoscale, to the point where it may becomes impossible to differentiate behaviour at the macroscopic scale, according to whether it is caused by the artificial devices, or by the “natural” functioning of the body itself.

We sometimes want to apply our old concepts to realities that do not support them anymore. The very idea of something

natural, developing by itself and autonomously, as opposed to artificial, programmed from the outside, is doomed by the development of nanotechnology, and is therefore unsettling. We need concepts other than “natural” and “artificial” to appraise and assess this development.

Will Nanomedicine change Health?

The ethics of technology are not about approving or regretting the development of a technology: the technology is with us anyway, and ethics takes this as fact. Rather, the ethics is about understanding how the introduction of a new technology changes us, as individuals as well as a society, and then trying to orient and influence these changes for the better.

One area of nanotechnology where ethical concerns seem out of place is nanomedicine.

A cure for cancer seems more and more within our reach; nanomedicine also promises new, cheap pharmaceuticals which could be of great help for developing countries. How can such prospects be ethically questioned?

Again, the point of the ethics of technology is not to dispute that curing cancer and providing cheap pharmaceuticals to poor countries are good. Rather, regardless of whether the new tools and methods of nanomedicine are beneficial to us, we should

look at the changes these tools and methods will induce in our behaviour and thinking about our health. Thanks to bio-sensors and lab-on-a-chip, nanomedicine will make it easier and easier to diagnose disease before the symptoms even occur, and medicine will increasingly become a science of probabilities.

This change asks new questions, such as: how early will the probable development of a disease need to be diagnosed in order to trigger preventive treatment? Should the decision to initiate treatment be left to doctors?

Or should each patient be able to make her/his own choice? If the former, nanomedicine may lead to a return to a paternalistic type of medicine; if the latter (which is more likely in liberal societies such as ours) then health and disease as such will tend to become a matter of individual beliefs and definitions.

Imagine that Jane and Judy independently learn that they each have a 40% chance of developing breast cancer within the next 5 years. At first Jane becomes quite panicked; then she reflects that breast cancer treatment has recently considerably progressed, and that she still has 60% chance not to develop the disease: so she decides to do nothing. But Judy is concerned, reflects that a long-lasting disease within the next 5 years will be

For more articles on ethics visit nanomagazine.co.uk

detrimental to her career, that she is still attractive to men but doesn’t plan to seduce anyone but her husband, and so decides to go for immediate surgery.

Traditionally, health is conceive as a state of organic well-functioning; but when Jane and Judy deliberate about going or not going for treatment, they consider, not simply their organic functioning, but their future wellbeing as a whole. As well-being is a very subjective notion, every person is likely to come up with a different answer to an identical objective diagnosis.

Such little stories are likely to multiply in the foreseeable future. It is likely that nanomedicine will lead to an explosion in preventive medicine and to the conflation of the norm of organic well-functioning with that of personal well-being. The consequence should be an individualization of the norms of health. Needless to say, this will have momentous consequences for European public health insurances, which have been based on a quite negative vision of health as the “absence of disease”, since WWII.

have very real effects. In their 2002 report from the US National Science Foundation, Roco and Bainbridge listed the benefits to be expected from nanotechnology, Nanoprophecies and Hype predicting a new golden age: The case of nanomedicine illustrates that nanotechnology is likely to transform our ways “Technological convergence could become the framework for human convergence. The of life, beliefs and norms. Some even venture that nanotechnology will transform not only the twenty-first century could end in world peace, way we live and think, but what we are. This is universal prosperity, and evolution to a higher level of compassion and the prophecy upheld by Transhumanism, which states “Humanity stands to be profoundly accomplishment. It is hard to find the right metaphor to see a century into the future, but affected by science and technology in the it may be that humanity would become like a future. [Transhumanism] envisions the single, distributed and interconnected possibility of broadening human potential by “brain”, based in new core pathways of overcoming ageing, cognitive shortcomings, society.” Such statements seem to be sheer involuntary suffering, and our confinement to dreams but they were instrumental in planet Earth”. For the human species as a convincing the US government and whole, transhumanists support human Congress to further fund the National enhancement as a way to progressively Nanotechnology Initiative at its inception. generate a new species.

