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The results of a new U.S.–U.K. study published in this week's journal Nature Nanotechnology show that ordinary people in both countries hold very positive views of nanotechnologies and what the future of these technologies might bring. Participants in both countries indicated a significantly higher comfort level with energy applications of nanotechnologies than with applications used in health treatments.
Nanotechnology –– the science and technology of exceptionally small materials and processes –– is among the latest new technologies to raise public concerns about health and environmental risks.
The article reports on the first study of its kind. It involved four workshops, held at the same time in Santa Barbara and Cardiff, Wales. Workshop participants deliberated about two broad types of nanotechnology applications –– energy and health.
The study was carried out in the United States by the NSF Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and in the United Kingdom by a collaborating research team from the School of Psychology at Cardiff University.
Barbara Herr Harthorn, director of the UCSB Center, led the interdisciplinary, international research team. She noted that one of the unexpectedly strong findings of the study was that the type of nanotechnology mattered greatly to the participants. She said participants in both countries viewed energy applications of nanotechnology more positively than health technologies, in terms of risks and benefits.
"Much of the public perception research on nanotechnology in the U.S. and abroad has focused on a generic ‘nanotechnology' risk object," said Harthorn. "This work moves to a higher level of specificity and in doing so finds striking differences in views of benefit depending on application context.
"More specifically, perceived urgency of need for new energy technologies is strongly associated with high perceived benefit and lower risk perception, regardless of what materials, processes, or environmental risks are associated," she said.
Nick Pidgeon, who led the research team at the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, explained, "The Royal Society's 2004 report on nanotechnologies recommended public engagement and deliberation on nanotechnology risks and benefits. This study represents the first ever such public engagement exercise to be simultaneously conducted in two different countries."
The results include the following key findings:
• Overall participants in both countries focused on the benefits rather than the risks of nanotechnologies, and also exhibited a high degree of optimism regarding the future contribution of new technologies to society. This pattern was very similar in the workshops in both the United States and Britain.
• Some small cross-country differences were present. U.K. participants were generally more aware of recent technological controversies and risk governance failures (examples include genetically modified organisms, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and foot and mouth disease), leading some to voice specific concerns about future nanotechnology risks.
• Greater differences were observed when participants (irrespective of their country) discussed the different applications. In particular, new technology developments for energy applications were seen as unproblematic, while questions of human health were felt to raise moral and ethical dilemmas. As was found by the U.K. Royal Society in 2004 for Britain, in the current study participants in both the U.K. and U.S. questioned whether those responsible (governments, industry, scientists) could be fully trusted to control nanotechnologies in the future.
The research was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation with additional support to Cardiff University provided by the Leverhulme Trust.
The NSF Center for Nanotechnology in Society at UCSB (http://www.cns.ucsb.edu) was formed in 2006, and serves as a national research and education center, a network hub among researchers and educators concerned with societal issues and nanotechnologies, and a resource base for studying these issues.
For more information,
To reach Barbara Herr Harthorn please contact Barbara S. Gilkes at (805) 893-3995 or bgilkes@cns.ucsb.edu.
To reach Professor Nick Pidgeon please contact Victoria Dando at the Cardiff University press office: tel: +44 29 2087 9074 or dandov2@cardiff.ac.uk.

The government needs a more comprehensive plan for studying the risks of nanotechnology, the National Research Council said Wednesday.
While the committee that prepared the report did not evaluate the safety of nanomaterials, it was critical of current research efforts into the health and environmental safety of the technology.
Nanomaterials are made of extremely tiny particles — some thousands of times finer than a human hair — which have come increasingly into use in recent years, often in products such as skin care and cosmetics.
Consumer advocates and others have raised questions about potential risks from these materials and the National Nanotechnology Initiative was set up to coordinate safety research.
But the research council report said the NNI plan fails to provide a clear picture of the current understanding of these risks or where it should be in 10 years.
In addition, the NNI plan does not include research goals to help ensure that nanotechnologies are developed and used as safely as possible. And though the research needs listed in the plan are valuable, they are incomplete, the report said.
It called for a new plan going beyond federal research to include research from universities, industry, consumer and environmental groups and others.
"The current plan catalogs nano-risk research across several federal agencies, but it does not present an overarching research strategy needed to gain public acceptance and realize the promise of nanotechnology," David Eaton, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and chairman of the committee that prepared the report, said in a statement.
David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, welcomed the report.
"It is disappointing that the Bush administration did not listen to PEN experts" and others calling for an improved research plan, he said. "But I am encouraged that the NRC assessment will provide a roadmap for the next administration to make up for this lost time. It's time to get the job done and to get it done right," Rejeski said in a statement.
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The National Research Council is an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent agency chartered by Congress to advise the government on science and technology. On the Net:
* National Research Council: nationalacademies.org/nrc

Wisconsin Week: Why has nanotechnology, as opposed to other kinds of science, become a moral dilemma for many people as viewed through the prism of religion?
Scheufele: I am not sure if nanotechnology is the only recent example of a scientific area that challenged some people’s religious views. In fact, for genetically engineered organisms we saw similar discussions about “unnatural science” and about scientists “interfering with nature” or “playing God.” But two things are different for nanotechnology. It has a potential impact on virtually all areas of life, ranging from medicine to materials and the environment. And as a result, the potential conflict between religiosity and science will likely be much more salient for nanotechnology, in particular with respect to nano-bio-info-cogno (NBIC) technologies that may, in the future, enable us to create synthetic life and intelligence without divine intervention.
WW: How do the views of Americans differ from those of people in countries where religion is less a part of everyday life?
DS: It depends on which countries we compare the United States to. Our analyses showed that the United States is in many ways very similar to countries like Italy, Ireland and Austria, who have deeply rooted religious traditions. But the United States differs significantly from more secular European countries like France, Germany or Denmark,with a less religious citizenry and fewer moral qualms about nanotechnology.
WW: Is it clear that religion, and not other factors such as education or a nation’s investment in science and technology, is the driver for this phenomenon?
DS: This is a fair question. It is reasonable to assume, for example, that in countries where religion plays a more important role in everyday life, religious views also shape educational policies or even science funding, which, in turn, influence attitudes about nanotechnology. We therefore controlled for a range of factors in each country, including students’ science performance in school and research productivity relative to public funding for nanotechnology in each country. And the religious climate remained the strongest predictor.
WW: How do we explain the paradox of such a dynamic and pervasive field of technology coming under a cloud of moral scrutiny in a country that thrives on technology?
DS: I am not sure if it is really such a paradox. Science and religion are not incompatible. And many of the questions that modern science raises do not have scientific answers. Is it moral or not to create new life, for example, if that will ever be possible? And what are the social effects of virtually invisible surveillance devices that can trace our every movement? The answers to these questions depend on our values, ethics, beliefs and morals. And society will only find answers if all of these considerations are taken into account and help us understand the implications of what science has made or will make possible.
WW: We hear much about the moral issues posed by things like stem cell research, but we don’t read much about nanotechnology in that context. How come?
DS: Nanotechnology has not been an issue that has received systematic media attention. Our research shows that only seven journalists in the United States have written more than 25 stories on nanotechnologies, and two of them have just left their newspapers. In other words, the majority of coverage has been provided by journalists who have paid sporadic attention to the issue at best. As a result, many people are still unaware of the science underlying nanotechnology, and our research shows no changes in levels of information about nanotechnology among the general public over the last few years.
At the same time, we are seeing three to four new nanotechnology consumer end products hit the market each week right now, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, with the majority of products coming out of the United States This means that we are using nanotechnology in many of our daily activities without really being aware of much of the issues surrounding the science behind it.
WW: What does this research infer about our public dialogue about science in general?
DS: I think we’re seeing scientific issues morph into political ones, especially for nanotechnology where people’s moral concerns about what science should do may be as important as their factual understanding of what science can do. And as a result public debates about science increasingly move into the political arena. Stem cell research is a great example of an issue that has triggered similar reactions. It is an issue that has been heavily influenced by strategic campaigns on both sides. Interest groups have spent a lot of money researching what kinds of messages make people more or less likely to support certain aspects of stem cell research, and they’ve put considerable effort into framing the issue to their advantage.
One thing that is frustrating in these public debates is that science is often virtually absent. We have religious groups, we have Michael J. Fox, but we really have very little discussion about the scientific merits of stem cell research.
WW: Do we need to rethink the way we talk about science and its implications in America?
DS: Absolutely. Effective communication with wide cross sections of society is probably more important now than it’s ever been. Issues like nanotechnology and stem cell research raise questions about what it means to be human, what kind of applications we want in the market and how quickly. The tricky part is that, while scientists generally realize how important it is to connect with the public, many people have taken the approach that it will be enough if we just put sound science out there. But unfortunately that’s not really supported by our research.
Rather, we need to realize that different publics have different informational needs, react very differently to information, and — most importantly — are looking for answers to questions that often have very little to do with the scientific issues surrounding emerging technologies. As some of our recent research here at Wisconsin shows, trying to make sense of the moral implications of nano breakthroughs based on their own belief or value systems is much more important for some groups in society at the moment than understanding the science behind it.

