Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

Today’s Big Question: Yes or No to Nanotechnology?

The 2011 Hollywood science fiction thriller, Limitless, chronicles the life of Eddie Mora,

a struggling, lethargic, unmotivated author who also happens to be suffering from the most

common writer’s disease, writer’s block. In fact, his condition is so bad that even his girlfriend,

Lindy, who has somehow been able to put up with his lack of progress for several years, finally

decides to take the plunge to end her relationship with him. On one eventful day, Mora meets a

supplier, who incidentally happens to be his ex-brother-in-law. That respective supplier hooks

him up with a black-market miracle drug or a nootropic, which somehow, later has a beneficial

impact on not only his social life, but also on the work front too. Nootropics are basically smart

drugs that have similar effects to the mind which nanotechnology powered drugs also have on

the mind. Once Mora intakes the drug, his life ultimately transforms for the better. For instance,

not only does Mora’s book which went through a long gestation finally get published, but he also

starts running for the Senate, manages to become wealthy due to large returns from repeated

investments in the stock market, and even gets his old girlfriend back in the process. However,

the drug also happens to be illegal, and this plays an adverse impact with Mora when it comes to

ethics, as it was illegally manufactured. When viewing this story, one can imagine how impactful

a nanotechnology powered drug can be to an everyday unemployed youth’s life. Though a

fictional story, this film was apparently based on a 2001 novel, The Dark Fields, which was

apparently conceived from the information Alan Glynn (the author of The Dark Fields) had

possessed. That respective possessed information of Glynn, was apparently based on the increase

in performance-enhancing drug usage for sports in the 1990’s. However, given the series of

ethical roadblocks the character went through, my mind started to generate several questions. As
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

of lately, I have been questioning the reliability of nanotechnology, owing to its various

flirtations with the law as well as its mild to detrimental positive and negative impacts on the

health of an average earthling.

How prevalent is the nanotechnology industry around the world?

Nanotechnology has been rapidly growing since the advent of the 21st century. In fact the

industry has become very influential that even PMC, the US National Library of Medicine, has

described the nanotechnology movement as “the biggest engineering innovation since the

Industrial Revolution” (As of now, according to the analysis “This is Nanotechnology - One of

the Fastest Growing Markets in the World”, written by Dr. Muhammad Adeel Irfan and

published by GAEU Consulting, the nanotechnology industry is stated to be one of the rapidly

growing markets internationally at the moment, primarily because the industry offers “great

potential and advancements for society” (Dr. Irfan, 1). According to Dr. Irfan, nanotechnology

has a variety of practical applications to it, and examples of areas where it can be applied,

include: medicine, food & cosmetics, human & environmental health, and not to mention,

technology & industry. Nanotechnology has had such a widespread impact in developed

countries, that as of last year, even developing countries have been thinking of adopting

nanotechnology treatments to solve their respective environmental related problems, notably

water scarcity. As of now, China, United States, India, Iran and South Korea occupy the top five

positions of countries who use nanotechnology.

What are the beneficial impacts of nanotechnology?

According to the scientific article, “Human Enhancement and Nanotechnology”, which

incidentally happens to be a brief published by the Foresight Nanotech Institute and written by
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

Jacob Heller and Christine Peterson, nanotechnology for whatever controversial enhancements it

is bound to produce, can positively change one’s life. Examples of such so-called enhancements

in spite of being unnatural, include “extreme intelligence and memory capacity, significantly

heightened sense of awareness, astonishing athletic capability and strength, and beauty

enhancements” (Heller & Peterson, 1). The advantages of nanotechnology are apparently

beneficial to the extent that it has the potential to mark “the end of pain, disease, and aging”

(Heller & Peterson, 1). To sum it up in simple English, the quotes made by the authors Heller

and Peterson in this respective report, basically indicate that nanotechnology can change several

lives for the better. However, in spite of inducing a promising outlook on life, nanotechnology

has several ethical concerns it should first fight through.

According to the report, “Iran and Nanotechnology: A New Experience of on Time

Entry”, written by Irani students from Tehran: Sepehr Ghazinoori, Fatemeh Salehi Yazdi, and

Ali Mohammad Soltani, nanotechnology has somehow positively impacted the employment

sector in Iran, as apparently, “more than 60 startup companies have been established in the field

of nanotechnology in Iran” (11). Several nanotechnology related product lines have been

launched too, and examples of these products include: anti-stain men’s wear, low-emission

glasses for buildings, long-lasting traffic paints and anti-bacterial wound sprays.

What are the potential concerns of nanotechnology?

Though the benefits of nanotechnology on the human mind have been widely known and

have also been cited by several researchers, the only roadblock that prevents it from being a wide

scale industry is its safety concerns. According to the UCLA’s school of Public Health, intake of

nanoparticles has been shown to have several detrimental effects on one’s physical health, and
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

were practically “linked to all the big killers of man, namely cancer, heart disease, neurological

disease and aging” (Amid Nanotech’s Dazzling Promise, Health Risks Grow). Nanotechnology

has also been known to cause several lung-related diseases and apparently has “the potential to

cause mesothelioma” (Weiss, 1). Mesothelioma is a rare but an aggressive form of cancer, which

induces symptoms such as cough, chest pain and shortness of breath. Apparently, nanoparticles

have the capability of being as harmful as asbestos, another hazardous mesothelioma-inducing

fiber.

