Random Links for 6/20/09

Scientists and public differ on views about nanotechnology regulation

As reported in the online version of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research today (June 19), Scheufele and Corley found that the public tends to focus on the benefits – rather than potential environmental and health risks – when making decisions about nanotechnology regulation, whereas scientists mainly focus on potential risks and economic values.

Is Nanotechnology Safe?

Despite remarkable advances in nanoscience, relatively little is known about the intracellular activity and function of engineered nanomaterials, an area of study particularly important for the development of effective and safe nanoparticle drug-delivery systems. Much of the current knowledge derives from the study of tagged or labeled nanoparticles and their effects on cells after cellular uptake — without any detailed understanding of what these interactions may lead to, good or bad.

Question for the Commentariat About the Goal of Science Education

It was proposed by one of the people in the room that an explicit goal of science education should be to combat anti-science — to knock down the efforts to undercut the authority of science in various discussions in the public sphere or to reduce science to just one voice among many, with no special claim to authority.

Intel program spotlights dubious online claims

A “Dispute Finder” crafted by Intel researchers in Berkeley, California, for Firefox web browsers alerts Internet surfers to contentions that are contradicted by information elsewhere online.