IT sounds like a plot straight out of a science-fiction novel by Michael Crichton. Toiletry companies formulate new cutting-edge creams and lotions that contain tiny components designed to work more effectively. But those minuscule building blocks have an unexpected drawback: the ability to penetrate the skin, swarm through the body and overwhelm organs like the liver.
Humans have long lived in dread of such nightmare scenarios in which swarms of creatures attack. Alfred Hitchcock envisioned menacing flocks in “The Birds.” In the 1990 film “Arachnophobia” a killer spider arrives in the United States, where it attacks and multiplies.
And now comes nanophobia, the fear that tiny components engineered on the nanoscale — that is, 100 nanometers or less — could run amok inside the body. A human hair, for example, is 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers in diameter. A nanoparticle of titanium dioxide in a sunscreen could be as small as 15 nanometers. (One nanometer equals a billionth of a meter.)
“The smaller a particle, the further it can travel through tissue, along airways or in blood vessels,” said Dr. Adnan Nasir, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Especially if the nanoparticles are indestructible and accumulate and are not metabolized, if you accumulate them in the organs, the organs could fail.”
Indeed, some doctors, scientists and consumer advocates are concerned that many industries are adopting nanotechnology ahead of studies that would establish whether regular ingestion, inhalation or dermal penetration of these particles constitute a health or environmental hazard. Personal care products are simply the lowest hanging fruit.
But people are already exposed to nanoparticles. Stoves and toaster ovens emit ultrafine particles of 2 to 30 nanometers, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the researchers reported last month that long-term contact with such appliances could constitute a large exposure to the smallest of nanoparticles.
Several products already use nano-engineered materials. There are “nano pants,” stain-resistant chinos and jeans whose fabric contain nano-sized whiskers that repel oil and dirt, and nanocycles made from carbon nanotubes that are stronger and lighter than standard steel bicycles. And in lotions and creams, the use of nanocomponents may create a more cosmetically elegant effect — like uniformity or spreadability.
Some ingredients may behave differently as nanoparticles than they do in larger forms. Nano-sized silver, for example, can act as an antibacterial agent on the skin. Larger particles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide result in white pasty sunscreens; but as nanoparticles, they appear more transparent.
When it comes to beauty products, however, some consumer advocates are concerned that dynamic nanoparticles could pose risks to the skin or, if they penetrate the skin, to other parts of the body. Mineral sunscreens have attracted the most attention.
“Substances that are perfectly benign could be toxic at the nano scale,” said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, the company behind Consumer Reports. “Because they are so small, they could go places in the body that could not be done before.”
This month, the magazine published a study it had commissioned that found mineral nanoparticles in five sunscreens, even though four of the companies had denied using them. In October, Dr. Hansen sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, asking the agency to require cosmetics and sunscreen manufacturers to run safety tests on nano scale ingredients. In the letter, he cited a few studies published in scientific journals that reported that exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide caused damage to the organs of laboratory animals and human cell cultures.
But cosmetics industry representatives said there was no evidence that personal care products that contain nano-size components constitute a health hazard. Furthermore, no rigorous clinical trials have been published showing that cosmetics with nanocomponents caused health problems. A review of the potential risks of nanomaterials, carried out for the European Center for Toxicology in 2006, concluded that sunscreens with metal nanoparticles were unlikely to penetrate healthy skin, but it did raise the question of whether safety studies should examine if such materials may penetrate damaged skin.
“It’s very difficult to get anything through the skin,” said John Bailey, the executive vice president for science of the Personal Care Products Council, an industry trade group in Washington. “The skin is a very effective barrier.”
Indeed, some nanotechnology researchers said it was illogical to assume that a nano-size component inherently carries greater risk than a larger component. Furthermore, some say cosmetics may contain molecules like a silicone fluid called cyclopentasiloxane that are even smaller than nanomaterials.
“I think it’s a double standard because nanoparticles are less likely to go through the skin than solutions where you are using single molecules,” said Robert S. Langer, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He is developing nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of cancer medications, and is a founder of Living Proof, a cosmetics company that makes hair products. “The molecules in a cream are certainly going to be smaller than a nanoparticle.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not require manufacturers to list the format of ingredients on labels. The agency does require cosmetics manufacturers to ensure that their products are safe for use; in 2006, the agency created its own task force to investigate the safety of engineered nanomaterials.
Ken Marenus, the senior vice president of regulatory affairs worldwide at the Estée Lauder companies, said nanomaterials had to undergo the same kind of assessment for exposure, risk and dosage levels as any other cosmetic component. “The same toxicological standards for every chemical will apply to nano,” he said.
Dr. Bailey of the Personal Care Products Council estimated that several thousand sunscreens and cosmetics currently use some kind of nanoscale component.
Cor soap, for example, uses 50-nanometer particles of silver combined with silica that are smaller than the size of a skin pore. The material is designed to enter the pores and kill bacteria.
“The silver suffocates the bacteria and then you rinse it off with water,” said Jennifer McKinley, the chief executive of Cor. Although a study has shown that nanosilver can permeate broken skin, Ms. McKinley said the soap was safe because it contains only a limited amount of nanosilver and the particles do not remain on the skin.
Indeed, using nanoderivatives of precious metals is becoming a trend. Last year, Chantecaille introduced Nano Gold Energizing Cream, a $420 face cream that contains 5-nanometer particles of 24-carat gold encapsulated in silk fibers. Sylvie Chantecaille, the chief executive of the company, said the capsules delivered the gold particles, which work as an antioxidant, into the surface layers of the skin. “It’s a very effective way to transport beneficial ingredients,” she said.
But many beauty companies are shying away from discussing minuscule particles in their cosmetics. And that kind of avoidance may itself stoke nanophobia. For example, when La Prairie introduced its Cellular Cream Platinum Rare earlier this year, the company sent out press materials promoting “nano-sized Hesperidin Smart Crystals to protect DNA” in the formula. But, in a phone interview, Sven Gohla, the company’s vice president for research and development, distanced the brand from nanotechnology. Just because the particles of hesperidin, a flavonoid, in the formula are small does not mean they are manufactured nanotechnology, he said.
Last month, a consumer group in London called Which? published a survey it had conducted of 67 cosmetics companies on the prevalence and safety testing of nanomaterials in personal care products. Only 17 companies responded, of which eight acknowledged using nanomaterials.
“When nanotechnology was hot, everybody wanted to talk about ‘nano this, nano that.’ Look at the iPod nano,” said Dr. Hansen of Consumers Union. “But now that the concerns have come out, people are not so sure the word nano is a good thing to be touted.”

The current U.S. plan for the emerging field of nanotechnology lacks vision, fails to assess risk and leaves the industry vulnerable to public mistrust, a report by the National Research Council found.
The report, released on Wednesday, found serious gaps in the government's current plan for determining if there are risks posed by nanomaterials. It called for an effective national plan for identifying and managing potential risks.
"The current plan catalogs nano-risk research across several federal agencies, but it does not present an overarching research strategy needed to gain public acceptance and realize the promise of nanotechnology," committee chairman David Eaton, a public health expert at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a statement.
Nanotechnology, the design and manipulation of materials thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, has been hailed as a way to make strong, lightweight materials, better cosmetics and even tastier food. But scientists are only starting to look at the impact such tiny objects might have.
Some studies suggest that nano-sized objects may have different effects in the body than larger ones.
Currently, more than 600 products involving nanomaterials are already on the market. Most are health and beauty products, but many researchers are working on ways to use the materials for medical therapies, food additives and electronics.
In its report, the committee said the current U.S. strategy, developed by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, does not provide for adequate research to ensure the safety of workers, consumers and the environment from unexpected and possibly toxic properties of these materials.
LACKING VISION
The committee said the plan lacks "essential elements" including a vision, clear objectives, a comprehensive assessment of the state of the science, and a "road map that describes how research progress will be measured and the estimated resources required to conduct such research."
David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, an advocacy group, said the report echoes calls by industry and congressional leaders for a revamped research plan for nanotechnology.
"The administration's delay has hurt investor and consumer confidence," Rejeski said in a statement.
"It has gambled with public health and safety. It has jeopardized the $14 billion investment governments and private industry have made in this technology and its great promise for significant advances in healthcare, energy and manufacturing."
University of Wisconsin researchers reported in Monday's issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology that nearly 25 percent of Americans surveyed found nanotechnology to be morally unacceptable, compared to 7 percent of Italians, 18 percent of Belgians and 66 percent of Irish.
They said the more religious a society was, the more likely citizens were to reject nanotechnology as immoral.
The group said the report should help guide the administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
The National Research Council is one of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organization that guides the federal government on medical, scientific and engineering policy.

