This essay—following previous works (Cfr. Sharon; Pisano and Durlo)—addresses the fundamental concepts of nanoscience and nanotechnology within an intellectual scientific context of the history of science and technology in society. The arguments are traced with a special focus on the manufacture of objects already benefited from the use of nanoparticles that would only be observed in modern times, for the production of pigments or steel, for example. Subsequently, an account will be provided of human beings’ endeavours to emulate certain characteristics of the natural world, with the example of the gecko’s legs being offered for illustration.