The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is co-developing a collaborative Web site aimed at establishing standard methods for minimizing the environmental, health and safety risks of nanotechnology.

NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer Monthly Feature December 2005 Nanotechnology Tackles Brain Cancer Brain cancer can be counted among the most deadly and intractable diseases. Often diagnosed after a patient exhibits symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, uncharacteristic behavior changes, or paralysis, the growing mass of a brain tumor will continue to squeeze out normal tissue and degrade the brain's function if left untreated. But treatment is elusive. Tumors may be embedded in regions of the brain that are critical to orchestrating the body's vital functions, while they shed cells to invade other parts of the brain, forming more tumors too small to detect

What future military equipment might succeed in the mountains on the Afghan-Pakistani border?

Here in the U.S., we're putting nanotechnology to work making everyday products better, from car parts to packaging, paint to skin cream.

Royal Philips Electronics NV said Thursday it has developed a handheld device that uses nanotechnology to detect marijuana, cocaine, Speed and other drugs in saliva within 2 minutes.

Nanotechnology is a vital area of national importance with applications across a wide spectrum from medicine to electronics to improving water quality worldwide

A survey on the use of nanotechnology for "human enhancement" shows widespread public support for applications of the new technology related to improving human health. However, the survey also shows broad disapproval for nanotech human enhancement research in areas without health benefits.

Just as artists at Disney and Pixar Animation Studios bring Mickey Mouse, Shrek and Nemo to life, life science artists are using animation to bring viruses, bacteria and even nanowires to life and demystify scientific concepts.

Can nanoparticles get into our drinking water and if so, what's the harm?

Financing from Swiss investors begins long-term nanoparticle drug development programme

Nanoparticles that are one milliard of a metre in size are widely used, for example, in cosmetics and food packaging materials. There are also significant amounts of nanoparticles in exhaust emissions. However, very little is yet known of their health effects, because only a very small portion of research into nanoparticles is focused on their health and safety risks. Nanoparticles have even been dubbed the asbestos of the 2000s bys some researchers, and therefore a considerable threat to people's health. While the use of nanoparticles in consumer products increases, their follow-up procedures and legislation are lagging behind. The European Union chemicals directive REACH does not even touch upon nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology is the science of technology on a very small scale. For example, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter. As research and speculation progress with nanotechnology, the potential for scientific invention and danger is becoming a subject of conflict.

The conference aims at assessing nano and micro technologies for emerging applications and its prospects in the region.