NANOTECHNOLOGY & SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY

Engineering Biology at the Molecular Scale — With or Without Your Consent.

Nanotechnology — the manipulation of matter at 1–100 nanometre scale — is being introduced into medicine, food packaging, cosmetics, and agricultural pesticides at a pace that far outstrips safety assessment. Lipid nanoparticles, graphene oxide, and self-assembling nano-structures have been detected in vaccines, supplements, and processed foods. Synthetic biology — the engineering of novel biological systems — raises profound questions for human biology and ecological integrity that remain unanswered.