Technology assessment (TA, German Technikfolgenabschätzung) is the study and evaluation of new technologies. It is based on the conviction that new developments within, and discoveries by, the scientific community are relevant for the world at large rather than just for the scientific experts themselves, and that technological progress can never be free of ethical implications. Also, technology assessment recognizes the fact that scientists normally are not trained ethicists themselves and accordingly ought to be very careful when passing ethical judgement on their own, or their colleagues´, new findings, projects, or work in progress. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The scientific community consists of the interactions and relationships of scientists. ... Ethics (from Greek ethikos) is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ... Santiago Ramón y Cajal Marie Sklodowska Curie This article is about the profession. ... An ethicist is one whose judgement on ethics and ethical codes has come to be trusted by some community, and (importantly) is expressed in some way that makes it possible for others to mimic or approximate that judgement. ...

Technology assessment assumes a global perspective and is future-oriented rather than backward-looking or anti-technological. ("Scientific research and science-based technological innovation is an indispensable prerequisite of modern life and civilization. There is no alternative. For six or eight billion people there is no way back to a less sophisticated life style" [Mohr, Hans: "Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice", Techné: Journal of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Summer, 1999)]). TA considers its task as interdisciplinary approach to solving already existing problems and preventing potential damage caused by the uncritical application and the commercialization of new technologies. Therefore any results of technology assessment studies must be published, and particular consideration must be given to communication with political decision-makers. A depiction of the future of mankind as seen in the motion picture Blade Runner. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ...

The United States Department of Defense (DOD) assesses technology maturity using a measure called Technology Readiness Level. The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated as DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... NASA Technology Readiness Levels Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is a measure used by some United States government agencies to assess the maturity of evolving technologies (materials, components, devices, etc. ...

Some of the major fields of TA – not an exhaustive list:

• pharmacology
• organ transplants
• gene technology
• information technology
• nuclear technology
• molecular nanotechnology

health technology assessment (HTA) Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. ... Organ donation is the removal of specific tissues of the human body from a person who has recently died, or from a living donor, for the purpose of transplanting them into other persons. ... Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Category: ... Core of a nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split second). ... It has been suggested that Molecular engineering be merged into this article or section. ...

See also

• technology transfer
• Technology Readiness Level