Royal Society's nanotech report

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The Royal Society's nanotech report was inspired by Prince Charles' concerns about nanotechnology, including molecular manufacturing.

However, the report spent almost no time on molecular manufacturing. In fact, the word "Drexler" appears only once in the body of the report (in passing), and "molecular manufacturing" or "molecular nanotechnology" not at all.

The report covers various risks of nanoscale technologies, such as nanoparticle toxicology. It also provides a useful overview of several nanoscale fields. (Someone more interested in nanoscale technologies should expand this description.)

The report contains an annex (appendix) on grey goo, which cites a weaker variation of Richard Smalley's contested argument against molecular manufacturing. It concludes that there is no evidence that autonomous, self replicating nanomachines will be developed in the foreseeable future, and suggests that regulators should be more concerned with issues of nanoparticle toxicology.

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