Project Press Releases
- July 9, 2007pdfTomorrow's Green NanofactoriesViruses are notorious villains. They cause serious human diseases like AIDS, polio, and influenza, and can lead to system crashes and data loss in computers. A new podcast explores how nanotechnology researcher Angela Belcher, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is working with viruses to make them do good things. By exploiting a virus’s ability to replicate rapidly and combine with semiconductor and electronic materials, she is coaxing them to grow and self-assemble nanomaterials into a functional electronic device. Through this marriage of nanotechnology with green chemistry, Belcher and her team are working toward building faster, better, cheaper and environmentally-friendly transistors, batteries, solar cells, diagnostic materials for detecting cancer, and semiconductors for use in modern electrical devices—everything from computers to cell phones.
- June 25, 2007pdfNanotechnology: Consumers Must Be Convinced Benefits Outweigh Risks“There is no doubt that nanotechnology has the potential to make the world a better place,” said Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Chief Scientist Andrew Maynard. “But if consumers and other stakeholders are not convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks, many applications will not see the light of day. Likewise, if the benefits are unclear and the risks uncertain, the products of nanotechnology will be a hard sell.”
- June 7, 2007pdfProject on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Grocery Manufacturers Association to Develop Case StudiesThe Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (a partnership between the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) today announced that they are jointly sponsoring the development of a series of case studies on the commercialization and regulation of engineered nanoscale materials for food and packaging materials. The case studies will illustrate and critically evaluate the path to commercialization of hypothetical products, focusing on supply chain stewardship and regulatory oversight. They will be developed by technical experts from government, academia, industry, and nongovernmental organizations.
- June 4, 2007pdfNanotechnology Used in Nearly 500 Everyday ProductsThe number of consumer products using nanotechnology has more than doubled, from 212 to 475, in the 14 months since the Wilson Center’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) launched the world’s first online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006. Noted as a resource for advertised or labeled nanotechnology products in an article in the July 2007 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, the newly updated PEN list is available free at www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts.
- May 23, 2007pdfNanotechnology May Pose EPA's Greatest Challenge and OpportunityStatement by William D. Ruckelshaus, First Administrator (1970-73) and Former Administrator (1983-85), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- May 23, 2007pdfNanotechnology Requires Immediate Changes in EPARegulatory oversight of nanotechnology is urgently needed and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should act now, reports a new study released today. In EPA and Nanotechnology: Oversight for the 21st Century, former EPA assistant administrator for policy, planning and evaluation, J. Clarence (Terry) Davies, provides a roadmap for a new EPA to better handle the challenges of nanotechnology. New nanomaterials and nanotechnology products are entering the market each week, and an adequate oversight system is necessary to identify and minimize any adverse effects of nano materials and products on health or the environment. Davies’ report sets out an agenda for creating an effective oversight system as nanotechnology advances—the technology that some have hailed as “the next industrial revolution.”
- May 17, 2007pdfMapping the New U.S. "Nano Metro" Economy: Five Cities Lead as Nanotech Business, Research, and Education ClustersWith nanotechnology poised to be the globe’s next big economic driver, five U.S. cities have emerged as the country’s top “Nano Metro” locations—areas with the nation’s highest concentration of nanotech companies, universities, research laboratories, and organizations.
- May 15, 2007pdfNanotechnology Now Used in Nearly 500 Everyday ProductsThe number of consumer products using nanotechnology has more than doubled, from 212 to 475, in the 14 months since the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies launched the world’s first online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006. Clothing and cosmetics top the inventory at 77 and 75 products, respectively. A list of nanotechnology products that also includes bedding, jewelry, sporting goods, nutritional and personal care items is available free at www.nanotechproject.org/consumerproducts.
- April 26, 2007pdfNanotechnology Provides "Green" Path to Environmentally Sustainable EconomyAs products made with nanometer-scale materials and devices spread to more industries and markets, there is a growing opportunity and responsibility to leverage nanotechnology to reduce pollution, conserve resources and, ultimately, build a “clean” economy, advises a new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.
- April 23, 2007pdfNanotechnology Offers Hope for Treating Spinal Cord Injuries, Diabetes, Heart and Parkinson's DiseaseImagine a world where damaged organs in your body—kidneys, liver, heart—can be stimulated to heal themselves. Envision people tragically paralyzed whose injured spinal cords can be repaired. Think about individuals suffering from the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s relieved of their symptoms – completely and permanently.
