· Nanotechnology is the new genetic modification, with $5 billion in funding, involving thousands of companies and universities

· This is the first book to take stock of the risks and benefits of nanotechnology, and the complex ethical and legal questions facing governments, the public, investors, and businesses worldwide

· An accessible popular science book for all interested in the fascinating and unpredictable science, law, policy and regulation of nanotech

Nanotechnologytechnology at the molecular levelhas the potential, according to its supporters, to create a trillion dollar economy and provide solutions from curing cancer to reprocessing waste into products and building super-fast computers. Yet, as with genetically modified organisms, many view nanotech as a high-risk genie in a bottle that once uncorked has the potential to cause unpredictable, and perhaps irreversible, environmental and public health disasters.

With the race to bring products to market, there is pressing need to take stock of the situation and to have a full public debate about this new technological frontier.

Including contributions by renowned figures such as Roland Clift, K. Eric Drexler, and Arpad Pusztai, this is the first global overview of the state of nanotech and society in US, Europe, Japan, and Canada, examining the ethics, the environmental, and public health risks, and the governance and regulation of this most promising, and potentially most dangerous, of all technologies.