Scientists say a poll of 1,001 U.S. adults finds 90 percent say they should be better informed about nanotechnology and synthetic biology developments.

The poll was conducted by Peter Hart Research Associates and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

"Historically, government and industry have done a poor job of informing and engaging the public about scientific developments that could have transformative impacts on society," said David Rejeski, director of PEN. "The poll showed that better communication is needed and could be beneficial in securing the promise of our investments in science."

The poll revealed the proportion of adults who say they have heard a lot or some about synthetic biology more than doubled during the past year -- from 9 percent to 22 percent. Awareness of nanotechnology (30 percent have heard a lot or some) increased slightly since last year, putting it at the same level measured in 2006.

"Public awareness of nanotechnology has barely moved in over four years of our project's polling, despite billions of dollars of investment in research and a growing number of nano-enabled products in the marketplace," said Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for PEN. "Clearly, the message about this new and important technology is not reaching the public."

The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

A report summarizing the poll's findings is available at http://www.nanotechproject.org/process/assets/files/8286/nano_synbio.pdf.