UC Berkeley to Build Nanotechnology Research Center

New Nanoscience is Potentially Hazardous, Researchers Warn

ALICE TZOU / The Daily Californian 1dec04

A long-time leader in nanotechnology, UC Berkeley will dive deeper into the new science this fall with the construction of a multimillion dollar research center, even while new studies suggest the science could carry serious health risks.

UC Berkeley will build a Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems (COINS) with a $11.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to encourage the study of nanotechnology—the study of microsopic particles smaller than a thousandth of a hair breadth.

The new center will join other world-class facilities, top-ranked science programs, and more than 80 faculty active in nanotechnology research that have made UC Berkeley “one of the global leaders” in the science, according to Tom Kalil, assistant to the chancellor for science and technology and former science advisor to President Clinton.

“Berkeley campus has been a major player in the area of nanoscience. There are a lot of research groups in chemistry, in engineering, in physics that are focusing a lot of efforts on this,” said UC Berkeley professor of chemistry Peidong Yang.

Researchers at UC Berkeley are harnessing nanotechnology to build low-cost solar cells, design transistors the size of a single molecule, even create “the world's smallest motor.” A number of faculty are also involved with nanotech start-up companies.

The study of the science is moving full steam ahead nationwide as well. This year, the federal government poured $960 million dollars into nanoscience funding, ramped up from $270 million just four years ago in 2000.

But while UC Berkeley researchers are diving into the nascent science that could one day bring about cleaner energy sources, faster computers, and sensors that detect cancerous cells early, recent studies suggest that the promising technology could also carry unidentified environmental and health hazards.

Because nanoparticles are so small, they can bypass traditional barriers in the body, seeping through skin, blood vessels, and nerve gateways, making toxic nanoparticles more threatening than larger molecules.

“It could be an unexpected and potentially dangerous problem,” said UC Berkeley professor of material sciences Eicke Weber. “And if there is a long-term effect that only shows up after 10 or 20 years and we have a product launched, this can create a problem.”

Some animal studies have already demonstrated deleterious side effects caused by exposure to toxic nanoparticles, according to Kalil.

But the precise risks nanoparticles may pose remain foggy. The very feature that gives nanotech its promise— that the properties of matter change at the nanoscale—also makes the science unpredictable.

As the traditional rules of physics dissolve, nanoparticles react in unusual and unpredictable ways to forces like magnetism and electricity.

“There are a lot of surprises,” Weber said. “There are still things which have not been looked at. I think this is a field that has to be carefully kept under control to see how stable the structures are.”

Although nanoparticles occur naturally in the environment from sources such as volcanic ash, forest fire smoke, and even clouds, and are also accidental byproducts of activities like mining and cooking, no one can be sure that engineered particles will not pose greater risks.

Kalil said more research is ultimately necessary to assess the potential adverse effects of the science.

But researchers agreed that the scare scenarios that form the basis of science fiction thrillers like Michael Crichton's Prey—in which a self-replicating swarm of murderous microscopic machines set off on a killing rampage—are more fiction than fact.

Current nanotech is nowhere nearly so advanced.

“That's way out there,” said Dorian Liepmann, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and advisor to the UC Berkeley Nanosciences and Nanoengineering Institute. “There are no risks with what has been developed so far.”

Nonetheless, some nanotech researchers worry that such fears could result in a public backlash against the industry.

When the Molecular Foundry, an $85 million state-of-the art facility dedicated to nanoscience at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, first underwent construction, some protestors showed up, driven by the fear that “nanobots” would escape, according to Liepmann.

“Clearly there are some people in Berkeley who get worried about these things,” he said.

The safety concerns of both scientists and the public have prompted government agencies and nanotech researchers to start taking steps to assess and identify risks. Groups like the National Texological Program and the Environmental Protection Agency have increased funding for research of nanotech risks, and researchers are taking steps to make sure nano materials are handled safely and responsibly in labs, Kalil said.

UC Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Arun Majumdar said nanotech researchers on campus are “very aware” of the risks the science may pose.

But Majumdar remains excited about the new COINS research center, which he said would allow professors to pursue fundamental research and also generate excitement about the nanosciences among the general public.

“The question is, do you want to stop everything or do you want to do the research and at the same time find out what’s going on?” he said. “I think to see exactly what the effects are, you need the nanostructures, and to build the nanostructures you need the facility to do it.”

source: http://www.dailycal.org/particle.asp?id=17119 1dec04