Between 2002 and 2005, the NNI budget more than doubled – a quite unusual What should we think of such radical and increase for a publicly funded research marvellous forecasts? Since the invention of the wheel, technology has always transformed organization. The use of visionary language both Man and the world around him; and so to attract public attention is called hype. will nanotechnology. This is no surprise.

Contrary to a certain image of science as The claim of a “radical” change, a change “morally neutral”, scientists do have their own, never seen before, is historically professional ethics. These ethics guide unwarranted: each and every significant scientists in their work, exchanges and technological progress has brought about a communication with one another. Tenets of change “never seen before”, and was these scientific ethics are modesty, honesty, largely unpredictable. This is no novelty! objectivity, truth… all values quite antagonist to hype. How then should the scientist reply to However, whether right or wrong, hype, should he support it, ignore it or try to Transhumanist visions do not only fire our refute it? On one hand, researchers are imagination about nanotechnology; they

tempted to use positive and negative hype strategies (e.g. by overemphasizing toxicological risks) to get attention or to attract funding to their research. What are the consequences of this use of hype for society and for the research community? On the other hand, can the scientist repel hype altogether, at a time when research is more and more oriented towards industrial applications, and financed accordingly? There are several points of conflict between the needs of industrial development and those of science.

The attitude towards hype is one of them.

Technology, our Modern Magic?

A recent European report on the public perception of nanotech has shown that even after being given information about nanotechnology, laypeople tend to react by invoking ancient narratives and myths, such as Pandora’s box or the tale of the Sorcerer’s apprentice. There are many such examples. Why is the latest technology so often appraised through the prism of timeworn images, tales and sayings?

Unless they fall within our professional area of expertise, most of us don’t know how technological devices work. We approach them as if they were black boxes: we know the input we feed into them (say, pressing such-and-such a button) and we expect a given output (taking a photograph or making a phone call); but we don’t have a faintest clue as to what happens inside the device between input and output. We feel powerless,

More interested in nanomedicine? Just visit nanomagazine.co.uk and search for medicine

FE AT UR E

fills in the void of ignorance, and paves the way to imagination and hope. This is the root reason why, in our societies, nanotechnology is loaded with symbolic expectations and imaginary powers.

The only way to dispel magical and eschatological visions of nanotechnology is through education. But education always has to start with what students know and think.

Although they typically know nothing about the scientific content of nanotechnology, laypeople tend to have a lot of things to say about it. It comes without surprise that they frequently refer to the wonderful world of myths, tales or sci-fi rather than to the reality of scientific laboratories. It is no surprise either that people resist scientific explanation and cling to their time-worn narratives and images: it is always painful to dispel magic and faith in mighty powers.

MAGIC FILLS IN THE VOID OF IGNORANCE, AND PAVES THE WAY TO IMAGINATION AND HOPE. THIS IS THE ROOT REASON WHY, IN OUR SOCIETIES, NANOTECHNOLOGY IS LOADED WITH SYMBOLIC EXPECTATIONS AND IMAGINARY POWERS

sometimes even annoyed, when our computers, cameras, TVs, etc., break down: we cannot say what went wrong inside. In such cases, many of us tend to deal with machines as if they were intelligent or sentient beings: we pray or curse them, we endow them with will (“My computer just won’t work”), emotions and moods (“My cell phone is slow, it’s a bit grumpy today”) or cognitive capacities (“Stupid machine!”).

Still, a critical analysis of myths and narratives reveals that magic is not always irrational, but on the contrary framed by subtle and powerful reasoning. Also, these time-worn narratives paradoxically provide good training for prospective analysis: by plunging back to the imaginary world and values created by societies and individuals so remote from us in the past, we may become more able to imagine the behaviours and norms of future societies.