However, if doctors were to use them in humans, quantum dots could have limitations related to their size and possible toxicity. Scientists at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology have overcome those limitations by exploiting a property of semiconductors called "lattice strain".
By layering materials with different chemical compositions on top of one another, researchers can create particles with new optical properties, said a Georgia release.
"The first generation of quantum dots had optical properties that could be tuned by their size," said senior co-author Shuming Nie, a professor at Georgia Tech and Emory University.
"We have discovered another way to tune quantum dots' properties: by modulating lattice strain."
Strain-tuned quantum dots can be made that emit light at wavelengths in the near-infrared range while remaining small in size. Near-infrared wavelengths around 750 nanometres represent a "clear window" where the human body is relatively transparent, said Andrew Smith, co-author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow in Nie's group.
While the newer strain-tuned quantum dots have not been tested in living animals or people, they could probably pass through the kidneys, meaning less toxicity, if they are less than five nanometres in diameter, Smith added.
"Using near-infrared wavelengths, there's less difficulty in seeing through the body's tissues. Older quantum dots that emit in the near-infrared range are rod-shaped and large enough to get trapped in the kidneys, while smaller particles can both clear the kidneys and have less of a tendency to bind proteins in the blood," he explained.
Besides their expected utility in biomedical imaging, the new type of quantum dots could find use in opto-electronics, advanced colour displays, and more efficient solar panels, Nie said.
Previous quantum dots contained cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. Strain-tuned quantum dots can be made mostly of the less toxic elements zinc and selenium, although some cadmium remains at the core of the particle. The particles can be between four and six nanometres wide.
The study on "strain-tuned" particles is scheduled for publication in the December issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Two new projects have brought together scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Al-Quds University . Researchers from the two universities have succeeded in developing a method for checking the level of risk in bilharzia, which has been adopted by the World Health Organization and will soon be applied in Nigeria. At the same time, in the field of nanotechnology in which the two universities have been collaborating for a long time, an Israeli-Palestinian-Hungarian joint project has been established, sponsored and funded by the Hungarian Embassy in Israel. The nanotechnology connection was made by Prof. Mukhlas Swani, during his postdoctoral studies at the Hebrew University, with Prof. Daniel Porath, his partner in this project. "Cooperation between Al-Quds University and the Hebrew University has been taking place for years," said Prof. Swani. "After completing my studies at the Hebrew University, I moved to Al-Quds University, and I set up among other things with help from researchers at the Hebrew University an innovative and advanced nanotechnology laboratory, with support from the EU."
Laszlo Korani, the Economic Attache at the Hungarian Embassy in Tel Aviv, conceived the idea of bringing Hungary into the story. "One of the roles of the embassy is to encourage joint Hungarian-Israeli research. I read the autobiography of Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al-Quds University, and I then knew that I also wanted to strengthen the connection to his university. It was only natural to build on cooperation that already existed and to add our sponsorship to it."
"Al-Quds has no problems about cooperating with Israeli organizations," adds Korani, "which cannot be said about other universities in the West Bank."
The cooperation between the Hebrew University and Al-Quds University will also include the setting up of a science museum at Al-Quds with assistance from the Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem.
It is still not clear what the precise nature of the nanotechnology cooperation will be but the Israelis and Palestinians will meet in Hungary next week to decide on the planned projects.
The bilharzia project is the fruit of cooperation between Prof. Joseph Hamburger of the Hebrew University and Dr. Ibrahim Abassi of Al-Quds University, a former student of the Hebrew University.
"The accepted way to diagnose if an area is infected with bilharzia is by surveying the residents. But the residents do not always make a connection between anemia and their lack of ability to concentrate and the disease, so that organizations like the WHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that generously distribute drugs think that the problem has been eradicated, when it still exists," explains Prof. Hamburger.
"We have developed a simple method for locating the parasite (that causes bilharzia) that is only a little bit more expensive than the questionnaires. We hope to develop the discovery into a commercial product."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 7, 2008

The findings of the study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School in collaboration with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, have important implications for garnering support of the new technology.
The researchers conducted their study on a diverse sample of 1,500 Americans, the vast majority of whom were aloof to nanotechnology, a relatively new science that involves the manipulation of particles the size of atoms and that has numerous commercial applications.
After the participants were shown balanced information about the risks and benefits of nanotechnology, they became highly divided on its safety compared to a group not shown such information.
Dan Kahan, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor at Yale Law School and lead author of the study, said that the governing factor in how people responded was their cultural values.
"People who had more individualistic, pro-commerce values, tended to infer that nanotechnology is safe, while people who are more worried about economic inequality read the same information as implying that nanotechnology is likely to be dangerous," Nature quoted Kahan as saying.
He added that such pattern is consistent with studies examining how people's cultural values influence their perceptions of environmental and technological risks generally.
"In sum, when they learned about a new technology, people formed reactions to it that matched their views of risks like climate change and nuclear waste disposal," he said.
Also, the researchers found that people who have pro-commerce cultural values are more likely to know about nanotechnology than others.
"Not surprisingly, people who like technology and believe it isn't bad for the environment tend to learn about new technologies before other people do. While various opinion polls suggest that familiarity with nanotechnology leads people to believe it is safe, they have been confusing cause with effect," said Kahan.
And the researchers stressed that the findings of the experiment highlight the need for public education strategies that consider citizens' predispositions.
"There is still plenty of time to develop risk-communication strategies that make it possible for persons of diverse values to understand the best evidence scientists develop on nanotechnology's risks. The only mistake would be to assume that such strategies aren't necessary," added Kahan.
"The message matters. How information about nanotechnology is presented to the vast majority of the public who still know little about it can either make or break this technology. Scientists, the government, and industry generally take a simplistic, 'just the facts' approach to communicating with the public about a new technology. But, this research shows that diverse audiences and groups react to the same information very differently," said David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.
The report is published online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Attitudes to nanotechnology may be determined by religious and cultural beliefs, suggest researchers writing in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
They say religious people tend to view nanotechnology in a negative light.
The researchers compared attitudes in Europe and the US and looked at religious and cultural backgrounds.
They say the findings have implications for scientists and politicians making policy decisions to regulate the use of nanotechnology.
'Religosity'
The researchers compared attitudes to nanotechnology in 12 European countries and the US.
They then rated each country on a scale of what they called "religosity" - a measure of how religious each country was.
They found that countries where religious belief was strong, such as Ireland and Italy, tended to be the least accepting of nanotechnology, whereas those where religion was less significant such as Belgium or the Netherlands were more accepting of the technology.
Professor Dietram Scheufele from the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin, who led the research, said religious belief exerted a strong influence on how people viewed nanotechnology.
"Religion provides a perceptual filter, highly religious people look at information differently, it follows from the way religion provides guidance in people's everyday lives," he said.
The US was found to be the most religious country in the survey, and also the least accepting of nanotechnology.
Cultural beliefs
The researchers say it is understandable that there would be a conflict between religious belief and nanotechnology, especially when looking at what they call "nano-bio-info-cogno" (NBIC) technologies, the potential to create life at a nano scale without divine intervention.
"It's not that they're concerned about not understanding the science, more that talking openly about constructing life raises a whole host of moral issues," said Professor Scheufele. Nanotechnology could be used to treat disease at a sub-cellular level
A similar study in the US looked at attitudes to nanotechnology and wider cultural and political beliefs.
People were asked about their views on a range of subjects, including risk from the internet, genetically modified food, nuclear power and mad cow disease.
Broadly, if they thought these were risky, they thought nanotechnology was too.
The researchers say their finding support the idea that underlying cultural beliefs have a stronger influence on opinions formed about nanotechnology than science based information about its potential and pitfalls.
Professor Scheufele says the findings have implications for policymakers trying to regulate nanotechnology.
"How do we regulate something where we have different moral ideas from the public?
"We need to get to grips with the idea that the exact same piece of information can have a different meaning to different people, its the age-old dilemma for science about what could be done versus what should be done."

