All Articles Tagged As: safety

Popular nanoparticle causes toxicity in fish, study shows (3/10/2010)

A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study. ...> Full Article

Vigilance needed in nanotechnology (3/4/2010)

University of Calgary researchers have developed a methodology to measure various aspects of nanoparticles in the blood stream of chicken embryos. Their discovery is published in the March online edition of Chemical Physics Letters. ...> Full Article

Engineers explore environmental concerns of nanotechnology (2/2/2010)

As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, the national Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology looks at potential environmental exposure, biological effects, and ecological consequences. ...> Full Article

Tiny whispering gallery (12/23/2009)

A tiny sensor that exploits the same physics as the whispering gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral in London will help make nanotechnology safer. ...> Full Article

Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice (11/25/2009)

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. ...> Full Article

Behavior modification could ease concerns about nanoparticles (11/14/2009)

In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles in municipal sewage treatment plants -- their main gateway into the environment. Their study will be published online Nov. 12 in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. ...> Full Article

Where do nanomaterials go in the body? (11/5/2009)

Tiny, engineered nanomaterials can already be found in many consumer products, and have been hailed as having widespread future uses in areas ranging from medicine to industrial processes. However, little is known about what happens if these nanomaterials get into your body -- where do they go? NC State researchers are working to answer that question under a grant from the National Institutes of Health. ...> Full Article

Study shows how carbon nanotubes can affect lining of the lungs (10/31/2009)

Carbon nanotubes are being considered for use in everything from sports equipment to medical applications, but a great deal remains unknown about whether these materials cause respiratory or other health problems. Now a collaborative study from North Carolina State University, the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences shows that inhaling these nanotubes can affect the outer lining of the lung, though the effects of long-term exposure remain unclear. ...> Full Article

Knocking nanoparticles off the socks (10/29/2009)

Scientists in Switzerland are reporting results of one of the first studies on the release of silver nanoparticles from laundering those anti-odor, anti-bacterial socks now on the market. Their findings, scheduled for the Nov. 1 issue of ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology, may suggest ways that manufacturers and consumers can minimize the release of these particles to the environment, where they could harm fish and other wildlife. ...> Full Article

Nanotech protection (10/17/2009)

Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Nanotechnology, Canadian engineers suggest that research is needed into the risks associated with the growing field of nanotechnology manufacture so that appropriate protective equipment can be developed urgently. ...> Full Article

EPA announces research strategy to study nanomaterials (10/3/2009)

The US Environmental Protection Agency today outlined a new research strategy to better understand how manufactured nanomaterials may harm human health and the environment. The strategy outlines what research EPA will support over the next several years to generate information about the safe use of nanotechnology and products that contain nano-scale materials. ...> Full Article

Carbon nanoparticles toxic to adult fruit flies but benign to young (8/10/2009)

Researchers at Brown University have discovered that certain types of carbon nanoparticles can be environmentally toxic to adult fruit flies, although they were found to be benign when added to food for larvae. The findings, published online in Environmental Science & Technology, may further reveal the environmental and health dangers of carbon nanoparticles. ...> Full Article

Nanotech particles affect brain development in mice (7/30/2009)

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) affects the expression of genes related to the central nervous system in developing mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that mice whose mothers were injected with the nanoparticles while pregnant showed alteration in gene expression related to neurological dysfunction. ...> Full Article

Scientists advance safety of nanotechnology (6/14/2009)

Scientists have identified for the first time a mechanism by which nanoparticles cause lung damage and have demonstrated that it can be combated by blocking the process involved, taking a step toward addressing the growing concerns over the safety of nanotechnology. ...> Full Article

World's first mandatory national nanotech rule pending (1/29/2009)

Canadian officials plan to require quantity, usage and toxicity data ...> Full Article

Nanotech in your vitamins (1/17/2009)

The ability of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency's lack of statutory authority in certain critical areas, according to a new expert report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. ...> Full Article

Nanoparticles trigger cell death? (11/18/2008)

The findings of a recent Finnish-American study give rise to concern that nanoparticles carry potential health hazards. ...> Full Article

Nanoparticles in the home: More and smaller than previously detected (11/15/2008)

Extremely small nanoscale particles are released by common kitchen appliances in abundant amounts, greatly outnumbering the previously detected, larger-size nanoparticles emitted by these appliances ...> Full Article

Researchers show that plants can accumulate nanoparticles in tissues (11/14/2008)

Researchershave provided what is believed to be the first experimental evidence that plants can take up nanoparticles and accumulate them in their tissues. The laboratory study, which involved pumpkin plants, indicates a possible pathway for nanoparticles to enter the food chain. The research also reveals a new experimental approach for studying nanoparticles and their potential impacts. ...> Full Article

A need for improved efficiency in nanomanufacturing (11/8/2008)

New research shows nanotech's environmental gains may be canceled out ...> Full Article

'Buckyballs' have high potential to accumulate in living tissue (10/17/2008)

Research suggests synthetic carbon molecules called fullerenes, or buckyballs, have a high potential of being accumulated in animal tissue, but the molecules also appear to break down in sunlight, perhaps reducing their possible environmental dangers. ...> Full Article

When Particles Are So Small That They Seep Right Through Skin (10/1/2008)

Scientists are finding that particles that are barely there - tiny objects known as nanoparticles that have found a home in electronics, food containers, sunscreens, and a variety of applications - can breech our most personal protective barrier: The skin. ...> Full Article

Study will trace path of nanomaterials (9/5/2008)

Working to ensure the safe use of nanomaterials is the basis of a new Rice study funded by the National Science Foundation. ...> Full Article

A regulatory blueprint for the next administration (7/27/2008)

Former EPA official highlights shortcomings of current federal oversight ...> Full Article

Nanotechnology: Learning from past mistakes (7/22/2008)

Nanotech's success depends on addressing safety questions ...> Full Article

Research investigates potential harm from nanomaterials (6/29/2008)

Potential risks from the use of nanomaterials will be explored by three Arizona State University engineering faculty ...> Full Article

Research Measures Movement of Nanomaterials in Simple Model Food Chain (6/2/2008)

New research shows that while engineered nanomaterials can be transferred up the lowest levels of the food chain from single celled organisms to higher multicelled ones, the amount transferred was relatively low and there was no evidence of the nanomaterials concentrating in the higher level organisms ...> Full Article

Carbon nanotubes that look like asbestos, behave like asbestos (5/21/2008)

New study shows inhaling long, thin carbon nanotubes may result in asbestos-related disease ...> Full Article

Federal Government Taps NC State Experts To Explain Nanotech Risks (5/13/2008)

The arm of the federal government responsible for coordinating nanotechnology research and regulations across the country has called on experts from North Carolina State University to craft a white paper that will lay out how government and industry officials should communicate potential risks associated with nanotechnology to the media and the public ...> Full Article

Nanotech's health, environment impacts worry scientists (12/2/2007)

The unknown human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public. ...> Full Article