This attitude is a typical of magic. Like rain Take the Greek myth of Prometheus. dancers invoking a god to make water pour “Prometheus” means “with forethought”. from the sky, we are ignorant of the Prometheus was the wisest of all the Titans – functioning of our environment. We appeal those wonderful and mighty beings who to a soul in the machine as if it could make reigned before the Olympian Gods are were the phone call go through, or a film finally finally overrun by them. Prometheus stole appear on the black screen. What is going fire from the Gods of Mount Olympus. on here? Since we don’t know how the Through fire, he is credited with bringing device works inside, we project human, mankind craftsmanship, knowledge, anthropomorphic features onto it. Such a projection appears purely irrational because enlightenment; but also work. Before they had fire, Men used to be provided with all we are fully aware that machines aren’t like they needed by the Gods. For acting against humans, but at the same time it is the only the decree of the Gods, who wanted to keep way we can come into contact with their the power of fire to themselves, Prometheus internal structure and functioning. Magic

was chained to a rock to have his liver eaten out every day by an eagle. Every night his liver would grow back. This was to be his punishment for all of eternity.

What is the most striking in this myth is certainly its end, Prometheus’ punishment. But one should also note the ambivalent beginning.

By giving technology to Men, Prometheus makes them a divine gift. At the same time, he seems to give them a curse, for before technology, Men didn’t even have to work in order to survive; they were provided with all they needed by the Gods. The morale is clear: as he receives technology, Man becomes the keeper of himself. His fate is no more guaranteed by the Gods, nor by Nature. The Promethean project may therefore lead to the better, or to the worse.

Why is Prometheus still with us? Because the myth does well illustrate the ambiguous relationship of our societies to technology: a mixture of trust and fear. Technology is at the same time the only path to progress and human liberation, and a constant source of anxiety.

Conclusion The ethical debate on nanotechnology is surprisingly broad. Who would have guessed that the invention of nanoelectronics would induce a redefinition of private and public spheres, for instance? The answer is that, whether or not sociologists might have foreseen this consequence, no expert on nanoelectronics would have. It is often said that technological change induces social change, but the reverse influence seems even more important and true: social norms, concepts and values shape the way a society uses a new technology. In essence, society determines the way it adopts technology; this has nothing to do with the technology nor with the science. n CEA-Larsim, a research team based in Saclay (France) and a partner in ObservatoryNano, has just delivered a Toolkit for Ethical Reflection and Communication aiming at clarifying the picture.

This Toolkit aims at providing the reader with the means to frame his / her own vision of the debate and to sharpen the ethical awareness of those involved in the development of nanosciences and nanotechnology. The June 2010 version of the Toolkit can be downloaded at http://www.observatorynano.eu/ project/catalogue/4ET/

To see our subscription options visit bit.ly/nanosubs

NanoArt The Carl Zeiss Image contest C

arl Zeiss is running its first Nano Image Contest and are inviting users of all Zeiss electron and ion microscopes to submit their work.

“Fascinating electron microscope images are sitting around in numerous archives without an opportunity for recognition.

With this competition, we want to give users of our systems an innovative platform to present their images and the underlying work to the public,� explains Dr. Peter Fruhstorfer, Member of the Management Board of the Nano Technology Systems Division at Carl Zeiss.

A picture says more than a thousand words. And images taken with electron and Ion microscopes frequently provide unique insights into the specimens and lead to new scientific-technical knowledge. At the same time, these images often feature outstanding aesthetic properties.

Here’s just a small selection of the images which have been sent into the contest so far, entries are open until August 29, 2010.

Visit bit.ly/d5ggmy for more details on how to enter and vote.

IN TE RV ◊nano IE W

AN INTERVIEW WITH…

GEORGE WHITESIDES IN SEARCH OF ZERO-COST HEALTHCARE FOR SOCIETY’S POOR, GEORGE WHITESIDES’ WORK HAS SOME PROFOUND AND SURPRISING IMPLICATIONS FOR THE WEALTHIER ECONOMIES - GIVEN THE ESCALATING AND UNSUSTAINABLE COSTS OF MEDICAL TREATMENTS TODAY. Visit www.nanomagazine.co.uk to subscribe and read this insight from one of the leading lights in nanotechnology