OECD launches sponsorship program for safety testing of nanomaterials - NanoWerk, USA
OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials has launched a “sponsorship program” in which countries will share the testing of specific nanomaterials.
The Working Party agreed a priority list of nanomaterials for testing (based on materials which are in or close to commerce) as well as a list of endpoints for which they should be tested. The document – List of Manufactured Nanomaterials and List of Endpoints for Phase One of the OECD Testing Programme – shows the results, so far, from the project Safety Testing of a Representative Set of Manufactured Nanomaterials.

RNCOS Releases a New Report- Nanotechnology Market Forecast to 2011 - PR Minds, USA
RNCOS has recently added a new Market Research Report titled, "Nanotechnology Market Forecast to 2011" to its report gallery. This updated and detailed research evaluates the past, current and future scenario of the global nanotechnology market coupled with an overview on its emerging trends.
Key Findings:
- The rapidly commercializing nanotechnology market presents potential market in various industrial sectors including energy, textiles and life sciences.
- The market for nanotechnology in manufacturing goods is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 33% during the period from 2007 to 2015.
- The market for nanotechnology into consumer products is projected to grow at an AAGR of 9.4% from 2005 to 2010.
- The global spending on nanotechnology grew by 29% in 2006 with government share standing at 52% followed by corporate and venture capitalist spending.
- Nanotechnology investments by the government were initially led by Europe, North America and Japan. However, countries such as Russia, China, Brazil, Turkey and India have joined the trend and are making significant investments into the sector.
- Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the most important region for the sales of nanotechnology products in near future, followed by the US and Europe at similar level.

Military nanotechnology: high precision explosives through nanoscale structuring - NanoWerk, USA
Usually, when your read official government publications about the military's nanotechnology research and development activities, it's all just for defensive purposes. Case in point of how nanotechnology could be used for offensive military applications can be found in recent studies exploring how high explosive materials can be prepared and manipulated.

Scientists from the French–German Research Institute of Saint-Louis in France claim that their method allows one to obtain and stabilize high explosive particles at the nanoscale. This is the first time that a nano explosion has been imaged in such detail.

Testing the Toxicity of Nanomaterials - MIT Technology Review, USA
In light of mounting concerns regarding the potential toxicity of some nanomaterials, scientists have designed a rapid screening tool to help predict which ones are likely to be harmful. Hundreds of nanotechnology-based products are already on the market--in everything from sunscreens and cosmetics to paints and car bumpers--and many more are in the pipeline.

However, studies assessing the safety of nanomaterials are limited. As a result, scientists and policy makers have been calling for more systematic reviews of the risks that these nanoscale materials might pose to human health.