t e c h i e - t a l k s ::: technology at its best

Madison (WI) - A national telephone survey of American households, compared with a sampling of 363 leading nanotechnology scientists, has revealed an interesting factoid:  scientists are more concerned over the potential health and environmental hazards from nanotechnology than are regular citizens.  Are their concerns justified?

The study, published last Friday in the Nature Nanotechnology journal, is opposite of that seen previously with new technologies like nuclear power and genetically modified foods.  In those cases, the public’s concern over safety was greater than the scientists’.

Nanotechnology involves tiny man-made creations which will be small enough to enter cells, move around inside the body and act on a set of pre-programmed parameters.  They’ll do mechanical things, injecting medicine, creating structures, whatever is necessary and has been programmed by their developers.

In such technologies, scientists foresee potential risks greater than the public does today.  While the general concensus isn’t that there are bona fide problems, their claims are that a host of known unknowns (things we know we don’t yet know) need to be resolved before the technology can be deemed anywhere close to being safe.  The scientists have a grasp on this position far more so than the public does, according to the survey.

Source: tgdaily.com

Author’s opinions:

With every technology comes benefits and risks. It’s not something new that everytime a new technology is in its birth stages, scientists will list down all the possible risks that the technology posses. This could be doubtlessly bad in a sense that to a large extent, hinders the development of the technology.

However, we cannot totally ignore the dangers that nanotech could bring to Man and his environment. For example, there’s a fear that with the advancement of nanotechnology, a new “arms race” may arise. Other than that, there are dangers of nanotech misuse by terrorist to invoke chaos. “Nano-bots” are small enough to enter one’s body to create havoc to the molecules in your body and nobody will know what actually struck. 

Therefore, there is a need for controlled experiments and research by authorized bodies to ensure that nanotech engineering must always be ethical. Nanotechnology brings about boundless possibilities that can benefit Man and it should not be stopped. Regulation through education, legislations and active control are just few ways to prevent unethical use of nanotechnology or the manufacture of nanotech weapons.