"Geoethical" means widely agreed-upon principles for guiding the application of curative technologies that can have a general environmental (including people) impact, much like bioethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, nonfeasance, justice) guide the application of curative technologies that specifically impact one or more patients. Nanotechnology raises geoethical issues because the nanomedical treatment of individuals may have a wide socio-environmental impact.

GRAIN stands for Genomics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Nanotechnology.

Terasem: Life faces three types of risks -- from disease, from society and from natural catastrophes. The Terasem Movement is based upon the belief that each of these risks can and should be substantially ameliorated. We believe that nanotechnology developed geoethically, cyberconsciousness developed with personhood, and an overriding commitment to diversity and unity are the tools needed to ameliorate the risks to life.

With regard to risks from disease, the Terasem Movement is premised upon the belief that nanomedicine is the key to eliminating human suffering and greatly extending human lifetimes. Nanomedicine is also the key to recovery from cryopreservation for individuals who die before their illnesses can be technologically cured.

The Terasem Movement believes that social causes of suffering and death, such as wars, pollution and anomie, arise due to inadequate attention paid to the overriding importance of diversity and unity. In addition, nanotechnology can create adequate clean wealth to remove many scarcity-based causes for conflict.

Natural catastrophes run the gamut from tsunamis to collisions with space objects. The Terasem Movement believes that our conscious life is precious and unique in the universe. Consequently, we believe it is essential to propagate our consciousness far beyond earth and that self-replicating nanotechnology is currently the only practical means of doing so.