It's a very relevant question. I think nanotechnology is at the tip of this whole wave of technology. When we start to go small, when we go into the atomic structure of material reality, the benefits are big but the risks are potentially even bigger. If you look at nuclear technology, we cracked the atom and all of a sudden we had the ability to create all types of new energy but also all sorts of new types of destruction.
I think our lesson with biotechnology in agriculture is a good lesson for how regulation needs to be devised around nanotechnology. These types of technologies have an intrinsic leakiness to them; they can move around.
With nanotechnology there's all kinds of new research coming out where some of these atomic structures are crossing cellular membranes in ways that were not anticipated. There are all sorts of things, because of the size of the technology, that create new and unknown risks.
It's something we really need to get a handle on at the regulatory level so that the same mistakes with biotechnology are not made with this new sector, which could bring really important benefits to your community and other communities around the world.