What is there to fear from something so small?

摘要

Next March, Mark Welland's laboratory at the University of Cambridge, UK, will gain an unusual member of staff. Welland's team works on nanometre-dimension wires and tubes that could form the future of electronics, but the new recruit won't be an engineer or a physicist - he or she will be a social scientist. The appointment - a two-year position that will include running regular meetings with everyone from industry representatives to green activists - acknowledges public fears about the possible effects of nanotech-nology on human health and the environment. Although Welland may not subscribe to long-standing scare stories about a 'grey goo' of nanometre-sized robots taking over the planet, he realizes that scientists need to address this and other concerns head on.