With headlines on the news like “Nano-Capsules Designed for Diagnosing Malignant Tumors” and “Nanobionics Supercharge Photosynthesis”, it’s hard not to notice that a lot is changing from the technology that we’re used to. Almost everyone is familiar with today’s technology without question. In fact, my own sister (who, might I add, is only two) knows how to work an iPad pretty well and can even make the notifications go away when they are interrupting her game or video; yet, most are unfamiliar with the term nanotechnology. What most people don’t know is that nanotechnology is already at work and making improvements to our society and its environment. The truth about nanotechnology, and by that I mean every little pro and con that nanotechnology establishes, remains with the scientists that work with it, but it is the use of nanoscience that will make our future a positive and hopeful one. Nanotechnology will make, if it already isn’t making, improvements that have the potential to change the way we live for the better.

Nanotechnology is "the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, especially the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules". In other words, it is a type of technology where things are manipulated on a very small scale. The potential uses for nanotechnology are numberless and can range from more advanced electronics and exceptional health benefits to improved agriculture and more appealing sources of energy.

One cannot disregard that human health research has a higher priority to society’s benefits in nanotechnology, but environmental benefits are researched highly as well, which means that it is going to make a positive impact also. Nanowerk stated that most of the products in nanotechnology relating to the environment will consist of protection for the environment and climate by “saving raw materials, energy and water as well as by reducing greenhouse gases and hazardous wastes”. For example, batteries (most of which contain hazardous metals like mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel) are not doing anything good for the environment. Nanotechnology can then “make battery recycling economically attractive” and “recover pure zinc oxide nanoparticles” (Nanotechnology and the Environment).

On the other hand, the National Nanotechnology Initiative states that “some types of nanomaterials could become attached to dust, pollen, or other airborne particulates” (Environmental, Health, and Safety Research Needs for Engineered Nanoscale Materials, 2006) so the intake of nanomaterials may or may not affect human health, plant health, or animal health. There is, of course, the likely factor that nanotechnology will be purposely placed in certain circumstances that are beneficial to that environment.

Of course, there are some that will point out the risks of using nanotechnology related to human health and medical advances. The National Nanotechnology Initiative explained that “Physiological response to nanomaterials is complex and influenced by physicochemical properties such as size and composition, purity of material following synthesis, type and degree of surface modifications, the inclusion of a surfactant or vehicle, the binding of biological molecules to the material following exposure, and the types of cells and organs exposed and degradation characteristics”. In other words, what is being done with the nanomaterial can vary with multiple results depending on what it is and where it is. All of these concerns just mean one thing: more research.

As it stands today, the health risks for nanotechnology may be unknown, but the benefits are what make the use worth it; The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology shows how. The CRN states that nanotechnology will: make sophisticated tools, provide efficient research, more permanent implants, new diseases can be stopped quicker, semi-automated diagnoses and treatment, longer lifespans, and much more. New diseases being discovered keep threatening the lives of humans, and with nanotechnology, those diseases will be made easier to fight and have made potential anecdotes, vaccinations, etc.

Nanotechnology has a bright future, if we allow it. It’s here, today, though most people don’t realize it. The use of nanoscience will make manufacturing, agricultural and environmental, and the best of medical and biological changes to our society. To make nanotechnology continue on its path to success, awareness should be widely spread across the nation. The more we experiment with nanoscience, the more research will be available for the best results possible and for the brightest future. So, go ahead, tell your friends about it and allow the younger generations to take the next step into making something that seems a little too futuristic into a reality.