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Thursday, 28th June 2007 (5234 views)

Nanotechnology could improve the world, a sector scientist has said.

Dr Andrew Maynard, chief scientist for the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, said: "There is no doubt that nanotechnology has the potential to make the world a better place."

However, Dr Maynard also called for a federal risk research policy to be applied to the technology, commenting that "if consumers and other stakeholders are not convinced the benefits outweigh the risks many applications will not see the light of day".

His comments come as research into the potential medical benefits of gold nanoparticles is due to be published in the journal Angewandte Chemie on July 2nd.

The research, from the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, suggests that the gold nanoparticle-protein complexes could be used in the medical sector, for example as precision vehicles for targeted drug delivery or as catalysts for converting biomass into energy.

On Friday, June 29th, Dr Maynard is to discuss nanotechnology and nanomedicine before a meeting of the President's Council on Bioethics, together with Dr Mauro Ferrari from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

 

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