With the profusion of information available on the Web, search engines have become a key mediator by directing people to the information they're interested in. But that has also turned the search engines into gatekeepers; both by ranking the results and by offering suggested search terms, the sites can subtly (and, in some cases, not so subtly) influence the sorts of information that a significant fraction of the public will encounter. A new survey of Google search terms looks into how this is playing out when it comes to information on nanotechnology. The researchers found that both suggested queries and search results may be pushing that field down a path that is similar to the one that was traveled by genetically modified foods, where an initial focus on technology and applications has been replaced by worries about health and ethical issues.
Nanotechnology is a sprawling field that is based on a simple observation: the properties of many familiar materials are completely different when they are structured at the nanometer scale. So, for example, differences between bulk gold and gold nanoparticles include color, melting point, and electronic properties. Our ability to control the bulk production of nanostructured materials is a relatively recent development, and it holds both promises and risks.
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