The report on the redox properties of IMSs was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
In a separate study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, IBN researchers reported the first use of these salts to convert carbohydrates into versatile chemical compounds for biofuel production.
IBN researchers successfully used IMS to develop a new catalyst system for converting sugars into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a key compound used in biofuel chemistry and the petroleum industry.
In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the IBN researchers described how they used IMSs to synthesize successfully uniform gold nanoparticles within seconds at room temperature. The ultrafine (1-2 nm) nanoparticles remained stable for up to 6 months at 4°C.
Unlike conventional synthesis techniques using borane or borohydride reduction processes, IBN's method does not require a strong reducing reagent yet is able to produce gold nanoparticles under very mild reaction condition with remarkable efficiency.
IBN's new synthesis protocol could easily be scaled up for industrial applications.
Commonly used as solvents for various organic reactions, IMSs are room-temperature ionic liquids that are chemically stable and have low vapor pressure. While IMSs' physical properties have been widely studied, their biochemical properties and medical applications have seldom been mentioned in the scientific literature.
IBN Principal Research Scientist Yugen Zhang, Ph.D., said, "Our successful use of IMSs as a reducing agent led us to believe that we might also be able to use this compound as a radical scavenger antioxidant to counter the damage caused by reactive oxygen species in the body."
Environmental stress triggered by an unhealthy lifestyle, such as excessive alcohol consumption, exposure to toxins and drugs, smoking and lack of sleep, may lead the body to produce superoxide radicals known as reactive oxygen species (ROS) that could cause cell damage through oxidation.
Oxidative stress from ROS is implicated in most diseases including cancer, heart disease, liver fibrosis, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders and aging. Radical scavenger antioxidants help to trap free radicals in the body's cellular system, thus attenuating the effects of ROS.
IMS is a precursor for N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC). A naturally occurring form of NHC is thiamine or vitamin B, which plays a very important biological role. Vitamin B deficiency has been linked to oxidative stress. While natural antioxidants such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea extract, have been known to slow down or prevent the oxidative process, they also exhibit low potencies and a rapid turnover in the body's metabolism.
IBN Principal Research Scientist Lang Zhuo, Ph.D., said, "Our investigations with hepatic stellate cells show that IMSs have more powerful antioxidant properties than EGCG, yet are remarkably less cytotoxic. They significantly decreased ROS levels in liver cells by 11% more than EGCG. In addition, IMSs are simple and inexpensive to produce. Therefore, they show great promise as a new type of antioxidant with potential biomedical applications."
In a separate study published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, IBN researchers successfully used IMS to develop a new catalyst system for converting sugars into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a key compound used in biofuel chemistry and the petroleum industry.
Diminishing fossil fuel reserves and global warming effects have made the search for sustainable, renewable alternative energy sources a critical global concern. Biofuels are currently the only sustainable source of liquid fuels available, but the lack of highly efficient methods to convert carbohydrates into chemical compounds for biofuel production has impeded the replacement of petroleum feedstock by biomass.
HMF and its 2,5-disubstituted furan derivatives can replace key petroleum-based building blocks, and there are several known catalysts that are active in the dehydration of sugars to form HMF.
However, most of them also produce side reactions that form undesired byproducts, and rehydrate HMF to form acid. Therefore, the use of these catalysts has often been constrained to simple sugar feedstock such as fructose. They have not been able to efficiently convert glucose, a more abundant and stable sugar source.
With IMSs as the starting point, IBN researchers developed NHC-metal complexes as catalysts to transform sugars into HMF. These offer a great deal of flexibility as the catalytic activity may be modified by changing specific properties of the NHC. The researchers were able to extract HMF easily as the sole product. IBN's new catalyst achieved the highest reported yields of HMF so far, for both fructose and glucose feedstocks.
Dr. Zhang said, "Our HMF yields were as high as 96% for fructose and 81% for glucose. As both the catalyst and the ionic liquid can be recycled, our technology is more environmentally friendly and would potentially lead to cost savings in the biofuel manufacturing process."
IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y. Ying added, "We are excited by the tremendous potential of these novel compounds to make an impact on medicine and alternative energy. Our discovery paves the way for more effective treatment of various degenerative diseases, as well as the conversion of biofuels, helping to alleviate some of the pressing concerns facing our global community."
Notes:
This announcement refers to the following scientific papers:
L. Zhao, C. Zhang, L. Zhuo, Y. Zhang and J. Y. Ying, "Imidazolium Salts: A Mild Reducing and Antioxidative Reagent," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 130 (2008) 12586-12587.
G. Yong, Y. Zhang and J. Y. Ying, "Efficient Catalytic System for the Selective Production of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural from Glucose and Fructose," Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 47 (2008) 9345-9348.
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology:
The Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. It was established in 2003.
In March 2003, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Jackie Yi Ru Ying, 42, was hand-picked by then A*STAR Chairman Philip Yeo to lead the institute as its Executive Director. On MIT's Chemical Engineering faculty since 1992, Dr. Ying was promoted to Professor in 2001. She is among the youngest to be promoted to this rank at MIT. Under her direction, IBN conducts research at the cutting-edge of bioengineering and nanotechnology. Its programs are geared towards linking multiple disciplines across all fields in engineering, science and medicine to produce research breakthroughs that will improve healthcare and our quality of life.
IBN's research activities are focused in the following areas:
* Drug and Gene Delivery, involving the controlled release of various therapeutics involve the use of functionalized polymers and hydrogels for targeting diseased cells and organs, or for responding to specific biological stimuli.
* Cell and Tissue Engineering, in which biomimicking materials, stem cell technology and bioimaging are combined to develop novel approaches to regenerative medicine and artificial organs.
* Pharmaceuticals Synthesis and Nanobiotechnology, which encompass the efficient catalytic synthesis of chiral pharmaceuticals, and new materials for sustainable technology and alternative energy generation.
* Biosensors and Biodevices, which involve nanotechnology and microfabricated platforms for the detection and treatment of diseases, and the synthesis and screening of biologics.
IBN's innovative research is aimed at creating new knowledge and intellectual properties in the emerging fields of bioengineering and nanotechnology to attract top-notch researchers and business partners to Singapore. Since 2003, IBN researchers have produced a total of 445 papers published/in press, of which 184 were published in journals with impact factor greater than 3. IBN also plays an active role in technology transfer and spinning off companies, linking the research institute and industrial partners to other global institutions.
As of October 2008, IBN has filed 637 patent applications on its inventions and the Institute is currently looking for partners for collaboration and commercialization of its portfolio of technologies.
IBN's current staff strength stands at around 170 scientists, engineers and doctors. With its multinational and multidisciplinary research staff, the institute is geared towards generating new biomaterials, devices, systems, equipment and processes to boost Singapore's economy in the fast-growing biomedical sector.
IBN is also committed to nurturing young minds, and the institute acts as a training ground for Ph.D. students and undergraduates. In 2003, IBN initiated a Youth Research Program to open its doors to university students, as well as students and teachers from various secondary schools and junior colleges. It has since reached out to more than 23,000 students and teachers from over 190 local and overseas schools and institutions.
In 2008, IBN celebrates 5 years of innovative research. For more information, please log on to http://www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg.
Source: Cathy Yarbrough Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

