Implications of nanotechnology applications: using genetics as a lesson.

• Author: Moore, Fiona N.

1. Introduction

   As society becomes more comfortable discussing genetics and its related ethics, a new technology is blossoming in the background. Nanotechnology may speak the same societal language as does genetics, in that both technological movements involve tiny science and large imagination. In a way, it is natural--and almost inevitable--that the genetic revolution and the nanotechnology revolution be compared. Both fields involve smaller and smaller scales and manipulation of nano-sized materials. Both fields also create ricochet effects in almost every aspect of society.

   While nanotechnology is new, so new that nothing seems impossible, there are certain predictions that may be safely drawn. Though we need to be cautious of both positive and negative hype, some speculative applications of nanotechnology are becoming clear. Already today, scientists and engineers are creating nanowires and carbon nanotubes slated for super-strong, super-efficient and eventually super-cheap products. In nanomedicine, there are discussions of sending dendrimer polymers into every reach of the body to dispense drugs in specifically localized cells, and of dispatching diagnostic nano-machines into the body to detect cancer when only a few cancerous cells exist. (1) Moreover, nanotechnology will be used as a tool for genetic information and research, facilitating genome sequencing and nuclear transfer with "smart" nano-devices that have some independence and learning capabilities.

   For every possible application of nanotechnology--and even for fantastical ones--we need to examine social, ethical and legal implications. We can learn from the genetic revolution and ponder how similar issues might arise in nanotechnology. For instance, we can forecast privacy, intellectual property and concept of life concerns. Yet, at the same time, it is important to recognize that nanotechnology is its own creature as well. Because nanotechnology is more application than exploration, many societal concerns will reflect this difference from genetics.

   Like the World Wide Web, "nanotechnology may appear gradually and yet have a revolutionary effect." (2) The purpose of this paper is to provide a cursory overview of some possible social, ethical and legal issues implicated in the development of nanotechnology. All issues within this paper evidently warrant further analysis.

2. Social Implications

   Inherent in the promise of nanotechnology is the creation of superior products and services at a much-reduced cost. The effect of such creation, by itself, will perhaps take decades to manifest in society, (3) spinning off into environmental, social, economic and educational implications. Within these spheres, as with genetics, we will find "a fundamental tension of civilization -- the tension between humanity's quest for more control over nature and the future, and our equally strong desire for stability and predictability in the present." (4)

   1. Environmental implications

      One of the more common social notes that seems to arise from a perusal of the literature is that nanotechnology will have a positive effect on the environment. Nanotechnology "promises to reduce by orders of magnitude the inputs of energy and materials and associated environmental discharges required to produce a device that can perform a particular task." (5) Due to the near-perfect potential efficiency of nanotechnology, by-products will be minimized and emissions will be controlled. Roco and Bainbridge envision applications such as tires where the carbon black is replaced with an environmentally friendly nanotechnological substance. (6) Electricity will be generated with much less fuel and the "environmental footprint" of electricity will consequently be vastly smaller. (7) Filters for water or oil will be "ultrafine," allowing fewer impurities and contaminants into the product, and gasoline consumption in turn will plummet. Water could be desalinized (8) and the oceans could assuage the impending water su pply worries of the world.

   2. Social implications

      Following the genetic experience, social implications of nanotechnology may involve effects in health care and wealth distribution. In health care, for instance, it is very likely that nanotechnology in the arena of medicine would include automated diagnosis. This in turn would mean fewer patients requiring physical evaluation, less time needed to make a diagnosis, less human error and wider access to health care facilities. (9) As well, if nanomedicine increases the life span of human beings, it will create populations with large proportions of elderly people requiring more health attention and consequently more health expenditures. In Canada, where rising health care costs are of current concern, the subsidized public system may have to be examined and adjusted. To say, on the other hand, whether savings from more efficient nanomedicine techniques will counterbalance the expense of an increased aged population is speculative at this point.

      Another social concern linked to health care is that of insurance. Being able to develop predictive health profiles of individuals might make insurance coverage minutely specific and might "destabilize the risk-spreading approach that allows equitable delivery of social benefits to broad populations." (10) In a more extreme light, diagnostic nanotechnologies may even make some patients uninsurable (11) (while this is perhaps less a concern in Canada than in wholly privatized systems, Canadians should be prepared to face the same problems, especially if health care costs continue to rise). As an extension of this concept, genetic discrimination may well become a problem. There is already concern with genetic discrimination today, but with nanotechnology it is easy to imagine an amplification of problems.

      As for wealth distribution, several authors predict a "nano divide" between those who participate in nanotechnology and those who cannot afford to participate. (12) The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer, in effect. Most nanotechnology scholars agree that the...