Pixelated Semantics

A schizotypical inventory

Red Flags for Green & Grey Goo

The threats raised by "gray goo" [self-replicating nano-machines] have been compounded by "green goo" [nano-bio-technology] according to a recent study by the ETC Group. The report highlights, with rather awkward phrasing, the complete lack of regulations explicitly targeting the products of nanotechnology, and the high potential for uncontrollable toxicity:

"The crux of the issue is that a reduction in size - with no change in substance - can make a substance stronger or more reactive or lighter or more water-soluble or more heat-resistant or a better conductor of electricity."

While property changes also include a higher level of toxicity, there are currently no labeling requirements for nanoparticles nor is toxicity assessment required.

A document from the US Environmental Protection Agency lists over 100 commercial products based on nanotechnologies. These are already or immanently on the market and include:

"...stain-resistant fabrics for clothing and bedding, cosmetics and sunscreens, tennis balls and racquets, bowling balls, odor-eating socks, time-release perfumed fabrics, paints, capsules carrying hemoglobin (...), sensors to test water impurities, spray-able vitamins, nanoparticle water purifiers, ski wax, Humvee turrets, long-lasting paper, nanotubes for flat panel display screens, artificial silicon retinas, several drug delivery systems, flash memory devices, diagnostic agents for use in MRI scans."

There are severe potential dangers associated with nano-bio-technology by merging living and non-living matter at the nano-scale to make hybrid materials and organisms. Researchers are using bio-organisms for mechanical functions, including self-assembly and self-replication, raising serious concerns: will these "new life forms", especially those designed to function autonomously, create a cascade of unforeseen, uncontrollable consequences? This is the "specter of green goo". Wired reports the corporate sector is "extremely gun-shy right now" over adverse publicity for bio-technologies; while studies are underway to assess potential impacts, a great deal of manipulation of public sentiment will no doubt be forthcoming before acceptance.

Update: Improving electronics through biology. In the fast lane to the future, nano-engineered magnetic bovine protein globs are the latest form of data storage media, and are creating a new science labelled "Ovonics". The highly competitive and redundant nature of the industry is also well summarised by the epiphet "Everyone is a step away from the dustbin".

Item posted by AutoEditor at 1:23 pm ::