Micro Managing
In nanotechnology, size is everything. Operating at the level of a billionth of a meter can allow scientists to manipulate the most basic interactions between atoms and molecules to create new structures that would not otherwise exist in nature. The possibilities are limitless, which is what concerns some people. Many Westerners worry that nanotechnology could ...
In nanotechnology, size is everything. Operating at the level of a billionth of a meter can allow scientists to manipulate the most basic interactions between atoms and molecules to create new structures that would not otherwise exist in nature. The possibilities are limitless, which is what concerns some people. Many Westerners worry that nanotechnology could result in out-of-control "nanomachines" that would turn us all into "gray goo." At the moment, that seems a little far-fetched, as nanotech is hardly being used to challenge the fundamentals of life. Instead, in the West, it is mainly being used to make such stunning advances as, well, stain-resistant pants.
In nanotechnology, size is everything. Operating at the level of a billionth of a meter can allow scientists to manipulate the most basic interactions between atoms and molecules to create new structures that would not otherwise exist in nature. The possibilities are limitless, which is what concerns some people. Many Westerners worry that nanotechnology could result in out-of-control "nanomachines" that would turn us all into "gray goo." At the moment, that seems a little far-fetched, as nanotech is hardly being used to challenge the fundamentals of life. Instead, in the West, it is mainly being used to make such stunning advances as, well, stain-resistant pants.
Not so in the developing world. There, the newest in nanotech is being used to provide life’s basics: clean water, healthy crops, and sources of energy. Peter Singer, director of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics and coauthor of the report "Nano-technology and the Developing World," was surprised to find that developing countries are leading the developed world in some nanotech fields. India and China, for example, are the world’s leaders in medical nanotech, and Brazil has invented nano-organisms that help clean up and recycle oil spills.
Within a decade, nanotech will allow solar cells to channel 100 percent of the sun’s energy, freeing developing countries from the constraints of high oil prices and inefficient national power grids. Today, the best cells manage 12 percent.
So, how much is nanotech worth to the developing world? Singer says that you can’t put a price on it. But he muses that "if nanotech does for a couple of these countries what information technology did for India," then it just may catapult them out of poverty. Perhaps gooey is good.
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