ISSN Print: 2151-805X
ISSN Online: 2151-8068
Nanotechnology in Biology: Understanding Future Ethical Dilemmas from Past Technologies
ABSTRACT
There is a growing debate about ethics in nanotechnology, the control and manipulation of matter at a near-atomic scale, in which particles have the potential to redefine the rules of physics, chemistry, and biology, opening the door for astounding technological advances. The issues that comprise this evolving debate surrounding the intersection of ethics and nanotechnology are challenging and complex. Scientists with opposing opinions and different agendas have been defending their views since the advent of nanotechnology, especially as nanotechnology research begins to shift from electronics and information technology to biological and medical applications, or "nanobiotechnology." Skepticism and fear flow from futuristic predictions of nanobiotechnology applications in the same way that hope and excitement do from research currently happening in the field. While it is nearly impossible to anticipate all of the ethical issues that will arise from the application of nanotechnology in the life sciences, some dilemmas are so commonplace for emerging technology that we can reasonably predict that there will be similar issues raised by nanobiotechnology. This paper discusses ethical issues anticipated from the emerging field of nanobiotechnology for applications that are not futuristic, but are on horizon in the 21st century, while looking at case examples and lessons learned from emerging technologies in the past.
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