Friday, January 30, 2015

What do Europeans think about Nanotechnologies?

What do Europeans think about Nanotechnologies ? 

That is the simple question that was asked in a survey of 8,330 persons (out of 15,000 engaged). The initiative, funded by European Commission's Framework for Research and Development FP7, tested knowledge, willingness to buy, and perception, tested the European countries preparedness to adoption nanotechnologies. Data can be segmented into employment status, age groups, educational levels, and country.

Such a survey is important because it forms a foundation on the popular level of knowledge concerning nanotechnologies for European policy makers. It is also a great tool to measure trends in Europe.
The data can be visualized on the website's interactive map.


So what do we learn ?


UK is the country that is the most aware of NT 

(5 correct answers on a Quiz of 5 questions)









Poland and Greece are the two countries who are most ready to buy Sunscreens containing nanomaterials.


However, they are also the one's who know the least about nanomaterials.






Spain and Austria are the two countries that support the use of nanotechnology the most,

 but were the least likely to buy sunscreen containing it
(... but not to buy sunscreens....)








These three examples show the complexity in the relationship between how people percieve nanotechnologies, and how they actually react to partaking in it in common products
This complexity is why there is no conclusive result to all the data, but it is still valuable information. 

What do Americans Think About Nanotechnology?
This feature is even more interesting because it shows a vast development since the 2009 research, in which the american public in 2009 was almost completely unaware of the science and its applications. In the same year, groundbreaking poll of 1,001 U.S. adults, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN), found that 90% of Americans think that the public should be better informed about the development of cutting-edge technologies.

The Public Awareness of nanotechnology has barely moved over the last four years, despite huge efforts (funding, research, outreach initiatives, emerging new products etc...). This  is probably due to the lack of exposure of nanotechnologies in our daily life, and because they are not exposed sufficiently to high school students.

Which brings us to the mission of this blog.

Happy reading!


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