Nanotechnology is one of today’s fastest growing fields. It has enormous potential. Nanotechnology can either revolutionize our world in ways that no one can possibly predict or it can lead to our destruction if it is not properly controlled and regulated. Nanotechnology is powerful because of it’s small size, but that size, thousands of times thinner than a human hair allows nanomaterials to easily pass into human cells, where they can possibly disrupt cell functions or cause the destruction of those cells. Today nanotechnology has progressed so far that we can encounter it and interact with it almost everyday, in many cases without our knowledge. The United States currently has a “innocent until proven guilty” policy dealing with many new materials and technology. The dangers of using nanotechnology are not fully known and will not be for many years to come. Until then, the use of nanotechnology and the research of it will be increasing at an ever increasing rate. If today’s trends continue into the future society could be entirely immersed in nanotechnology by the time that it’s dangers are fully realized.
However, Berkeley, California has taken the initiative and has placed nanoparticles on it’s hazardous materials list. It’s move was based on years of re search into nanotoxicology, a topic covered today by Hilary Goodwin.
Today, nanosilver particals are in wide use in athletic clothing because of silver’s antibacterial properties. One of the dangers it poses is that those nanosilver particles have been shown to fall out of the clothing and into the water. Silver’s antibacterial properties affect not only harmful bacteria but beneficial bacterial as well. As nanosilver particles leak into the enviornment they will adversely affect it. So far, the effects have been inconsequential, but with continuing pressure, even the Earth’s mighty envoirnments, like the stain resistant lab coats demonstrated to us, will eventually yield.
Hydrophobic and stain resistant lab coat demonstration
http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/04/07/NanoParticles/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/11/24/MNGP9MJ4KI1.DTL
http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=BJIOBN00000200000400MR17000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Yes
http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Technology/Nanotechnology//
http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/3