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Toronto Star

You see someone walking down the street speaking aimlessly into mid-air, conducting what appears to be a strange, one-sided conversation with no one in particular. Not long ago, you might have assumed some kind of mental instability.

In the age of mobile communications, you now look for an earpiece with a wire snaking down to a cellphone in their pocket.

Modern technology has created the new breed of air talker -- cellphone users who converse using small earpieces and tiny microphones that let them speak and listen without ever holding a phone to their ear.

It's a peculiar form of communication that blurs the line between public and private conversation. And it's getting more peculiar all the time. [...]

With some adjustments, the bud tucks into your ear and a tiny embedded microphone in the device picks up and transmits your voice from its perch at the side of your head — all with no wires.

Wireless Bluetooth technology has advanced the evolution of the air talking phenomenon by linking devices such as phones and earpieces together invisibly using wireless communication. [...]

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Institute of Physics

Dr Peter Singer, Director of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Dr Erin Court, the lead author of this report, argue that concerns over the legitimate risks of nanotechnology should be addressed through a new international process and not by resorting to a moratorium on research that promises vast improvement in the lives of five billion people in developing countries.

This report outlines for the first time the health, environmental and economic benefits for developing countries of nanotechnology (NT). These include:

improved detection of cancer and HIV/AIDS by tagging biological molecules with nanometer-sized markers, avoiding in the process many drawbacks associated with organic dyes conventionally used to mark cells;

improved detection of tuberculosis with quantum dot optical biosensors. Development plans for a nanotech-based diagnostic kit to reduce the cost, time and the amount of blood required for TB tests was recently announced in India;

inexpensive miniaturized medical diagnostic devices easily used in remote regions;

more controlled and targeted administration of vaccinations using nanoparticle delivery systems;

the ability to repair skeletal tissue damaged by traffic accidents, the so-called "unseen epidemic" of developing countries, using nanotech-based bone scaffolds;

better monitoring of soil and crop toxicity levels through enzyme biosensors;

improved water purification technologies;

more effective clean-up of large oil spills.

[...] The authors highlight the following concerns:

How long will nanomaterials remain in the environment?

How readily will nanomaterials bind to environmental contaminants?

Will these particles move up through the food chain and what will be their effect on humans?

How will the incorporation of artificial materials into human systems affect health, security and privacy?

Who will control the means of production and who will get to debate the risks and benefits

? What will be the effects of military and corporate control over NT?

There are also potential risk management issues specific to developing countries:

displacement of traditional markets,

the imposition of foreign values,

the fear that technological advances will be extraneous to development needs, and

the lack of resources to establish, monitor and enforce safety regulations.

__posted by Carolyn L Burke @ 7:33 a.m.
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Wilson Center

Americans welcome new potential life-saving and -enhancing applications promised by nanotechnology. But at the same time, they voice concern over a lack of research into nanotechnology's potential long-term human health and environmental effects and want to ensure that the government and private sectors are equipped and willing to effectively manage any would-be risks.

These are some of the findings in a new study released today by The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies: PDF: Informed Public Perceptions of Nanotechnology and Trust in Government. The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was created in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts in April 2005.

[...] results show that the public is clearly interested in and excited about the potential of nanotechnology, which exploits the unique behavior of materials and devices when engineered at a scale of roughly between 1 and 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or about 1/100,000 the thickness of a human hair).

But people are concerned about the lack of consumer awareness of nanotechnology and of the estimated 500-700 nanotechnology products already on the market. The public also is troubled by potential unknown human health and environmental consequences, and by possible unintended uses.

[...] “If this industry is to grow to its promise of one trillion dollars by 2015, the federal government and industry need to put as much energy into building public trust as they do into developing new nano applications,” said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. “In the end, the kinds of safety measures and disclosure the public wants make sense in terms of both long-term corporate strategy and good public policy.”

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