Prince Charlie on THE BRAVE NEW NANO WORLD

[tliouk]

Below is a report on the demon science that is Nanotechnology.
Prince Charles is taking a stand against the billion-dollar 
nanotechnology industry, which has already created transistors the 
size of a molecule. The Prince fears that without regulation, playing 
with the building blocks of life could be catastrophic. "It's no 
exaggeration to say we are on the cusp of the further perfection of 
extreme evil," says Bill Joy, co-founder of US computer giant Sun 
Microsystems.

The Prince of Wales, whose influence on public debate which would 
otherwise make his role in public life unreconcilably contradictory 
to those of us who find it difficult to give credence to the 
existence of the monarchy, actually inadvertantly conspires to excel 
in his public persona to the extent that it overshadows the 
perversity of his aristocratic title given to him through 
illegitimate inheritance by virtue of the extent of the vital 
contributions he makes on a range of deeply serious subjects such as 
nanotechnology and GM. All thanks, obviously to the advice of 
Jonathon Porrit and more recently, Zac Goldsmith. 

Re: this going out on this list, Nanotechnology has nothing to do 
with land rights - but some things eclipse matters pertaining 
specifically to the land don't they
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THE BRAVE NEW NANO WORLD 


Ref: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?
objectid=12900585&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=THE%20BRAVE%20NEW%
20NANO%20WORLD
Date: Apr 29 2003

 
Will it be a fantastic voyage or micro mayhem?
 
By David Edwards
 
  
IT'S a "mini miracle" that could end disease and make trips to the 
moon cheaper than a flight to Spain.

Yet some are branding it evil, a threat could lead to the extinction 
of mankind...

It's nanotechnology, a way of creating tiny machines - nano-robots - 
1/80,000th of the width of a human hair.

It means that in 20 years, we could have mini submarines swimming 
through the bloodstream - as depicted in the 1966 film Fantastic 
Voyage - zapping tumours and keeping us healthy for ever, or a new 
plastic so lightweight it will make cheap trips to the moon a reality.

Utopian? Then why are some predicting dire consequences?

"It's no exaggeration to say we are on the cusp of the further 
perfection of extreme evil," claims Bill Joy, co-founder of US 
computer giant Sun Microsystems.

"It's an evil whose possibility spreads well beyond that which 
spawned weapons of mass destruction.

"We are opening Pandora's most terrifying box and people have barely 
begun to notice. We are designing technologies that might consume eco-
systems."

The biggest fears centre on attempts to make nano-robots which can 
self-replicate - or breed - by feeding on the atoms around them.

Critics say a "grey-goo" scenario could occur if millions replicate 
themselves unchecked, transforming every atom on the planet into yet 
another nano-robot.

The result? Planet Earth becomes a blob floating in space, lifeless 
apart from a few trillion microscopic machines.

Dr K Eric Drexler, of the US-based Foresight Institute, says: "If the 
first replicator could assemble a copy of itself in 1,000 seconds, 
the two replicators could then build two more in the next 1,000 
seconds.

"At the end of 10 hours, there are not 36 new replicators, but more 
than 68billion.

"In less than a day, they would weigh a ton, in less than two days 
they would outweigh the Earth, in another four hours, they would 
exceed the mass of the Sun and all the planets combined."

AUTHOR Michael Crichton, who outlined the dangers of genetic 
engineering and biological warfare in Jurassic Park and The Andromeda 
Strain, has also warned about nanotechnology in his latest novel, 
Prey.

The thriller focuses on a swarm of microscopic machines which escape 
from a lab and mutate to create self-replicating nano-robots which 
threaten to wipe out life on Earth...

Science fiction is, it seems, about to become science fact.

So where is the hero who can save the planet before it's too late?

Step forward Prince Charles, who is now taking a stand against a 
billion-dollar industry, which has already created transistors the 
size of a molecule.

The Prince fears that without regulation, playing with the building 
blocks of life could be catastrophic.

His concerns were sparked by Zac Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist 
magazine, who sent him a report, The Big Down, warning of the nano-
nightmare.

Mr Goldsmith, 28-year-old son of late billionaire Sir James, 
says: "There are labs all over the world trying to create self-
replicating machines and for them to do this without proper 
legislation is deeply worrying.

"We still don't know what could happen if they are released into the 
environment, so we should put the brakes on and have a proper debate 
before it's too late."

He warns: "The potential threats posed by nanotechnology make those 
from genetically modified food look like something from the Stone 
Age." After reading the report, the Prince wrote to the Royal 
Society - the UK's scientific academy - asking it to set up a meeting 
with experts so he can assess the risks.

The concept of nanotechnology was dreamt up by quantum physicist 
Richard Feynman way back in 1959, when he predicted the computers of 
tomorrow would be small enough to manipulate single atoms or carry 
out surgery, invisibly, cell by cell.

Today, scientists believe nanotechnology can create faster computers, 
lighter spacecraft and planes so efficient they'll adjust to airflow 
like a flexible skin.

It has already been used in Pilkington's self-cleaning glass and the 
Stirling-based Institute Of Nanotechnology says that applications 
about to be unleashed include invisible bar codes and self-repairing 
materials.

NANO research is also being backed with government funding to the 
tune of £2.48billion in the US, Europe and Japan. The figure is 
expected to rise to £600billion by 2012.

Indeed, many experts and MPs support the development and believe 
Charles has no reason to worry.

MP Dr Ian Gibson, chairman of the Commons Science and Technology 
select committee, says: "The Prince has been reading too much science 
fiction and, in any case, the technology is nowhere near ready to be 
used in the way he is saying.

"Things are in the exploratory phase and to kill it off now would be 
akin to killing off research into the electric lightbulb, the 
combustion engine or drugs such as aspirin.

"It looks like the Prince has allied himself with the anti-science 
movement and if I were him, I'd stick to modern architecture and 
issues like that, rather than those which require a depth of 
understanding."

Science minister Lord Sainsbury has also defended the research, 
adding: "There are things that could be worrying but they're things 
very much in the future.

"Self-replicating organisms that could get into the environment, nano-
robots in the body and so on are at the speculative science-fiction 
stage.

"The other point is whether nanotechnology raises ethical, safety or 
environmental issues not already regulated for.

"We already have rules about the release of organisms into the 
environment, we have health-and-safety regulations, we have medical-
devices regulations."

So is it a small wonder or a hidden threat? Whatever the case, some 
massive rows loom before we see the full impact of nanotechnology.