The Nanotechnology Corporation, or Rosnano, will offer loans of up to 10 years with interest rates starting at 8 percent, Chubais announced at the opening of the First International Forum on Nanotechnology.
The money will be extended to Russian and foreign investors with the view that they will hold controlling stakes in projects, but Rosnano is ready to fund up to 90 percent of each project, Chubais said.
"We are offering absolutely unique conditions for both Russian and foreign investors, whom we will treat equally," he said.
He said Rosnano was willing to provide legal and tax services as well as scientific expertise to investors and was ready to exit a project as soon as "it gets on the rails and starts to bring in a profit."
Chubais' enthusiasm grew visibly as he spoke to an audience of Russian billionaires, foreign government officials and other investors.
"We will defend you from bureaucracy and corruption and will promote your product," Chubais said. "The only condition that you'll have to meet is to produce your nanotechnology product in Russia."
The government has earmarked 130 billion rubles ($4.65 billion) for Rosnano, which it created last year to attract private investment to nanotechnology and raise the technological level of domestic production.
Chubais said Wednesday that he planned to more than double the initial 130 billion rubles over the next eight years. "We will make 240 [billion] of the 130 billion that we now have by managing investments efficiently," he said. "As soon as we make a return, we will invest again."
Chubais said last month that Rosnano was "in a sweet spot" because it had no debts, loans or any other financial obligations.
His speech Wednesday was warmly welcomed by some investors. "Nanotechnology will help us get out of the crisis by making our products cheaper and more efficient," Severstal chief executive Alexei Mordashov told a panel at the forum.
Onexim Group president Mikhail Prokhorov praised Chubais' terms. "The crisis is not a pretext to stop investing in innovation," Prokhorov said. "Catalysts were developed in the United States during the Great Depression, and synthetic fibers were developed in Japan during its 1990s financial crisis."
Prokhorov and Chubais signed an agreement with the director of the Urals Optical and Mechanical Plant, Sergei Maksin, on Wednesday to produce 120 million LED lamps at the plant annually. Under the terms of the 3.35 billion ruble project, Rosnano will invest 1.7 billion rubles for a 17 percent stake, the plant will invest some 620 million rubles for a 33 percent stake and Onexim will invest 840.5 million rubles and control 50 percent together with the scientists who developed the project. The project is expected to become profitable by 2011 and earn a profit of up to 6 billion rubles annually by 2013.
Chubais said the LED lamps, for use in home and office displays as well as in cell phones, would eventually account for around 1 percent of the Russian market and consume seven times less energy than an ordinary electric lamp.
Prokhorov told the forum's newspaper published Wednesday that he was ready to invest "hundreds of millions" into nanotechnology. "We have no problems with finance. We have problems finding quality projects," Prokhorov said on the sidelines of the forum.
Foreign guests were also positive, but cautious. "What Mr. Chubais said is very attractive," said Finnish Deputy Employment and Economy Minister Mikko Alkio, who signed a cooperation agreement with Rosnano on Wednesday. "However, what we really need to invest in Russian nanotechnology is a open market for innovation, which has still to be developed in the country."
Alkio said Finnish firms were interested in investing in energy and telecommunications nanotechnology in Russia.
Chubais said Rosnano would invest 20 billion rubles in 20 projects in the next three months.
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who oversees technology in the government, told the forum that the state would invest $10 billion in nanotechnology in the midterm, half of which would be invested by Rosnano. Ivanov assured journalists on the sidelines of the forum that the crisis would not affect Rosnano's activities.
Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina predicted that investment into nanotechnology would nearly triple over the next decade, with more than half of the money coming from private investors.

A brand new process that could revolutionise the reliability and durability of surgical implants, such as hip and knee replacements, has today, 2 December 08, received recognition for its medical and commercial potential by achieving one of the world's most sought after accolades. A team of researchers, led by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), has received a Medical Futures Innovation Award for its high technology process designed to coat surgical implants with fibres that, for the first time, will encourage the implant to 'bond' with living bone and to last the lifetime of the patient.
This unique surface engineering process is being developed at the Micro-Nano Technology Centre (MNTC) at STFC. In collaboration with the Electrospinning Company Ltd (TECL) and Anglia Ruskin University, the concept will be taken forward under the guidance of a Medical Futures team, and eventually exclusively licensed to TECL, a spin out company of STFC.
This advanced nanotechnology technique builds on an existing technique known as electrospinning, and will utilise a vastly superior electrospinning source to create bespoke fibrous materials. Electrospinning is a process that uses an electrical charge to turn polymers into extremely thin fibres that are 'spun' to form a mat of fine fibres. It is seen as a platform technology for the medical sector with a wide range of applications including tissue regeneration and drug delivery. The MNTC has developed systems to increase the production rate of nanofibres which has been previously prevented this technology from being adopted by industry.
In this case, nanosized hair- like structures, a thousand times thinner than the width of a human hair, are electrospun at MNTC and added to the surface of an orthopaedic implant to create a 'living interface' between the artificial implants and living bone. Not only does this improve the performance of the implants it also significantly increases their durability to last the lifetime of the patient. Any stress on the implant is relieved, making it more reliable and durable. Additionally, it is also possible to add a unique biological coating that can facilitate growth and improve the bonding of healthy tissue to the implant, primarily benefitting patients with osteoarthritis in the aging population and sports injuries in the younger population.
This process will be transferred to UK industry and TECL will provide access to state-of-the-art electrospinning systems. TECL has spun out from STFC to provide open access to electrospinning equipments and expertise to organisations that would like to explore the technique's potential. The main benefit is that this can be done without commercial companies committing to capital investment or developing in-house expertise until the potential value of electrospinning to the organisation is fully understood. TECL is based both at the Daresbury Science and Innovation Centre in Cheshire and at STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, and was founded by CLIK, the wholly-owned technology exploitation company of STFC. TECL's specialised facilities are designed to extend current electrospinning capabilities so that nanofibres can be reproduced in volume.
Dr Robert Stevens, Head of the MNTC at STFC said: "This award provides a major step forward for the future of patients requiring surgical implants and I am thrilled that this concept was selected as an award winner over several hundred entries. Our award is given for translational research innovation to meet the current and future orthopaedic needs of patients."
Mansel Williams, Chief Executive of The Electrospinning Company said: "Ten percent of patients receiving surgical implants go on to develop infection and loosening of their implants, costing the UK at least £14 million every year, £224 million globally. We want to eliminate this by creating the ideal implant surface matched to the individual patient, benefitting both the patient and the economy. This award will now allow us to scale up the testing and commercialisation of these implants"
The Medical Futures Innovation Awards, which were announced at the Medical Futures Innovators Gallery in London, are one of the UK's most highly coveted medical awards, rewarding ground-breaking innovation from front line clinicians and scientists with ideas that have the potential to transform peoples' lives and demonstrate the UK's position as a world beater.
About the Electrospinning Company
The Electrospinning Company Ltd is a spin-out from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and received initial funding from The Rainbow Seed Fund Electrospinning has the unique ability to produce nanofibres of different materials. Almost any soluble polymer with sufficiently high molecular weight can be electrospun. Nanofibres made of natural polymers, polymer blends, nanoparticle or drug impregnated polymers have been successfully demonstrated.
Electrospinning equipment and expertise are available for research into conventional nanofibre-related applications. In addition, The Electrospinning Co Ltd is developing MEMs-based electrospinning nozzle arrays and scale up systems.
These innovations are designed to extend current electrospinning capabilities so that novel nanofibre platforms can be reproducibly made in volume. This provision is expected to improve existing nanofibre solutions and also create new application opportunities.
Operating on a commercial basis as a NanoCentral associate, The Electrospinning Co Ltd offers access to electrospinning equipment and expertise to organisations that would like to explore the technique's potential in their specific applications. The main benefit is that this can be done without committing to capital investment and building up in-house expertise until the potential value of electrospinning to the organisation is fully understood.
There are also benefits to experienced organisations that have electrospinning and nanofibre expertise but would like to collaborate with The Electrospinning Co Ltd to develop specific applications to prototype stage. These include application specific equipment design and engineering, electrospinning raw materials and process development.
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council ensures the UK retains its leading place on the world stage by delivering world-class science; accessing and hosting international facilities; developing innovative technologies; and increasing the socio-economic impact of its research through effective knowledge exchange partnerships.
The Council has a broad science portfolio including Astronomy, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, Space Science, Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron Sources and High Power Lasers. In addition the Council manages and operates three internationally renowned laboratories:
- The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire - The Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire - The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh
The Council gives researchers access to world-class facilities and funds the UK membership of international bodies such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It also contributes money for the UK telescopes overseas on La Palma, Hawaii, Australia and in Chile, and the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, which includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.
The Council distributes public money from the Government to support scientific research. Between 2008 and 2009 we will invest approximately £787 million.
The Council is a partner in the UK space programme, coordinated by the British National Space Centre.
About CLIK
Central Laboratory Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Limited ('CLIK') is the wholly-owned technology exploitation company of the Science & Technology Facilities Council. CLIK has the exclusive rights to the commercial exploitation of STFC's intellectual property at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory (DL) in Cheshire and the Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) in Edinburgh. Working closely with the technical inventors, the CLIK team progresses individual projects through various business models to the point of implementation as commercial licenses or spin-out companies.

