A powerful international consortium set up to accelerate research into a vaccine against HIV/Aids has identified major barriers to the first generation of commercially available HIV vaccines — and ways to overcome these obstacles, says a Science and Development Network report.

In the long-term, nanotechnology — or the technology of very small particles — could generate big benefits for global society, such as cheap sustainable energy and better methods for disease diagnosis and treatment. But there is a risk that different capabilities to develop and exploit new technologies will create a "nano-divide" between rich and poor nations in the more immediate future.