NanoFrontiers: Visions for the Future of Nanotechnology

Relevant to nearly every industry, nanotechnology is considered a "platform technology," because "it readily merges and converges with other technologies and could change how we do just about everything." Today, nanotechnology is delivering promising methods for cleaning up polluted sites, monitoring water sources, and enabling new methods of drug delivery. Tomorrow, it could provide the technical means for new solutions to the world's energy problems, to treat water at its point of use, and to make artificial tissues that replace diseased organs and even repair nerve damage.

Nanotechnology is still very much a work in progress—for example, while most first-generation nanomedicines are reformulations of existing drugs, farther down the road, experts predict the creation of novel nanostructures that could serve as new kinds of drugs for treating cancer, Parkinson's, and cardiovascular disease.

Pew is no longer active in this line of work, but for more information, visit the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies on PewHealth.org.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

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37 Scientists Pioneering the Future of Biomedical Research

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Biomedical researchers are at the heart of nearly every medical advancement. From cutting-edge cancer treatments to breakthrough discoveries about emerging viruses, these scientists use creativity and ingenuity to explore new horizons in human health and medicine. And for nearly 40 years, The Pew Charitable Trusts has supported more than 1,000 early-career researchers committed to this work.

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Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

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How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?