Nano fears

Fiona Harvey has a nice piece, Can we overcome nano-fear? in today's FT

The piece begins by stating the current "fear" models (grey goo, "nano in my lungs!"), and then traces some of their roots.

Public fear of nanotechnology has been fuelled recently by public figures ranging from thriller writers to members of the English monarchy. Michael Crichton's novel Prey posited a future in which nanomachines take over the planet. Prince Charles weighed in last year with his views on the dangers of grey goo.

Environmental groups have also taken up the cause, chiefly ETC (Action Group for Erosion, Technology and Concentration), a Canada-based group that has called for a moratorium on nanotechnology research while safety standards are worked out for dealing with nanotubes.

A nice connection is made between nano and the current situation of GM crop. And like GM, the article offers that:

A moratorium on research, along the lines of that on GM crops, would be a "disaster", says Prof Donaldson. The promise of nanotechnology, in applications from healthcare to industry, is too great to be neglected.

Given the British roots of the publication, it points out that the U.S. does not seem to be reacting to the current fear-mongering, while Europeans are still undecided given their acceptance of the jeremiads over GM (and BSE).

It ends with a nice piece on current applications of nano and how "nano" itself is changing from top-down, bulk materials to something more complex and promising.