Besides its negative impacts on human health, nanotechnology has a potential chance of

adversely affecting the environment, economy, privacy and security. For instance, there are

possibilities of the hazardous entries of nanotechnology powered toxins and pollutants into the

environment. Now how will it affect the economy? Well, according to the author of the article,

“Advantages & Disadvantages of Nanotechnology” (published by Chron), Clare Edwards,

nanotechnology has the potential to “result in job losses” (Edwards, 1) owing to potential

changes in the manufacturing process of the average industry in the near future. Last but not

least, nanotechnology powered devices has the potential to invade the average human’s privacy

in the fact that there lies quite a few possibilities to the invention of “microscopic recording

devices, which would be virtually undetectable” (Edwards, 1). Nanotechnology can also affect

the security of people in the sense that a recent invention in smart bullets, computerized bullets

that can be monitored and aimed at accurately, has the potential of not only working wonders for

the military, but can also fall into the “wrong hands” (Edwards, 1), or in other words, terrorists.

Final Conclusion
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

My personal take towards this issue is somewhat biased given the fact that I am what one

would call, “mentally impaired”. I must say that I am not a big advocate of nanotechnology-

powered drug intake into the human body, owing to my experiences with Concerta intake. Yes,

these sorts of mind-altering drugs do a terrific task in improving the mind, and examples of

positive side effects I had encountered, included: an increasingly alert mind, boosted

productivity, decreased hyperactivity, and an organized framework and thought process. And

yes, my academic and social life did improve to a major extent. And why am I against it? Well,

some of the side effects I encountered, included serious conditions such as insomnia, increased

acne, eye spasms and drug dependency. Periodical intake proved to be worse, and whenever I

took the drug on weekends, my brain often felt fried and this was only a small sign which

indicated my overall struggle with Concerta-withdrawal during my break-times.

Based on the evidence I have gathered, nanotechnology, in spite of all its benefits, also

has its fair share of disadvantages. To speak for the best interest of every aspiring “Leonardo Da

Vinci” or “Albert Einstein” around the world, it is best if they resort to natural rather than

artificial and technical methods for improving their intelligence. Physical exercise for example is

one method that has been proven to work wonders towards the brain’s attention span and

thinking capacity, and neglecting that over nanotechnology is not a good sign for things to come

in the near future. Examples of the various effects, plain physical exercise can do, include: mood

improvement, weight loss, muscle strength improvement, energy level increase, and memory

improvements to name a few. Yes, it does take longer than nanotechnology, but despite the

heavy price one has to pay with arduous, exhausting physical activity, it doesn’t at least make

people suffer from side effects which one encounters through regular intake of nanotechnology-
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

powered drugs. It is time people realized how more important lengthy, arduous hard work is

when compared to shortcut routes, as well as the various amount of benefits hard work has,

especially when it comes to sustaining solid, consistent efforts in the long run.
Sumedh Dadi

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

University Writing 1104

November 8th, 2018

Works Cited

“Global Nanotechnology Industry.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and

Monitoring, ProfNet, 19 Feb. 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-
nanotechnology-industry-300600551.html.

“Global Nanotechnology Market Outlook 2015-2020 – Industry Will Grow to Reach US$ 75.8
Billion.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring, ProfNet, 12 Jun.
2015, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-nanotechnology-industry-
300600551.html.

“Iran Ranks 4th in Nanotechnology Worldwide.” Tehran Times, Tehran Times, 1 Feb. 2018,
www.tehrantimes.com/news/420885/Iran-ranks-4th-in-nanotechnology-worldwide.

Edwards, Clare. “Advantages & Disadvantages of Nanotechnology.” Small Business –

Chron.com, Chron.com, 21 Nov. 2017, smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-
disadvantages-nanotechnology-37398.html.

Gwinn, Maureen R., and Val Vallyathan. “Nanoparticles: Health Effects—Pros and
Cons.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 114, no. 12, 18 Aug. 2006, pp. 1818–
1825., doi:10.1289/ehp.8871.

Heller, Jacob, and Christine Peterson. “Human Enhancement and Nanotechnology.” Foresight
Institute, foresight.org/policy/brief2.html.

Irfan, Muhamad Adeel. “This Is Nanotechnology – One of the Fastest Growing Markets in the
World.” Gaeu Consulting - Experts in Horizon 2020 Funding, Gaeu Consulting,
www.gaeu.com/item/this-is-nanotechnology-one-of-the-fastest-growing-markets-in-the-
world.

Macaulay, Scott. POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS, Filmmaker Magazine, 2011.

Semeco, Ariene. “The Top 10 Benefits of Regular Exercise.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 10
Feb. 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise.

Schneider, Andrew (March 24, 2010) "Amid Nanotech's Dazzling Promise, Health Risks
Grow"Archived 2010-03-26 at the Wayback Machine.. AOL News

Weiss, Rick. “Effects of Nanotubes May Lead to Cancer, Study Says.” The Washington Post,
WP Company, 21 May 2008, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001331.html?hpid=sec-
health&sid=ST2008052100104&noredirect=on.