findNano App Puts Nanotech in Your Pocket

PEN's Consumer Products Inventory Now Available via iPhone and iPod Touch

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Project on Emerging
Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano, an application for Apple's
iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer
products are nanotechnology-enabled. Nanotechnology, the emerging technology
of using materials by engineering them at an incredibly small scale, has
applications ranging from consumer electronics to improved drug delivery
systems.

findNano allows users to browse an inventory of more than 1,000
nanotechnology-enabled consumer products, from sporting goods to food products
and electronics to toys, using the iPhone and iPod Touch. Using the built-in
camera, iPhone users can even submit new nanotech products to be included in
future inventory updates.

The new application makes PEN's unique Consumer Products Inventory more
accessible for today's consumers. The inventory, which was launched in 2006,
is the leading source of information on manufacturer-identified nanotechnology
consumer products around the world.

"The Consumer Products Inventory provides valuable insight into the world of
nanotech consumer products, and now it's even easier to access because of
findNano," says PEN Research Associate Patrick Polischuk. "This innovative
tool satisfies the needs of citizen scientists, tech-savvy consumers, and
those who are merely curious about whether products contain nanomaterials."

The number of nanotech products in the inventory has risen from approximately
200 in 2006 to more than 1,000 today. But this is most likely an underestimate
of the number of products using nanotechnology available worldwide. To help
develop better estimates of the number of nano-based products in commerce, the
iPhone app allows users to submit information on new products, including
product name and where the product can be purchased.

Using findNano, users can take or select a photo of a possible nanotech
product and submit it for inclusion in the PEN inventory. This feature will
help consumers, researchers, and policymakers determine how--and
where--nanotechnologies are entering the marketplace.

findNano is available as a free download for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and
can be found in the iTunes App Store or at nanotechproject.org/iphone.

About Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, see, manipulate and manufacture
things usually between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is one billionth
of a meter. A human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers wide. The limit of the
human eye's capacity to see without a microscope is about 10,000 nm. In 2007
the global market for goods incorporating nanotechnology totaled $147 billion.
Lux Research projects that figure will grow to $2.5 trillion by 2015.

About the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies was launched in 2005 by the Woodrow
Wilson
International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts. It is a
partnership dedicated to helping business, governments, and the public
anticipate and manage the possible health and environmental implications of
nanotechnology. To learn more, visit www.nanotechproject.org.

For information about the Center, visit www.wilsoncenter.org. For media
inquiries, contact Sharon McCarter, (202) 691-4016.

SOURCE The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

Patrick Polischuk of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
+1-202-691-4283, patrick.polischuk@wilsoncenter.org