Growing Use of Nanoparticles in Product Manufacture

Here’s one more thing to give you pause when you’re shopping.  Christine Chew alerts us to nanoparticles used in food and clothing manufacture on the care2 make a difference blog:

You can’t see them but they are there. Nanoparticles have been used, more and more, in food packaging, pesticides, cosmetics, clothing, toys, kitchenware and more over the past few years. They have been considered nothing less than revolutionary for the food industry as they can make foods brighter, enhance their flavor and keep foods fresh longer. Nanoparticles made from silver can suppress the growth of dangerous organisms and are being used by farmers.

What Are Nanoparticles?

Nanoparticles are microscopic particles less than 100 nanometers in size. Actually, calling them “microscopic” might be an overstatement as one nanometer is equal to one billionth of a meter. They’re created by breaking down much larger substances (by subjecting them to high heat, for instance) and have multiple biomedical, optical and electronic applications.

Resnick Sustainability Institute’s “RESONATE” Awards Focus on Paradigm Shifting Work

The Resnick Sustainability Institute at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has announced that it has established an award that will honor cutting-edge work that addresses some of the hardest problems in energy and sustainability. The award winners will be announced in the Spring of 2014.

The Resnick Sustainability Institute’s “RESONATE” Awards will focus on innovative, paradigm-shifting work from individuals at an early stage in their careers, whose ideas are worthy of significant, widespread recognition. This work can be from many fields including science, technology, economics, public policy, or others. The intent of the awards is to draw attention to the innovators making significant strides in some of the grand challenges facing humanity, within the context of achieving global sustainability. These include meeting the world’s energy needs sustainably, providing water and food for a growing world population, cleaning the environment, improving people’s access to the natural resources they need to live a productive life, and others.