During recent years, a burgeoning community of social science researchers has developed an understanding of how the public perceives emerging technologies such as nanotechnology. In this article, Professor Steven Currall argues that the elaboration of theory is vital for the development of a coherent body of research literature on public perceptions of nanotechnology, and that the three papers in this issue of Nature Nanotechnology mark a substantial advance in the range of theoretical factors considered to affect the public’s perceptions and attitudes towards nanotechnology.

The 2010 ISI impact factor for Nature Nanotechnology was 30.306, according to the ISI Journal Citation Reports. This places the journal first among all journals in nanoscience and nanotechnology.