This article, by Dietram A. Scheufele, John E. Ross Chaired Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication in the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin, explores the history of research concerning public attitudes toward nanotechnology. Scheufele lays out two trends: levels of knowledge about nanotechnology across the general population have remained fairly static in the last few years; and, there is a widening gap among education groups, with highly educated individuals showing increased learning over time, and less-educated respondents falling behind in terms of how much they know about nanotechnology. Additionally, respondents who are more aware of nanotechnology tend to show higher levels of overall support than respondents who are less aware. Those who perceive greater benefits for nanotechnology outnumber those who perceive greater risks by three to one. Scheufele highlights two challenges as public attitudes toward nanotechnology develop along with the technology. The first being knowledge gaps, particularly between the most and least educated groups in the United States. Secondly, is the role that personal values \u2013 such as religious views, cultural predispositions and views about scientific authority – play in helping people make sense of new information about emerging technologies. The author concludes: “As regulators in the U.S. work with their counterparts in other countries in order to harmonize regulatory frameworks for nanotechnology, understanding the value landscape in each country will be absolutely critical for evaluating the viability of regulatory choices and restrictions. And future research will have to much more systematically examine public attitudes toward nanotechnology and its applications in an international context.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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