''The total amount of funding for nano initiatives has been approved at about 10 billion dollars in Russia for the mid-term, with half of the funds coming from the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation,'' Mr Ivanov said.
''The corporation is set to invest about 714 million dollars in more than 20 projects within the next three months,'' the head of the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation Anatoly Chubais said.
Mr Ivanov said global government, corporate and venture investment in nanotechnology totaled 13.5 billion dollars last year.
He said the extensive use of nanotechnology could put the Russian economy, currently heavily dependent on raw materials, on an innovative track.
''Today, the development and use of nanotechnology and nano-materials predetermines the rate of research development, which means potential for Russia's socio-economic expansion,'' Mr Ivanov said.
In his message to the forum, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said scientific achievements should target improvements in living standards in the country, rather than just boosting economic growth.
''We have all the required conditions for a future breakthrough to create a potential dominance in the sphere of nanotechnology,'' Mr Medvedev said.

A new blood scanner developed by Stanford researchers may allow doctors to identify cancer in patients sooner, and treat the disease faster, say researchers. It can search for cancer-associated proteins in a blood sample and returns results in less than an hour.
The scanner uses magnetic nanotechnology to spot the cancer proteins and is ten to hundreds of times more sensitive than existing commercial devices. As a result, proteins can be found while there are relatively few of them in the bloodstream and the cancer is still at a very early stage.
A silicon chip in the scanner identifies the cancer-related proteins in the blood sample. The chip works by using an identification process called "bio-recognition." If a blood sample contains cancerous proteins, it links up with complementary proteins on the chip. When this happens, it is clear that there are cancerous proteins in the body.
"This could be especially helpful for lung cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer, because those cancers are hidden in the body," said Shan Wang, a Stanford professor of materials science and of electrical engineering in a press release. Wang was one of the senior authors of the paper.
The device still has to undergo clinical testing and trials. Wang has co-founded a start-up, MagArray, that will seek regulatory approval for the scanner. The researchers published their results in the December 1st edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Good news for those who hate washing socks, are worried about hygiene or resent spending money on dry cleaning: self cleaning forms of wool and silk have been developed with the help of nanotechnology.
Wool socks, skirts and silk ties may soon clean themselves of smells and stains in the sunshine, researchers in Australia and China suggest.
The secret is a nano particle coating, one already used to keep windows clear, that could lead to "self-cleaning" versions of wool and silk fabrics.
Wool and silk, which are composed of natural proteins called keratins, are among the most prized and widely used fabrics in the clothing industry. However, they are difficult to keep clean and are easily damaged by conventional cleaning agents.
In the new study, scheduled for publication in the journal Chemistry of Materials, Dr Walid Daoud of Monash University, Victoria, Australia, and colleagues prepared wool fabrics with and without a nanoparticle coating - particles around five nanometres across (five billionths of a metre) composed of anatase titanium dioxide, a substance already used as a pigment that is known to break down and destroy contaminants upon exposure to sunlight.
"The self-cleaning technology in our work uses titanium dioxide photocatalyst that when triggered by light, it decomposes dirt, stains, harmful microorganisms and so on," says Dr Daoud.
The researchers then stained the fabric samples with red wine. After 20 hours of exposure to simulated sunlight, the coated fabric showed almost no signs of the red stain, whereas the untreated fabric remained deeply stained, the researchers say.
The coating, which is non-toxic, can be permanently bonded to the fibre and does not alter its texture and feel, they note, so a silk tie would still feel silky.
The tricky part of the research was finding a way to bind the keratin to the titanium dioxide, he says. "Applying a ceramic inorganic material to organic fibres, in particular keratin protein fibres such as wool, silk, hemp, and spider silk, remained a challenge."
After a chemical reaction to "activate" the surface of the fibres, the team found it could make the titanium dioxide crystals stick.
As for when self-cleaning socks could be on the market, Dr Daoud tells The Telegraph: "It is anticipated that as soon as the technology receives the approval technically and economically, you will then be able to see the product in the market. Currently, industrial testing and mill trials of this patent-pending technology are being conducted."
He adds: "I believe that self-cleaning property will become a standard feature of future textile and other commonly used materials to maintain hygiene and prevent the spreading of pathogenic infection. Particularly since pathogenic microorganisms can survive on textile surfaces for up to three months.
"Self-cleaning technology can also help in reducing the consumption of chemicals, such as detergents and dry-cleaning solvents, water, and energy."

IT sounds like a plot straight out of a science-fiction novel by Michael Crichton. Toiletry companies formulate new cutting-edge creams and lotions that contain tiny components designed to work more effectively. But those minuscule building blocks have an unexpected drawback: the ability to penetrate the skin, swarm through the body and overwhelm organs like the liver.
Times Topics: NanotechnologyHumans have long lived in dread of such nightmare scenarios in which swarms of creatures attack. Alfred Hitchcock envisioned menacing flocks in “The Birds.” In the 1990 film “Arachnophobia” a killer spider arrives in the United States, where it attacks and multiplies.
And now comes nanophobia, the fear that tiny components engineered on the nanoscale — that is, 100 nanometers or less — could run amok inside the body. A human hair, for example, is 50,000 to 100,000 nanometers in diameter. A nanoparticle of titanium dioxide in a sunscreen could be as small as 15 nanometers. (One nanometer equals a billionth of a meter.)
“The smaller a particle, the further it can travel through tissue, along airways or in blood vessels,” said Dr. Adnan Nasir, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Especially if the nanoparticles are indestructible and accumulate and are not metabolized, if you accumulate them in the organs, the organs could fail.”
Indeed, some doctors, scientists and consumer advocates are concerned that many industries are adopting nanotechnology ahead of studies that would establish whether regular ingestion, inhalation or dermal penetration of these particles constitute a health or environmental hazard. Personal care products are simply the lowest hanging fruit.
But people are already exposed to nanoparticles. Stoves and toaster ovens emit ultrafine particles of 2 to 30 nanometers, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology; the researchers reported last month that long-term contact with such appliances could constitute a large exposure to the smallest of nanoparticles.
Several products already use nano-engineered materials. There are “nano pants,” stain-resistant chinos and jeans whose fabric contain nano-sized whiskers that repel oil and dirt, and nanocycles made from carbon nanotubes that are stronger and lighter than standard steel bicycles. And in lotions and creams, the use of nanocomponents may create a more cosmetically elegant effect — like uniformity or spreadability.
Some ingredients may behave differently as nanoparticles than they do in larger forms. Nano-sized silver, for example, can act as an antibacterial agent on the skin. Larger particles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide result in white pasty sunscreens; but as nanoparticles, they appear more transparent.
When it comes to beauty products, however, some consumer advocates are concerned that dynamic nanoparticles could pose risks to the skin or, if they penetrate the skin, to other parts of the body. Mineral sunscreens have attracted the most attention.
“Substances that are perfectly benign could be toxic at the nano scale,” said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, the company behind Consumer Reports. “Because they are so small, they could go places in the body that could not be done before.”
This month, the magazine published a study it had commissioned that found mineral nanoparticles in five sunscreens, even though four of the companies had denied using them. In October, Dr. Hansen sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, asking the agency to require cosmetics and sunscreen manufacturers to run safety tests on nano scale ingredients. In the letter, he cited a few studies published in scientific journals that reported that exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide caused damage to the organs of laboratory animals and human cell cultures.
But cosmetics industry representatives said there was no evidence that personal care products that contain nano-size components constitute a health hazard. Furthermore, no rigorous clinical trials have been published showing that cosmetics with nanocomponents caused health problems. A review of the potential risks of nanomaterials, carried out for the European Center for Toxicology in 2006, concluded that sunscreens with metal nanoparticles were unlikely to penetrate healthy skin, but it did raise the question of whether safety studies should examine if such materials may penetrate damaged skin.
“It’s very difficult to get anything through the skin,” said John Bailey, the executive vice president for science of the Personal Care Products Council, an industry trade group in Washington. “The skin is a very effective barrier.”
Indeed, some nanotechnology researchers said it was illogical to assume that a nano-size component inherently carries greater risk than a larger component. Furthermore, some say cosmetics may contain molecules like a silicone fluid called cyclopentasiloxane that are even smaller than nanomaterials.
“I think it’s a double standard because nanoparticles are less likely to go through the skin than solutions where you are using single molecules,” said Robert S. Langer, a chemical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He is developing nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of cancer medications, and is a founder of Living Proof, a cosmetics company that makes hair products. “The molecules in a cream are certainly going to be smaller than a nanoparticle.”
Times Topics: NanotechnologyThe Food and Drug Administration does not require manufacturers to list the format of ingredients on labels. The agency does require cosmetics manufacturers to ensure that their products are safe for use; in 2006, the agency created its own task force to investigate the safety of engineered nanomaterials.
Ken Marenus, the senior vice president of regulatory affairs worldwide at the Estée Lauder companies, said nanomaterials had to undergo the same kind of assessment for exposure, risk and dosage levels as any other cosmetic component. “The same toxicological standards for every chemical will apply to nano,” he said.
Dr. Bailey of the Personal Care Products Council estimated that several thousand sunscreens and cosmetics currently use some kind of nanoscale component.
Cor soap, for example, uses 50-nanometer particles of silver combined with silica that are smaller than the size of a skin pore. The material is designed to enter the pores and kill bacteria.
“The silver suffocates the bacteria and then you rinse it off with water,” said Jennifer McKinley, the chief executive of Cor. Although a study has shown that nanosilver can permeate broken skin, Ms. McKinley said the soap was safe because it contains only a limited amount of nanosilver and the particles do not remain on the skin.
Indeed, using nanoderivatives of precious metals is becoming a trend. Last year, Chantecaille introduced Nano Gold Energizing Cream, a $420 face cream that contains 5-nanometer particles of 24-carat gold encapsulated in silk fibers. Sylvie Chantecaille, the chief executive of the company, said the capsules delivered the gold particles, which work as an antioxidant, into the surface layers of the skin. “It’s a very effective way to transport beneficial ingredients,” she said.
But many beauty companies are shying away from discussing minuscule particles in their cosmetics. And that kind of avoidance may itself stoke nanophobia. For example, when La Prairie introduced its Cellular Cream Platinum Rare earlier this year, the company sent out press materials promoting “nano-sized Hesperidin Smart Crystals to protect DNA” in the formula. But, in a phone interview, Sven Gohla, the company’s vice president for research and development, distanced the brand from nanotechnology. Just because the particles of hesperidin, a flavonoid, in the formula are small does not mean they are manufactured nanotechnology, he said.
Last month, a consumer group in London called Which? published a survey it had conducted of 67 cosmetics companies on the prevalence and safety testing of nanomaterials in personal care products. Only 17 companies responded, of which eight acknowledged using nanomaterials.
“When nanotechnology was hot, everybody wanted to talk about ‘nano this, nano that.’ Look at the iPod nano,” said Dr. Hansen of Consumers Union. “But now that the concerns have come out, people are not so sure the word nano is a good thing to be touted.”

