Scientist warns of nanotechnology dangers

May 3, 2006

A British scientist is warning that hundreds of nanotechnology products are about to go on sale despite a lack of biological safety testing.

Nanotechnology products -- containing materials that are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a hair -- are already being used in numerous products, from medical bandages to golf clubs and paints.

Edinburgh University Professor Anthony Seaton, one of Britain's leading environmental health experts, says concerns that tiny particles from the products might cause respiratory, cardiac and immune problems had not been properly assessed, The Scotsman reported Wednesday.

Speaking with the newspaper ahead of a presentation he gave Tuesday at the Nanoparticles for European Industry conference in London, Seaton said that recommended nano testing "simply hasn't happened."

A recent report from a U.S. science watchdog suggested there are already 200 products containing nanoparticles on the marketplace, with hundreds more to be introduced during the coming year.

Nano critics point to asbestos -- a nanoparticle already linked with cancer -- and the high rate of heart failure in dense pollution areas, as early warnings of nanoparticles' potential hazards when inhaled, the newspaper said.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

3.9 /5 (49 votes)  

Rank 3.9 /5 (49 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

'Dark plasmons' transmit energy

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created 9 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Nanotube therapy takes aim at breast cancer stem cells

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers have again proven that injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second laser treatment can kill them.

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created 14 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Inspired by steel, nanomanufacturing gets wear-resistant carbide tip

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and IBM Research - Zurich have fabricated an ultrasharp silicon carbide tip possessing such high strength ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created 19 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New technology platform for molecule-based electronics

Researchers at the Nano-Science Center at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new nano-technology platform for the development of molecule-based electronic components using the wonder material graphene. At the same ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created 16 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

New kind of solar cell could capture significantly more energy than current cells

New solar cells could increase the maximum efficiency of solar panels by over 25%, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 14 | with audio podcast


FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...

Hydrogen from acidic water: Researchers develop potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley ...

Ultraviolet protection molecule in plants yields its secrets

Lying around in the sun all day is hazardous not just for humans but also for plants, which have no means of escape. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can damage proteins and DNA inside cells, leading ...

Soraa LED light may dim 50-watt halogen rivals

(PhysOrg.com) -- Soraa, a Fremont, California company founded in 2008, this week launched its first product, a light that uses LEDS (light emitting diodes). The "Soraa LED MR16 lamp" is the "perfect" replacement ...

Anyone can learn to be more inventive, cognitive researcher says

There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and ...

Flexible paper robots

(PhysOrg.com) -- These inexpensive robots can stretch, bend and twist under control, and lift objects up to 120 times their own weight. Being soft, they can apply gentle and even pressure, and adapt to varied ...