Honing the Edge

Honing the edge

Honing the edge

Nanotechnology: A risky frontier?

Nanotechnology already has found hundreds of high-tech uses. But do its tiny particles pose big health risks? That uncertainty, and companies' reluctance to embrace the field, cloud its future. Updated Mar. 29, 2011

  • A continuing series on innovation in Minnesota.

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New biosciences building

University Enterprise Laboratories

Veeco's Jeffrey Hohn

Jim Stoppert, CEO of Segetis held a bottle of the company's bio-based...

more from investigators

A Lethal Dose: The war on synthetic drugs

They carry names like Bliss and TranQuility, but don't be fooled: Synthetic drugs can be deadly. From a small town in Oklahoma to suburban Minnesota, these products have generated unusual violence and physical suffering. Efforts to control these substances remains a losing battlle.

Violated

State regulators have failed to protect some of Minnesota's most vulnerable citizens from being victimized by their care givers. Even known criminals have obtained state permission to work in nursing homes and other care settings.

Losing Our Lakes

Home builders are routinely allowed to break the rules on shoreline development. Polluters are allowed to keep polluting. And clean-up efforts are falling short. While public officials are trying to save Minnesota's iconic lakes, their efforts are undercut by a lack of federal mandates.

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