Nano Safety Worries Scientists More Than Public

Nanotech Coward writes "The unknown human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public, according to a new report in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The new report was based on a national telephone survey of American households and a sampling of 363 leading U.S. nanotechnology scientists and engineers. It reveals that those with the most insight into a technology with enormous potential — and that is already emerging in hundreds of products — are unsure what health and environmental problems might be posed by the technology."

That's understandable

[Anonymous Coward]

It's pretty easy for scientists to kill the public. Nano stuff seems a bit tougher to kill.

A phone survey regarding the dangers of nanotech?

[pgillan]

How come I never get cool questions like this?

nano safety

[morgan_greywolf]

For maximum nano safety, just specify the -B, -N, and -t options.

Oh, wait, you were talking about something else!

Re:A phone survey regarding the dangers of nanotec

[LingNoi]

...Because you would hold up the call operator for 40 minutes discussing the benefits of which OS the nanobots should run centred around some kind of car analogy?

it is the unknown unknowns that scare me

[dominux]

I am just glad that the American administration is looking after them. What? Rumsfeld is gone?? now we are in trouble.

BUT DERE NO KONSENSUZ!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

As a typical conservative, I need there to be a complete and overwhelming concensus before I'll admit anything science related is actually a threat, like with global warming. As opposed to instances where we can kill human beings, like Iraq.

Stay the course!!!

Re:A phone survey regarding the dangers of nanotec

[irtza]

What? Are you mad? There's no reason for discussion. The answer is obvious. The nanobot OS would be a monolithic unix derivative stripped down to the bare essentials with all drivers statically linked - like a custom Linux or BSD build. Tiny nanobots are like a Mini [miniusa.com]. You need something that will fit the form factor. You would need something like a a href=http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f150/>Ford F150 to run Windows. Windows Doesn't even enter the nanobot market....

more seriously though, if we built nanobots, and each nanobot ran its own version of an OS, could we count this in marketshare research?... wait, what were we talking about again? Oh yes, fear. Let O'Reilly do a piece on nanotech and terrorism and the numbers will do a 180 and the public calling for a ban on research.

I fully expect to see...

[Bullfish]

Some guy (or woman) being nabbed at the 2026 Olympics for use of performance enhancing nanobots...