Bristol University has won funding for four new centres that will generate the scientists and engineers needed for Britain's future, it was announced today [5 December 2008] by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) – the UK funding body for science and engineering. The four centres, which will receive funding totalling over £24 million, are:
Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials Holistic Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science, based in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, will help provide the necessary skill base and expertise to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. The rapidly growing use of composites in aerospace and renewable energy requires a technological transformation for the UK to maintain a lead. This centre will encompass all aspects of the materials science and engineering of composite materials.
The Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials will train a new generation of scientists in the area of functional nanomaterials to connect fundamental nanoscience with real-life applications, coupled to economic and societal benefits, in the areas of healthcare, computing and pharmaceuticals.
The Holistic Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis, based in the School of Chemistry, will train world-class PhD students, with enhanced team-working and problem-solving skills, who will create better, greener and more efficient processes for making new drugs and medicines, new materials, polymers and nanomaterials. They will ensure that the UK maintains its competitive position as the place for highly innovative and creative research. The centre has also attracted massive additional funding from leading UK pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries.
The Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems will provide a research and training environment designed using 'systems thinking' principles to develop tomorrow’s leaders in the heart of UK industry and deliver industrially relevant research and commercially successful innovation.
Professor Eric Thomas, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is wonderful news. It confirms the University is right at the forefront of developments in these key areas of science and engineering. It is here in Science City Bristol that many of the next generation's leading innovators will shape the future."
Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, announced the £250 million initiative, which will create 44 training centres across the UK and generate over 2,000 PhD and EngD graduates. They will tackle some of the biggest problems currently facing Britain, such as climate change, energy, our ageing population, and high-tech crime.
Lord Drayson said: “Britain faces many challenges in the 21st century and needs scientists and engineers with the right skills to find answers to these challenges, build a strong economy and keep us globally competitive. EPSRC’s doctoral training centres will provide a new wave of engineers and scientists to do the job.”
He continued: “These new centres will help to develop clean renewable energy, fight high tech crime, assist in reducing carbon emissions, and discover new healthcare solutions for an ageing population. This is an exciting, innovative approach to training young researchers and will help build a better future for Britain.”
EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training are a bold new approach to training PhD students and EngD research engineers, creating communities of researchers working on current and future challenges. Seventeen of the new centres will be industrial training centres that will equip their students with the business skills they need to turn pioneering ideas into products and services, boosting their impact on the UK’s economy.
Professor Dave Delpy, chief executive of EPSRC, said: “People are the heart of our future strategy. We want to drive a modern economy and meet the challenges of tomorrow by investing in talented people and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
He continued: “EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training expand our existing training portfolio, focus on priority themes for the UK, emerging and multidisciplinary research, and greater collaboration with business.”
The initiative is widely supported by business and industry. The involvement of the South West Regional Development Agency was vital to the success of Bristol’s bids.
The multidisciplinary centres bring together diverse areas of expertise to train engineers and scientists with the skills, knowledge and confidence to tackle today’s evolving issues. They also create new working cultures, build relationships between teams in universities and forge lasting links with industry.
Students in these centres will receive a formal programme of taught coursework to develop and enhance their technical interdisciplinary knowledge, and broaden their set of skills. Alongside this they will undertake a challenging and original research project at doctoral level.
--------------- Further information: Quotes from the University of Bristol Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) Directors:
The Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science
Dr Paul Weaver, Director of the Centre, said: “This award will give us the opportunity to address and create an internationally leading DTC encompassing the materials science and engineering of composite materials. The Centre will contribute significantly by providing a step-change in capacity, supporting more than 50 PhD students in this strategically important area and strengthens the UK's already excellent reputation in advanced composites.”
The Doctoral Training Centre in Functional Nanomaterials
Dr Terry McMaster, Director of the Centre, said: “The award of a DTC to the Bristol functional nanomaterials team is a landmark event for the University of Bristol, and the wider nanomaterials community in the UK. The training of a new generation of scientists in the area of functional nanomaterials is of great national urgency if robust interconnections are to be forged between fundamental nanoscience and real-life applications, and coupled to economic and societal benefits.
“Housed in the University’s new £12 million Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information, each DTC student of the Bristol functional nanomaterials centre will receive state-of-the-art training, brimming with innovative elements, and will be part of, and contribute, to a world-class research environment supported by the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering.”
The centre is intrinsically interdisciplinary, and will be led by the Director (Dr Terry McMaster), Principal (Professor Stephen Mann), and co-Principal (Professor Mervyn Miles).
The Holistic Doctoral Training Centre for Chemical Synthesis
Professor Kevin Booker-Milburn, Centre Director, said: “Chemical synthesis is an area of huge significance as it contributes to so many materials and products found in all aspects of everyday life. Our centre, which has attracted massive additional funding from leading UK pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries, will train a new generation of world-class PhD students, with enhanced team-working and problem-solving skills, who will create better, greener and more efficient processes and ensure the UK maintains its competitive position as the place for highly innovative and creative research.”
The Industrial Doctorate Centre in Systems
Professor Patrick Godfrey, Systems Centre Director, said: “This award puts us on track to deliver our vision of being recognised as a world-leading centre for systems by 2012. Industrial need for integration is at the root of our success; consequently there is a considerable unsatisfied demand for holistic systems engineers, and ‘systems thinking’ skills generally. Industry support and participation in our centre are essential, and we have this in abundance with over 40 companies actively involved. Bristol’s stakeholder-needs driven approach has been widely welcomed and is leading to a rapidly growing portfolio of industrial and fundamental research. The IDC is an opportunity to build on the success of the EPSRC-funded EngD Centre, started in 2006, and our excellent collaboration with the University of Bath.”
About EPSRC
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the main UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, investing around £740 million a year in a broad range of subjects – from mathematics to materials science, and from information technology to structural engineering.

