Big Picture Science for 07/02/12 - Nano Nano

Big Picture Science - Nano Nano

ENCORE Think small to solve big problems. That, in a nutshell, is the promise of nanotechnology. In this barely visible world, batteries charge 100 times faster and drugs go straight to their targets in the body. Discover some of these nano breakthroughs and how what you can’t see can help you…

…or hurt you? What if tiny machines turn out to be nothing but trouble? We’ll look at the health and safety risks of nanotech.

Plus, scaling up in science fiction: why a Godzilla-sized insect is fun, but just doesn’t fly.

Guests:

• Bill Flounders – executive director of the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley
• Joseph DeSimone – professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and chemical engineering at North Carolina State University
• David Guston – political scientist at Arizona State University where he directs The Center for Nanotechnology in Society
• Stan Williams – Senior Fellow and founding director of the Information and Quantum Systems Lab at Hewlett-Packard
• Michael LaBarbera – Professor in organismal biology, anatomy and geophysical sciences, University of Chicago

First released February 21 2011

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Nano_Nano

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.