Small Times reports that nanotechnology medical applications are expected to climb immensely: U.S. demand for nanotechnology medical products will increase over 17 percent per year to $53 billion in 2011, says The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm. Afterwards, the increasing flow of new nanomedicines, nanodiagnostics, and nanotech-based medical supplies and devices into… Continue reading Nanotechnology health uses to grow hugely
Richard Jones and commenters bring our attention to a number of enticing research papers on the use of catalysis and molecular motors to produce movement. One paper mentioned sounds particularly useful: an overview of progress on Synthetic Molecular Motors and Mechanical Machines. From the abstract: The widespread use of controlled molecular-level motion in key natural… Continue reading Nanotechnology leading to molecular machines
A while back I offered to write more about Health and Nanotechnology: Economic, Societal, and Institutional Impact, a report from a conference convened with the cooperation of the U.S. Dept. of State and the European Commission, part of a series called Perspectives on the Future of Science and Technology, which has a ten-year time horizon.… Continue reading Nanotechnology for health: 10-year EU-US perspective
If you’re a Foresight member, you’re already helping improve nanotechnology policy, but here’s another way: apply to participate in the upcoming online course Debating Science and The Nanotechnology Debate. In the syllabus (pdf), the actual course name appears to be “Debating Science: Practical Reasoning and Nanotechnology”: For example, what is the current state of development… Continue reading Your chance to influence nanotechnology policy
Fortunately for us, Elsevier and the Institute of Nanotechnology — both based in Europe — are competing for eyeballs in the nanotechnology magazine race. This means they are letting us see their publications for free online, at least for now. From the IoN we have the excitedly-named new monthly “NanoNOW!”, the first issue of which… Continue reading Nanotechnology magazine competition: you decide
We mentioned earlier the Harvard Business Review list of Breakthrough Ideas for 2007. Nanotechnology shows up again in another idea on the list — this one rather more controversial. Phillip Longman observes that falling birthrates lead, over time, to an increase in families with more conservative values, because they reproduce more. Seems plausible. He then… Continue reading Nanotechnology alleged to aid patriarchy
John Walker brings to our attention an apparently distressing set of concerns regarding the new version of Windows, known as Vista, written up by Peter Gutman as A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection. Excerpts: The only way to protect the HFS [Hardware Functionality Scan] process therefore is to not release any technical details… Continue reading Windows Vista: potential negative impact on nanotechnology
The Harvard Business Review has named its top 20 Breakthrough Ideas for 2007, and home-based, atomically-precise manufacturing makes the list. Business in the Nanocosm, by UC Berkeley business prof Rashi Glazer, does a good job of conveying the future of home-based nanomanufacturing. Excerpts: Conventional manufacturing carves or distills a purpose-suited device from a mass of… Continue reading Nanotechnology: Just-in-time nanomanufacturing at home
We at Foresight are often asked for advice on nanotechnology investing, which we are not qualified to give, so we refer folks elsewhere. Most sources of nanotech investing advice are boosters, so it’s also useful to hear from those taking another view. Over at Nanotechnology Now we get some unusually blunt comments from columnist Pearl… Continue reading Blunt advice on nanotechnology investing
We should assume that those participating the ETC Group’s nanotechnology hazard symbol contest are all trying to be helpful, and such a symbol may someday be of some use. However, of the three top symbols named as winners, the first one — by far the most vivid — has a real problem. First, see the… Continue reading Nanotechnology hazard symbol misleading