The University of Kansas and ConocoPhillips have announced a three-year collaborative nanotechnology research program that will focus on the development and testing of new technologies for oil field stimulation to enhance recovery to help meet growing energy demand. ConocoPhillips will contribute $400,000 per year to the program.
Lawrence, KS - infoZine - Nanotechnology — engineering on the scale of atoms and molecules — is commonly used in a number of industries, and its application in the oil and gas industry represents a major prospect for substantial and sustained benefits. KU is not only viewed as an innovation leader in nanotechnology research but also has been examining and developing enhanced oil recovery techniques through its Tertiary Oil Recovery Project since 1974. While enhanced oil recovery techniques that use injected fluids to stimulate hydrocarbon recovery have been employed for decades, inclusion of nanoparticles may lead to more efficient and environmentally sensitive technologies.
“KU’s extensive experience in enhanced oil recovery and nanotechnology provides an ideal foundation for our collaborative research focused on developing promising new oilfield applications,” said Stephen Brand, senior vice president for technology at ConocoPhillips. “ConocoPhillips is pleased to be working with KU to discover some of the next generation of solutions to the world’s energy challenges.”
“KU has a terrific team of researchers working with ConocoPhillips,” said Steve Warren, vice provost for research and graduate studies. “Energy research in all its forms is a major area of strength for KU. We’re pleased to be working with ConocoPhillips to foster innovation, support additional research and increase the productivity of an important sector of the economy.”
Under the agreement, KU researchers will use nanotechnology to generate polymer-type products and will conduct initial screening and testing. ConocoPhillips will provide additional evaluation and field testing to determine the products’ practical application.

Although her answer was technically incorrect in that nanotechnology will not shrink pants, her thinking was headed in the right direction.
Nanotechnology involves the shrinking of scientific substances into the nanoscale (1 nm = 10-9 m), and building substances at the atomic level to create new materials and devices, explained Beth Baumert, SCC Chemistry instructor. “It is the study and control of matter on an atomic and/or molecular scale,” she said.
As for the pants, they do exist. Just ask SCC Computer Science instructor Gerald Thurman.
What do nano-pants, the newest sunscreens, and cell phones have in common? They are commercial products that include components or materials that are made of substances that have been reduced into the nanoscale in order to make the product better, more functional, or more appealing to the consumer.
Many new sunscreens, for instance, are made with transparent zinc oxide, a substance that allows wearers to shield themselves from the sun while avoiding the pasty white nose effect made famous by local lifeguards. Sunblock can now change from white to colorless when zinc oxide nanoparticles are used because the optical properties of the materials are altered as the size of particles change. When they get smaller, they become transparent.
Cell phone technology is in a daily state of change it seems, much of it involving nanotechnology. Thurman describes a new product in development that is aided by nanotechnology – a ‘band-aid’ that is applied to a cell phone battery that will extend the life of the battery.
“Eventually cell phones will become more computer-like, but the size needs to stay small,” he said. “Nanotechnology will allow it to stay small,” explaining that current magnification technology allows computer scientists to burn more onto the silicon chip, although tomorrow’s technology will likely improve the process so that these effects can be maximized.
Many solar product companies are riding the nanotechnology bandwagon. California-based Nanosolar is exploring new territory in its quest to deliver cost-effective solar electricity. According to Thurman, current products include nano particle-based coatings in which the particles are charged by the sun’s rays. The coatings can be used on houses and cars for starters, and if more energy is needed, additional coatings can be applied.
According to Baumert, nanotechnology has been around for many centuries -- used for beer-making, Egyptian enamels and stained-glass windows. It was first mentioned by Richard Feynman in 1959. He described a process by which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed.
SCC understands the significance of nanotechnology and has served as host for the Arizona Nanotechnology Cluster’s annual symposium for the past two years. A nonprofit organization, the Cluster was formed to share technological advances and promote business development in the nanotechnology field. Last year, over 340 people attended the symposium at SCC, many from around the world.
In 2007, the symposium’s keynote speaker, Wade Adams from Rice University--the leader in nanotechnology research, explained that nanotechnology will play a key role in solving the world’s energy problems. “He said ‘become a scientist – save the world’,” recalled Thurman.
Nanotechnology is a diverse and multidisciplinary field. It has wide-ranging applications, including medicine, electronics, and energy production. According to Baumert, it has the potential to benefit everyone.
The commercial benefits include pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects, stain-resistant clothing (such as Thurman’s nano-pants), faster and more powerful computers (for complex operations such as weather prediction or modeling new electronic materials on an atomic scale), and the use of nano-composite fibers to strengthen sports equipment (such as in the bicycle used by Floyd Landis in the 2006 Tour de France).
The humanitarian benefits of nanotechnology include developing more efficient ways to produce energy--thus lowering its cost, removing toxins from waste streams through the use of filters made with nanoscale porous structures, creating more effective drug delivery, developing new cancer treatments, and making faster, cheaper medical diagnostic techniques.
Multiple academic disciplines are involved in the study and application of nanotechnology. Chemistry works with fuel cells, surface reactions, and nanoparticles. Computer Science works with new magnetic materials for computer hard drives and quantum-based computers. Electrical Engineering works to make faster, smaller electronic devices.
Material Science and Engineering works with carbon nanotubes for strengthening materials, nanoparticles for more efficient solar cells, and biocompatible materials to make such devices as hip joints. Medicine works with drug delivery systems and molecular self-assembly for producing pharmaceuticals. Physics works with quantum dots.
Kyle Rawlings, physics professor at SCC, explains that quantum dots will allow us to manipulate natural substances so they can be programmable. “What if I need… solar cells?” said Rawlings, explaining that any device or object we need can be created through these programmable substances.
Scientists are now developing the tools to build quantum dots. “The programmable quantum dots will tell atoms how to chemically bond to create whatever we need,” explained Rawlings.
The concept of quantum dots sounds like the stuff of modern science fiction, yet Rawlings explains that large research universities are currently in the process of working with claytronics, a form of quantum dots technology in which nanoscale robots become capable of self-assembly. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcaqzOUv2Ao).
Where is nanotechnology headed and how fast is this science growing? The 2008 budget for the US federal agencies participating in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is nearly 1.5 billion dollars, noted Baumert. The National Science Foundation predicts that nano-related goods and services could be a one-trillion dollar market by 2015, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in history.
SCC students will get to join the nanotech bandwagon by joining SCC’s Nano-newbies club (currently being formed). For more information about the club, contact Gerald Thurman.
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Scottsdale, AZ (October 9, 2008)
About Scottsdale Community College: Scottsdale Community College offers over 1,500 academic and non-credit classes each semester. Located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the campus is known for its serene atmosphere and beautiful plant and wildlife. With nearly 12,000 students, Scottsdale Community College is proud to offer high-quality, affordable programs in small class settings. From Motion Picture/Television Production and Culinary Arts to Nursing and American Indian Studies, students have a wide variety of programs from which to earn credits for university transfer, launch their careers, train for new ones, or pursue a special interest. The SCC Business Institute offers customized programs to meet the needs of local business. Scottsdale Community College is one of the ten Maricopa Community Colleges.
To learn about the many academic programs at Scottsdale Community College, call us at (480) 423-6000 or visit our website at scottsdalecc.edu.
Media contact:
Denise Kronsteiner (480) 423-6567 denise.kronsteiner@sccmail.maricopa.edu

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 1, 2008 – Imagine a self-powering cell phone that never needs to be charged because it converts sound waves produced by the user into the energy it needs to keep running. It's not as far-fetched as it may seem thanks to the recent work of Tahir Cagin, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
Utilizing materials known in scientific circles as "piezoelectrics," Cagin, whose research focuses on nanotechnology, has made a significant discovery in the area of power harvesting – a field that aims to develop self-powered devices that do not require replaceable power supplies, such as batteries.
Specifically, Cagin and his partners from the University of Houston have found that a certain type of piezoelectric material can covert energy at a 100 percent increase when manufactured at a very small size – in this case, around 21 nanometers in thickness.
What's more, when materials are constructed bigger or smaller than this specific size they show a significant decrease in their energy-converting capacity, he said.
His findings, which are detailed in an article published this fall in "Physical Review B," the scientific journal of the American Physical Society, could have potentially profound effects for low-powered electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, personal communicators and a host of other computer-related devices used by everyone from the average consumer to law enforcement officers and even soldiers in the battlefield.
Many of these high-tech devices contain components that are measured in nanometers – a microscopic unit of measurement representing one-billionth of a meter. Atoms and molecules are measured in nanometers, and a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide.
Though Cagin's subject matter is small, its impact could be huge. His discovery stands to advance an area of study that has grown increasingly popular due to consumer demand for compact portable and wireless devices with extended lifespans.
Battery life remains a major concern for popular mp3 players and cell phones that are required to perform an ever-expanding array of functions. But beyond mere consumer convenience, self-powering devices are of major interest to several federal agencies.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has investigated methods for soldiers in the field to generate power for their portable equipment through the energy harvested from simply walking. And sensors – such as those used to detect explosives – could g