Nanodiamonds delivering drugs - CNN, USA
Scientists at Northwestern University have demonstrated that these relatively new nanomaterials can shuttle chemotherapy drugs to cells without producing the negative effects of today's delivery agents.
Clusters of the nanodiamonds surrounding the drugs block them off from healthy cells, preventing unnecessary damage, and then release them upon reaching the intended targets.

Health risks and environmental issues - All about Nanotechnology, India
There is growing body of scientific evidence which demonstrates the potential for some nanomaterials to be toxic to humans or the environment. The smaller a particle, the greater its surface area to volume ratio and the higher its chemical reactivity and biological activity.
There is no regulatory requirement for nanomaterials to face new health and safety testing or environmental impact assessment prior to their use in commercial products, if these materials have already been approved in bulk form. The health risks of nanomaterials are of particular concern for workers who may face occupational exposure to nanomaterials at higher levels, and on a more routine basis, than the general public.

Broader societal implications and challenges - All about Nanotechnology, India
Nano optimists, including many governments, see nanotechnology delivering:

• environmentally benign material abundance for all by providing universal clean water supplies
• atomically engineered food and crops resulting in greater agricultural productivity with less labour requirements
• nutritionally enhanced interactive ‘smart’ foods
• cheap and powerful energy generation
• clean and highly efficient manufacturing
• radically improved formulation of drugs, diagnostics and organ replacement
• much greater information storage and communication capacities
• interactive ‘smart’ appliances; and increased human performance through convergent technologies

Nano skeptics suggest that nanotechnology will simply exacerbate problems stemming from existing socio-economic inequity and unequal distributions of power, creating greater inequities between rich and poor through an inevitable nano-divide (the gap between those who control the new nanotechnologies and those whose products, services or labour are displaced by them). Skeptics suggest the possibility that nanotechnology has the potential to destabilise international relations through a nano arms race and the increased potential for bioweaponry; thus, providing the tools for ubiquitous surveillance with significant implications for civil liberties. Also, the skeptics believe it might break down the barriers between life and non-life through nanobiotechnology, redefining even what it means to be human