Starting with the safety legislation…May 7, 2008, the US House of Representatives passed a motion to strengthen research into nanotechnology safety according to the US government website here. Some of the headlines in blogosphere seemed to suggest that they had actually passed regulations but headlines can be a little misleading. In fact, the amendment also directs the  National Nanotechnology Initiative (it seems to be an umbrella agency for US nanotech research) to focus on moving the research out of the labs and into commercial applications while finding ways to attract more students to study nanotechnology. Hmmm….how do you get commercial production going and study safety issues simultaneously? Generally speaking, safer means slower.

Meanwhile, I came across the AdorageMD skin care line. They bill it as skin couture and their formula developed using nanotechnology. These products were included in the gift bags for the movie stars who went to the Oscars earlier this year. I find it fascinating that the company name suggests medical involvement. Plus I found a description of their products on a health care website here. You’d think there’d be some kind of critique on a health care website but you’d be wrong (as was I).

All of this is more fodder for the paper I’m writing about nano and risk, although I’m focused on popular culture (hence the interest in AdorageMD and the movie stars). One other comment, if you look back at other kinds of technology adoption e.g. electricity, you’ll find similarities with discussions taking place today.

Oh, there is some Canadian nanotechnolgy news today…the Ontario government is building a quantum computing and nanotechnology research facility at the University of Waterloo. It’s going be called the Quantum-Nano Centre.