“Nanotechnology is a tool, like a hammer or a wrench. And like a hammer or a wrench, it can be used in both good and bad ways,” said Steve McCloskey, CEO of Nanome, to Orchid’s Derek Silva on this week’s episode of the Priv8 Podcast. Nanome is a company that builds virtual reality (VR) solutions for Scientists and Engineers working at the nanoscale.

“It’s entirely possible to use this technology to make biological weapons – in fact, it's already happening. It’s simply a part of our reality now.

“But I believe that the way to protect ourselves is to get ahead of the curve – to start building tools that can protect us all against future potentially threatening biological vectors.”

Steve said that these potential threats could come from both multiple sources. “It’s possible that certain biological threats can be intentionally engineered to have more devastating effects,” he said.

“And even if they are not intended to be harmful, there is the possibility that laboratories working with CRISPR and similar technologies could be carrying out experiments on diseases that could make them more infectious to humans.

“Other potentially harmful vectors could also come from environmental sources. There are so many natural reservoirs of different species where vectors can evolve into biohazards that can lead to global pandemics.

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“Indeed, there's a lot of things that can go wrong,” he said. “So if we want to prevent catastrophe, we need a lot of smart people working on ways to cure and prevent future pandemics, as well as protect against the possibility of biological weapons.”

Steve believes that nanotechnology is the key to fighting both naturally occurring diseases and biological weapons – and that VR VR can play a vital role in helping scientists further develop nanotechnology tools.

“​​Nanoengineering isn’t just cool – it’s alsosomething that the world really needs,” he said. “And VR enables scientists to virtually interact with molecules at the nanoscale – it allows them to get ‘hands on’ with it.”

“I believe that VR the way to help more people become nanoengineers and empower them to create better technology.”

Check out the entire conversation with Steve. And don't forget to subscribe to Priv8 on your favorite streaming service.