UK Report: More Hits than Misses on Nanotech
Submitted by ETC Staff on
After a year-long investigation, the United Kingdom’s Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering released its final report today (July 2004) examining the health, safety, environmental, ethical and societal implications of nano-scale technologies. The report was commissioned by the UK government last June. The UK’s Trade Union Congress today supported the Royal Society’s report and called for strong regulations to prevent worker exposure to manufactured nanoparticles. "There have been plenty of red flags, but the dollar signs have blotted out the warnings signs," said Rory O’Neill, spokesman for the Trade Union Congress.
Sacudiendo el barco: La expedición de J.Craig Venter para recolectar microbios, severamente cuestionada en Latinoamérica
Submitted by ETC Staff on
Organizaciones de la sociedad civil y movimientos sociales que se reunirán en el Primer Foro Social de las Américas, en Quito, Ecuador, del 25 al 30 de julio 2004, protestan contra la expedición de J. Craig Venter, financiada por el gobierno de Estados Unidos, para recolectar y secuenciar diversidad microbiana de todo el mundo. Los microbios exóticos son materia prima para crear nuevas fuentes de energía e incluso nuevas formas de vida.
Rocking the Boat: J. Craig Venter's Microbial Collecting Expedition Under Fire in Latin America
Submitted by ETC Staff on
Civil society organizations (CSOs) and peoples’ movements convening at the first Americas Social Forum in Quito, Ecuador, July 25-30 2004, are protesting J. Craig Venter’s US-government funded ocean expedition to collect and sequence microbial diversity from around the globe. Exotic microbes are the raw materials for creating new energy sources and even new life forms.
Enola Patent Ruled Invalid: Haven’t we Bean here before? (Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.)
Submitted by ETC Group on
On July 10, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that U.S. patent 5,894,079 (the “Enola” bean patent), which claims a yellow bean of Mexican origin, is invalid because none of the patent claims meet the criterion of non-obviousness. The case has been closely watched by civil society groups concerned about biopiracy, the patenting of life and the corporate control of food production.
The Precautionary Prince II
Submitted by ETC Staff on
“Prince Charles’ thoughtful article in the Independent on Sunday (UK) is an impressive service to society and science in the unfolding public debate on nanotechnology,” according to Jim Thomas of the ETC Group’s Oxford office. “Not only does the Prince set aside the fictional notion of ‘grey goo,’ but he also sensibly reminds us that there are important unanswered questions relating to the control and ownership of these technologies,” said Thomas.