{"341221":{"#nid":"341221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nano Defense: New Book Explores Potential Chemical and Biological Threats from Nanoscience and Nanotechnology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWritten by John Toon\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanoscience and nanotechnology promise clever new ways to target cancer cells, novel materials with amazing properties, smaller and more powerful computers, new approaches for cleaning up the environment and a host of other advances.\\\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut could the unique properties of nanometer-scale materials be used by rogue nations or organizations to create a global security threat?\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.inta.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/listing.php?uID=29\u0022\u003EMargaret E. Kosal\u003C\/a\u003Eexplores that possibility \u2013 and potential countermeasures \u2013 in her new book,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENanotechnology for Chemical and Biological Defense\u003C\/em\u003E, published by Springer Science Academic Publishers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn assistant professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.inta.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESam Nunn School of International Affairs\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech, Kosal argues that the unique concerns raised by nanotechnology must be part of the threat scenarios considered by the U.S. defense and homeland security communities. Strategies to address the threats could include developing a better understanding of their real potential and fostering improved international cooperation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are moving away from many of the limiting conventional assumptions about warfare to incorporate insurgencies and asymmetrical warfare, including the potential for non-state actors and sub-state actors to appropriate technology in ways they haven\u2019t before,\u201d she said. \u201cPart of the nature of nanotechnology is that it is fundamentally dual use. Much about its applications depends on the intent of the individuals pursuing it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIronically, the mechanisms that make nanotechnology beneficial could also be part of its dark side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, the ability to target cancer cells by recognizing their specific genetic sequences could also potentially be used to deliver toxins to harm healthy cells. Carbon nanotubes, useful in electronics and other technology areas, could also be used to circumvent vaccines by delivering protein cargoes directly into cells. Magnetic nanoparticles developed to draw therapeutics to diseased areas of the body could also be bombarded with electromagnetic energy to create excessive heat in the brain or other organs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOf course, such evil application of nanotechnology would require research and development capabilities beyond those of non-Hollywood terror organizations. But as the proliferation of nuclear weapons enabled by Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan demonstrated, state-developed technology can sometimes find its way into the wrong hands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are thinking about a rogue scientist working at some level below official channels to pursue something that could have negative impacts,\u201d explained Kosal. \u201cThis is not something that terrorists are going to be using soon, but it is a threat we need to anticipate when looking forward 15 or 20 years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKosal\u2019s book is based on her own independent research, field work and case studies \u2013 and on concerns and scenarios developed in a January 2007 workshop she organized and chaired. The event was attended by more than 100 U.S. experts, including scientists and engineers involved in nanoscience and nanotechnology, researchers from defense laboratories, social scientists concerned about policy issues, policy-makers, members of the intelligence community, and \u201coperators\u201d \u2013 soldiers, sailors, Marines and others who might actually use the technologies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe groups considered what the threats might be, what kinds of countermeasures might be needed, and what strategies should be developed to counter the threats. They considered scenarios that have been published in scientific journals, ignoring the \u201cscience fantasy\u201d ideas that have been popularized in the general media.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need to start developing strategies now to be able to lessen the potential for malfeasant applications of these technologies,\u201d said Kosal, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry and served for two years as a science and technology advisor in the Pentagon\u2019s Office of the Secretary of Defense. \u201cPeople have thought about this at a very high level, but what we need to do is dive more deeply into it and explore the potential nanotechnology threat in a much more analytical and systematic way.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work was supported in part by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency\u2019s Chemical and Biological Technologies Directorate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENanoscience and nanotechnology differ from earlier technological revolutions because they are global and interdisciplinary, and therefore cannot be readily restricted through conventional arms control methods, noted Kosal, who is a member of Georgia Tech\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cistp.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for International Strategy, Technology and Policy\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(CISTP). In their first decades, atomic bomb technology and even biotechnology could be limited to just a few nations and their courses set by a handful of scientists and political leaders. But nanotechnology isn\u2019t like that.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can\u2019t be sure where the nanotechnology weapons may arise,\u201d Kosal said. \u201cThere are programs in every developed nation to pursue nanotechnology, and a lot of developing nations have them, too. The reality of the globalized world is that we can\u2019t just pull together a hundred scientists and engineers to decide what will be the norms for this new technology.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThis article originally appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of Georgia Tech\u2019s Research Horizons magazine.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Margaret E. Kosal the possibility of nano-meter scale technologies being used by rogue nations or organizations to create a global security threat, and potential countermeasures, in her new book."}],"uid":"28152","created_gmt":"2014-11-04 17:46:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:26","author":"Claire Labanz","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"341211":{"id":"341211","type":"image","title":"Research Horizons - Nano Defense - Margaret Kosal","body":null,"created":"1449245595","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:13:15","changed":"1475895060","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:00","alt":"Research Horizons - Nano Defense - Margaret Kosal","file":{"fid":"200739","name":"nano_defense_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nano_defense_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/nano_defense_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1220034,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/nano_defense_1_0.jpg?itok=bEsg264J"}}},"media_ids":["341211"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"171380","name":"Spring 2010 Issue"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u2028\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2028177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2028Atlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181 \u0026nbsp;USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2028404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2028\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u2028\u2028\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrett Israel\u2028\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-1933\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u2028\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}