Dr. Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor at the Project for Emerging Nanotechnologies, calls his general nanotech presentation, ‘The Twinkie Guide to Nanotechnology’^[1].

Copyright 2005 Larry D. Moore. For permission and licensing info. on Copyright and permissions.

It's a fun (Maynard likes to eat Twinkies), five point presentation illustrating various principles, benefits and a risk presented by nanoparticles. (For anyone interested in viewing the presentation, under Leaving the mysteries, click on Dr. Andrew Maynard's Twinkie Guide to Nanotechnology.)  It does seem that Maynard's presentation downplays any possible dangers in favour of nanotech's benefits but it should be noted that Maynard has also done serious research on health issues posed by nanotechnology.^[2] (For more about nanotechnology risks, under Jump joints, click on Risks.) 

(For anyone who may not be familiar with Twinkies, they are a snack cake made of golden sponge and filled with a vanilla cream. Loved by children and adults alike, Twinkies occupy an interesting place in the pop culture imagination in Canada and the U.S. The word and/or the cake can be used in comedies to get a laugh. The word itself can be used as a derisory comment, particularly in U.S. jurisprudence circles as per 'The Twinkie Defence'. The defence has a history dating back to 1979 and a very well known [in the U.S.] San Francisco incident where a former city supervisor or city councillor, Dan White, murdered the Mayor, George Moscone, and the first openly gay [homosexual] supervisor elected to office in the U.S., Harvey Milk. White's defense lawyer claimed that junk food had caused White to lose his senses and murder his former colleagues.)^[3]

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Scientists play too

Jump joints

Risks

Leaving the mysteries

Dr. Andrew Maynard's Twinkie Guide to Nanotechnology