Nanotechnology is already here. It is in clothes, food and houses. Does it have the power to harm?
By JR Minkel Illustrations by Madi-Naishu. The article was published in the January 2007 issue of the journal Popular Science.
The fear
Nanoparticles - defined as particles smaller than 100 nanometers in diameter - are used to improve the efficiency and durability of more than 200 different consumer products already on the market, including sunscreen, stain-resistant pants and golf balls. However, their potential effects on health and the environment are largely unknown.
The watchdogs
European officials have, for that matter, set up research groups such as NanoSafe 2 and Impert NanoTox to decide how to detect, track and evaluate nanoparticles. Research in the United States is less coordinated, but groups of researchers from Rice University and the University of Rochester have set themselves similar goals.
The theories
The ability of the nanoparticles to penetrate cells and damage living tissues is due to the fact that they are so tiny (larger particles are trapped outside the cells). Studies indicate that if they are breathed in or swallowed or if they are absorbed through the skin they are able to penetrate the rest of the body. Chemically reactive particles are able, once they are exposed to living tissues, to break down important DNA, RNA or enzyme molecules, or to interfere with other cellular processes and thus cause serious illness or long-term health problems. In a study conducted in 2004, for example, a researcher from Duke University found that a certain type of carbon molecule - Buckminster Fullerene, or as it is called "Buckyball" (a hollow molecule with 60 carbon atoms, m) - dissolved in water causes significant damage to brain cells in freshwater fish.
Attack from the ambush - how can nanoparticles penetrate the brain
1. In studies done on mice (whose brain cells are similar to human brain cells), the animals breathed ultrafine particles - such as carbon nanotubes - that settle in the nasal cavities.
2. The particles dispersed and penetrated the cells and between them, until they reached the olfactory nerve located behind the throat.
3. Finally, they progressed along the olfactory nerve and into the brain, where they damaged cells and impaired brain function.
Frequently asked questions - a closer look at the tiniest threat to health
What are the nanoparticles even good for?
There are countless uses. Zinc oxide nanoparticles excellently block ultraviolet rays and yet remain permeable to light. Nanoparticles, semiconductors, emit light efficiently and fullerenes are used as lubricants.
How do we know if they are safe?
Recently, researchers injected nanoparticles, which are commonly used, into test organisms (rats, fish, plants and bacteria) and tested how they accumulate in organs, where they can damage tissues. Researchers believe, in any case, that a multi-layered approach will be required - tests of cell cultures combined with studies on animals - in order to get a real picture of the toxicity potential for humans, of given nanoparticles.
Can they be made to be safer?
The nanoparticles can be coated with other materials to lower their reaction potential, but this kind of coating may destroy their beneficial properties. The key is the bride. According to Joseph Haggs, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, there appears to be a certain type of clay, used to cover burial waste, that is able to prevent the buckyball from leaking into the environment.
the time line
1985 - American and British researchers discovered Buckminster fullerene. The "buckyball" is another form of carbon, along with graphite and diamond.
1991 - A Japanese scientist discovered the carbon nanotube, which appears in a variety of forms of single-walled tubes and multi-walled tubes. The single-sided nanotube is endowed with unique electronic properties.
2000 – The jumbotron lamp, which for decades illuminated places such as sports stadiums, contains light-emitting nanotubes and was introduced to the commercial market.
2005 - In laboratory experiments, it was found that the buckyball reduces the growth of organisms and damages neurons. It is still unclear whether they will have the power to harm after passing through the body.
2005 – Aluminum nanoparticles disrupted the growth of plant roots in the laboratory. However, the required level is so high that in reality, plants actually have to swim in the material (to be damaged).
2006 - Six Germans suffered health problems and were hospitalized after using the sealing spray, Magic Nano. It is not known if the blame lies in the nano particles that the product contains.
6 תגובות
It is a miracle that the man is still alive. After air pollution, chemicals and antibiotics in food, radiation from every electronic device, industrialized food and food dyes, carcinogens, the greenhouse effect, ozone hole, bacteria, viruses and now also nanoparticles. Isn't that too much?
A question of time until the collapse comes. Usually the person reacts to events, only after the disaster has occurred, even though it could have been prevented, in time.
It is better than chemical weapons because it passes the filter
Peace.
about concern After they find how to destroy humans and selectively, they will also find anti-nano nano after they realize that it will come to them too and in the meantime a new generation will arise, a nano anti-nano generation and until then someone will find the popo that the nano is next to child's play. In short, it is apparently a children's game and children, like children, develop or lag behind as they are taught and educated. That's how it was and will be as long as the sun rises in the east and at the end of the day it sets like we do, in the west.
Peace.
about concern After they find how to destroy humans and selectively, they will also find nano anti nano after they realize that it will come to them too and in the meantime a new generation will arise, a nano anti nano generation and until then someone will find the popo that the nano is next to child's play. In short, it is apparently a children's game and children, like children, develop or lag behind as they are taught and educated. That's how it was and will be as long as the sun rises in the east and at the end of the day sets like us, in the west.
What about their decomposition properties
How long does it take for nanoparticles to disintegrate at all?
Pollution on a small scale can pollute the whole world on a huge scale for generations. and bring destruction and destruction to all living beings.
It sounds much worse than the following infections: viruses, bacteria and germs, radioactive, metals, air pollution, electromagnetic radiation, biological infections.
And the list goes on.