By Porter Wright on The General Assembly of Maryland has concluded its annual 90 day session. Among the bills that were passed during this year’s session was House Bill 795, introduced by Delegate Susan C. Lee. As introduced, HB 795 was to establish a "Task Force to Study Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology", but was amended to focus solely on Nanobiotechnology and was … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Inside EPA reports today that a "senior policy adviser for EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, said EPA would issue in June a long-awaited response to a 2008 activist petition asking the agency to regulate nanoscale silver under FIFRA." The article also mentions that EPA intends to define nanoscale ingredients for FIFRA purposes as "an ingredient … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This article originally appeared on the National Nanomanufacturing Network’s InterNano website on April 30, 2010. It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PRHE) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is part of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Services located in UCSF’s … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on According to a recent article in London’s Daily Mail, Swiss police, during a routine traffic stop, prevented what the Daily Mail and The Register, another British news site, describe as an "Eco-terrorist" attack on IBM’s nanotech HQ near Zurich. During a search of a car occupied by Constantino Ragusa, Silvia Guerini, and Luca Bernasconi, Swiss … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Federal Register of April 27, 2010 carried the text of Executive Order 13539, issued by President Obama on April 21st. E.O. 13539 is the latest in a series of Executive Orders revoking earlier Executive Orders and establishing a new Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). The first PCAST was established by … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Just a quick plug for our new NanoSafety Consortium for Carbon which was recently launched to address potential EHS issues concerning its members’ products. You can learn more about the consortium at: www.nanosafetyconsortium.com.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Since the end of the Second World War, many innovations and discoveries have been hyped – sometimes overhyped – as "the next big thing" that would revolutionize the way people lived, worked, traveled, etc. Television was envisioned as the way to spread education, culture and enlightenment throughout the world. The invention of the computer and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In a notice published in the Federal Register on March 24, 2010, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), part of the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), announced the establishment of a financial assistance program to develop and implement a post doctoral/visiting fellowship program for the purposes of "promoting research, training and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Welcome to the hotel california Such a lovely place Such a lovely face Plenty of room at the hotel california Any time of year, you can find it here Don Felder, Glenn Fry, Don Henley, "Hotel California" Hotels emerged in the Gilded Age as destinations, the places for the wealthy, particularly in New York, to go … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on To our knowledge, this press release announces the first nano-specific liability insurance coverage available in the United States. Many nano-related businesses have been waiting a long time for a product like this. It will be interesting to see industry reaction. Lexington Insurance Company Introduces LexNanoShieldSM March 30, 2010 10:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time NEW YORK–(EON: … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Frequently on this site we have discussed legislation introduced in Congress that would have an impact on Nanotechnology, most recently just a few weeks ago with the introduction of S.3117, the Promote Nanotechnology in the Schools Act of 2010. Legislation affecting nanotechnology, nanoparticles, nanomaterials or nanoindustry are also being introduced in other national legislatures. Recently, Peter Julian, MP, a … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on This article originally appeared on the National Nanomanufacturing Network’s InterNano website earlier today. It is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. Maxine Savitz[1] and Ed Penhoe[2] provided a recent presentation summarizing the highlights of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)[3] report on the status of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on While much of the media and public’s attention was focused on Senator Dodd’s introduction of an amended financial services reform bill and the ongoing debate over the health care reform bill, Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced S. 3117, the "Promote Nanotechnology in the Schools Act of 2010" (the link is to Senator … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The accumulation of microdamage in bone has long been linked by physicians to increased risk of fractures in both physically active individuals and the elderly. The role of microdamage in bone fragility has not been well studied due to limited capabilities for detecting such damage. Current imaging techniques are, by their nature, invasive, destructive, time … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Our friends at Nanodialog.eu will now be publishing summaries of select nanolawreport blogs in Polish. Here’s an example: NOWOSCI The Nanotechnology Education Act Pełny artykuł zamieszczony 1 lutego, 2010, w Nanotechnology Law Report przez Robert Oszakiewski : http://www.nanolawreport.com/2010/02/articles/the-nanotechnology-education-act/ 06.03.2010. Streszczenie i tłumaczenie: Ewa Lockard Końcem stycznia 2010, dwóch kongresmanów amerykańskich: David Wu i Daniel … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Readers may be interested in learning that my 2009 book "Nanotechnology Law" is now online. You can find it on Westlaw as Nanotechnology Law (NANOTECH). The Westlaw version is very helpful because you can now electronically search for any nano-related legal topic and let your computer do all the work — it even provides links … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Today’s Federal Register carries a notice of a public meeting on Tuesday March 30th and Wednesday March 31st 2010 to be held at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn-Key Bridge in Arlington Virginia . The meeting will be a workshop designed "to provide an open forum to discuss the state-of-the-art of the science related to environmental, health, and … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on We are all familiar, at this point in time, with the concept of "good" (HDL) and "bad" (LDL)cholesterol and with the effects of a build up of "bad" cholesterol on the walls of arteries and other blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is now the leading cause of death in the United States, ahead of cancer. According … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Last September we predicted that sometime in 2010 EPA would reverse its "distinct molecular identity" approach to determining when and whether nanoscale materials are considered New Chemical Substances requiring premanufacturing notice and approval under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). We have been advising clients accordingly. Inside EPA is now reporting that "EPA toxics chief … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Nanotechnology Education Act (H.R. 4502), was introduced early last week by Rep. David Wu (D-1st-OR) and co-sponsored by Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-3rd-Ill). The bill has as it’s purpose the establishment of a grant program aimed at helping secondary schools, colleges and universities to established and improve nanotechnology education programs and facilities. The bill notes … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Center for the Study of Law, Science & Technology, part of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Monash University Law School, and the Institute of Environmental and Energy Law jointly created the Nanotech Regulatory Document Archive in 2009. The archive is a free and easily searchable database of, as the name implies, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On Thursday 01/21/2010, Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark) introduced S. 2942, "The Nanotechnology Safety Act of 2010", the first nanotechnology related bill of the 2nd session of the 111th Congress. The bill is co-sponsored by Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). The text of S. 2942 has not yet been made available by the Government Printing Office; the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Last year, the French Commission of Public Debates launched a series of public debates about nanotechnology, with the purpose of presenting all aspects of nanotechnology and nanoindustry to the general public and to use the views expressed by all sides in shaping future government policies in the nanotech area. However, according to a recent report on Science magazine’s … Continue Reading
