recent news

Nanomaterials and Nanoparticles Now Cheap Enough for Widespread Use in Consumer Products
www.azonano.com, April 8, 2008
Over the past two years, there has been a dramatic price decrease of nano products in an effort to achieve a sustainable business with the commercialization of these high-tech materials.
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Scientist Scared of Socks as Nanotechnology and Nanoparticles Become Common in Consumer Products
www.azonano.com, April 7, 2008
Researchers suggest that the particles intended to prevent foot odor in socks and bandages could enter natural waterways where they might have unwanted effects on aquatic organisms living in the water.
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New Class of Materials Point to Practical Hydrogen Fuel Tanks for Cars
www.azonano.com, April 3, 2008
One of the challenges to building a hydrogen-powered car is how to design a fuel tank that could store raw hydrogen for a reasonable driving range. Researchers have created a novel class of nanomaterials that could enable a practical hydrogen fuel tank.
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UCLA Researchers Design Nanomachine that Kills Cancer Cells
www.physorg.com, April 1, 2008
Researchers at UCLA have developed a ³nanoimpellers² which can store anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and release them into living cancer cells in response to light. This development has strong implications for cancer treatment.
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Think Green to Reduce Nanotech Hazards
www.physorg.com, March 31, 2008
With the explosion of nanotechnology, one scientist is promoting the use of green chemistry to help nanotechnology grow safely.
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Nanotechnology Tackles Balding as Nanomedicine Prototype Promotes Hair Growth
www.azonano.com, March 26, 2008
A nanomedicine prototype has been discovered to aid in the growth of new hair follicles. Scientists hope to further pursue their discovery and identify a therapeutic aide to treat male pattern baldness.
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Do Nanoparticles in Food Pose a Health Risk?
www.SicAm.com, March 13, 2008
With the increased use of nanoparticles in food and food-related products, government agencies are feeling pressure to conduct research on the health and environmental dangers these nanoparticles might pose.
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Nanotechnology Conference Tackles Safety Issues
www.nanotechnology.com, March 5, 2008
Government agencies, nanotechnology researchers, and business representatives met to discuss the scientific, legal, financial, and ethical issues facing regulatory agencies attempting to determine the safety of nanotechnology products. full article

Strong, Light, and Stretchy
www.technologyreview.com, February 25, 2008
Researchers have dispersed aluminum oxide platelets into a polymer to make a tough, stretchy, lightweight material. This material could lead to more durable dental and bone implants, and more fuel-efficient cars and airplanes.
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Commission Develops Code of Conduct on Nanotechnology
www.foodnavigator.com, February 12, 2008
In an attempt to protect the health of consumers, the European Commission has released a voluntary code of conduct for nanotechnology, which places the burden of responsibility for consumer safety on the researchers.
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commentaries

George Annas
Governing Biotechnology
Albert Einstein cogently observed that "imagination is more important than knowledge." He could have gone further. Moral imagination is more important than scientific imagination. The unmet challenge for science at the beginning of the 21st century is to develop a global bioethics governance system that can help to ensure that biomedical technology enhances human life, and does not degrade or end it.
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Diane Beeson
The Growing Global Challenge to Egg Harvesting for Cloning Research
Looking back on 2006, one of the most significant developments related to stem-cell research was the emergence of organized global opposition to the increasingly aggressive efforts of scientist-entrepreneurs to acquire women's eggs for cloning research.
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Nigel M. de S. Cameron
The U.S. State Department recently hosted a panel discussion at the United Nations in New York City. Invited presenters included the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future's (IBHF) Nigel Cameron and two of our IBHF fellows, Judy Norsigian and Adrienne Asch. Following is a transcript of comments presented by Nigel Cameron.
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Judith F. Daar
Current Controversies in Reproductive Medicine
Birth in the modern era is trending toward the technical, with virtually every Western birth preceded by a screening test or imagining study that enables parents to preview their developing offspring in utero.
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Nanette R. Elster
All or Nothing? The International Debate over Disclosure to Donor Offspring
Quite The headlines appearing in newspapers and magazines during the last three decades provide a time line revealing the range of issues raised by gamete donation and the secrecy that has historically surrounded the practice. The story told through the headlines in the popular press identifies the basic categories of concern with use of anonymous donor gametes and illustrates that the issues under discussion and debate today are in no way new.
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Elana Hayasaka
Excerpted Remarks from the Health Risks of Egg Extraction
at the Korea Womenlink Forum on Biotechnology and Women's Rights
Many people are under the misimpression that there are no significant risks to egg extraction because it is practiced so widelyÐin several hundred IVF clinics across the United States and hundreds more across the globe. But widespread practice of any procedure or widespread use of any drug does not necessarily tell us very much about the health and safety issues at stake.
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Rosario Isasi
Genetic Enhancement in Sports
As the field of gene therapy progresses and its promise to become a widely available therapy progresses as well, so too does the potential for misapplication by professional and amateur athletes. For instance, erythropoietin, a protein hormone commonly used medically to increase hematocrit levels in patients with chronic renal disease, might be genetically engineered and used to increase endurance capabilities in athletes.
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Michele Mekel
Early Lessons from Second Life: A Study in Reality
Second Life, Linden Labs' virtual world, has taken on a life of its own, so to speak, with a population of more than 4 million "residents" and an economy where approximately $1.5 million (U.S.) is transacted on a daily basis.
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M. Ellen Mitchell
Nanotechnology in Society's Context
While the public has been told numerous times that medicine will, for example, cure cancer, extinguish infant mortality, and wipe out other major diseases, no field before nanotechnology has promised to cure all the ails of the body, deliver immortality, and solve problems of the planet.
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Stuart Newman
Seeds of Contention
Most discussions of human stem cells in the public media have focused on two categories: embryonic stem (ES) cells and adult stem cells. ES cells are derived from early-stage embryos produced in vitro. While they are the more versatile of the two categories in their ability to give rise to a wide range of cell types (a characteristic known as "multipotency"), their use in experimental studies and potentially in therapies has proven contentious.
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