New Volume From Springer Focuses On The Most Urgent And Near-Term Issues Facing Nanotechnology

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 29 Apr 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Springer and The Nanoethics Group have released a collection of important papers addressing a range of near-term issues related to nanotechnology's ethical and social implications. The anthology Nanotechnology and Society: Current and Emerging Ethical Issues tackles such contentious issues as environmental impact, health dangers, medical benefits, intellectual property, professional code of ethics, privacy, international governance, and more.

The anthology features sixteen papers focused on the most urgent issues arising from nanotechnology today and in the near future. Written by leading researchers, policy experts, and nanoethics scholars worldwide, the book is divided into five units: foundational issues; risk and regulation; industry and policy; the human condition; and selected global issues.

"While there are also more distant and speculative issues in nanoethics - and we've touched upon some of them in our previous work - it is important to also have a single volume focused on the more immediate problems facing nanotechnology, especially as policymakers and industry are interested in these issues first and foremost," said Patrick Lin, Ph.D., director for The Nanoethics Group.

The volume is co-edited by Fritz Allhoff (Western Michigan Univ.) and Patrick Lin (Cal Poly, SLO; Dartmouth College) and presents papers by notable names in nanotechnology and nanoethics, including (in order of appearance): Jean-Pierre Dupuy (Stanford), Paul Thompson (Michigan State Univ.), Arthur Zucker (Ohio Univ.), David Berube (North Carolina State Univ.), Thomas Powers (Univ. of Delaware), Ashley Shew (Virginia Tech), Jeroen van den Hoven (Delft Univ. of Tech., Netherlands), Drew Harris (Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody), Raj Bawa (Bawa Biotechnology Consulting LLP), Summer Johnson (Albany Medical College), Jason Robert (Arizona State Univ.), and Joachim Schummer (Tech. Univ. of Darmstadt, Germany). Organizations such as Canada's Commission de l'Éthique de la Science et de la Technologie, the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, the Meridian Institute, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars also contributed papers.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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About The Nanoethics Group

Based at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), The Nanoethics Group (http://www.nanoethics.org/) is a non-partisan research organization formed to study nanotechnology's impact on society and related ethical issues. It helps to identify and evaluate possible harms and conflicts as well as to bring balance and common sense to the debate. Its mission is to educate and advise both organizations and the broader public on these issues as a foundation to guide policy and responsible research.

About Springer

Springer (http://www.springer.com/) is the second-largest publisher of journals in the science, technology, and medicine (STM) sector and the largest publisher of STM books. Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media, one of the world's leading suppliers of scientific and specialist literature. The group publishes over 1,700 journals and more than 5,500 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in over 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and some 5,000 employees.

Fritz Allhoff, Western Michigan University, USA;
Patrick Lin, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA (Eds.)

Nanotechnology and Society Current and Emerging Ethical Issues
2008. XXXIV, 300 p.
ISBN 978-1-4020-6208-7

For more information please see http://www.nanoethics.org/ or http://www.springer.com/978-1-4020-6208-7 where a sample chapter and more information can be accessed.

Source: Joan Robinson
Springer