Nanotechnology may well be one of the most talked about industries of the last few years. Predicted to value US$173.95 billion globally by 2025, this fast-moving sector is already delivering major sustainability, health and well-being benefits to society.
Nanomaterials, as the name suggests, are very small, less than a millionth of a metre in size. They have unique physical and chemical features which give them improved properties such as greater reactivity, strength, electrical characteristics and functionality. These benefits have resulted in nanomaterials being incorporated into a wide range of consumer products. The automotive, computing, electronic, cosmetics, sports and healthcare industries all benefit from nanotechnology innovations. New fields have also emerged, such as nanomedicine, which aims to dramatically improve our future ability to treat disease.
But exciting as this may sound, as with any innovation, we must ensure that human health and environmental impacts are considered. And this is not a simple task. Although standard hazard assessments are available for a wide range of things – such as chemical compounds – nanomaterials have unique properties so cannot be evaluated in exactly the same way.
Environmental health and humans
Nanomaterials are already entering our environment, albeit at low levels. They are being found in waste water from products like toothpaste, sun lotion, and when items such as nano-silver socks (which prevent smelly feet) are washed. Short-term environmental safety studies have also found that many nanomaterials adsorb (form a thin film) on the surface of organisms’ – such as algae and water fleas – epidermis. The materials are also distributed in both gut systems and throughout small creatures’ bodies.
It is vitally important we get to grips with the potential adverse impacts of nanomaterials before widespread environmental dispersion occurs. At present, the long-term effects of nanomaterial exposure on ecosystems is poorly understood. Nor do we know the impact of nanomaterial exposure on the food chain. They could affect feeding rates as well as the behaviour and survival of different species, for example.
We also don’t know enough about how nanomaterials can affect humans when exposed in small doses and over long periods. The most important routes of exposure for humans are the lungs, gut and skin. Nanomaterials are being incorporated into food products and packaging, and they may be inhaled or swallowed by workers during manufacturing, too. Tests have shown that once nanomaterials enter the body they become trapped in the liver, but we don’t know what risk they pose long term.
The current standard non-animal safety tests for human lung, gut and skin exposure are very simplistic. For example, to determine the biological impact of inhaling nanomaterials, scientists grow a single lung cell system in the lab and expose it to nanomaterials suspended in liquid. But there are over 40 different cell types within the human lung. These kinds of tests cannot accurately predict the potential harm associated with nanomaterial exposure. Nor accurately mimic the complexity of the human body or the manner in which we encounter nanomaterials.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
News This Week
Common Medication Could Save Half a Million Lives Each Year – So Why Isn’t It?
A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Southern California sheds light on the reasons why children are not receiving an affordable and effective diarrhea treatment. Medical professionals in developing nations are [...]
X Marks the Spot: AI’s Treasure Maps Lead to Early Disease Detection
Medical diagnostics expert, doctor’s assistant, and cartographer are all fair titles for an artificial intelligence model developed by researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Their new model accurately identifies tumors [...]
Scientists Discover Method To Identify Alzheimer’s Disease Before It Progresses to Dementia
Researchers at Aarhus University have discovered a method to identify Alzheimer’s disease before it progresses to dementia, potentially opening up new avenues for treatment. A groundbreaking study could pave the way for early detection [...]
Startling Discovery: COVID-19 Virus Can Stay in the Body More Than a Year After Infection
The COVID-19 virus can persist in the blood and tissue of patients for more than a year after the acute phase of the illness has ended, according to new research from UC San Francisco that offers potential [...]
New bioengineered protein design shows promise in fighting COVID-19
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been racing to develop effective treatments and preventatives against the virus. A recent scientific breakthrough has emerged from the work of researchers aiming to combat [...]
Sugar-coated gold nanoparticles can quickly eliminate bacterial infections, no antibiotics required
If left to their own devices, bacteria on our teeth or wounded skin can encase themselves in a slimy scaffolding, turning into what is called biofilm. These bacteria wreak havoc on our tissue and, [...]
Liquid Lightning: Nanotechnology Unlocks New Energy
EPFL researchers have discovered that nanoscale devices harnessing the hydroelectric effect can harvest electricity from the evaporation of fluids with higher ion concentrations than purified water, revealing a vast untapped energy potential. Evaporation is a natural [...]
Unmasking the Illusion: AI-Generated Faces Challenge Perceptions
Research shows survey participants duped by AI-generated images nearly 40 percent of the time. If you recently had trouble figuring out if an image of a person is real or generated through artificial intelligence [...]
New Discovery Reveals How Cells Defend Themselves During Stressful Situations
Stress granules play a crucial role in the stress response, arising from the aggregation of non-translating mRNAs and proteins. Although significant knowledge exists about stress granules, the mechanisms behind their mRNA localization remain partially [...]
Scientists use a new type of nanoparticle that can both deliver vaccines and act as an adjuvant
Many vaccines, including vaccines for hepatitis B and whooping cough, consist of fragments of viral or bacterial proteins. These vaccines often include other molecules called adjuvants, which help to boost the immune system's response [...]
Not Science Fiction: How Optical Neural Networks Are Revolutionizing AI
A novel architecture for optical neural networks utilizes wavefront shaping to precisely manipulate the travel of ultrashort pulses through multimode fibers, enabling nonlinear optical computation. Present-day artificial intelligence systems rely on billions of adjustable [...]
Turning skin cells into limb cells sets the stage for regenerative therapy
In a collaborative study, researchers from Kyushu University and Harvard Medical School have identified proteins that can turn or “reprogram” fibroblasts — the most commonly found cells in skin and connective tissue — into [...]
AI reveals prostate cancer is not just one disease
Artificial Intelligence has helped scientists reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer, which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated in the future. A Cancer Research UK-funded study, published in Cell Genomics, has revealed [...]
New Study Finds That Persistent COVID-19 Infections Are Surprisingly Common
Recent research conducted by the University of Oxford has found that a high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the general population lead to persistent infections lasting a month or more. The findings have been published in the journal Nature. [...]
Innovative nanosheet method revolutionizes brain imaging for multi-scale and long-term studies
The human brain has billions of neurons. Working together, they enable higher-order brain functions such as cognition and complex behaviors. To study these higher-order brain functions, it is important to understand how neural activity [...]
Scientists Have Discovered a Potential Universal Antivenom
Scientists at Scripps Research identified antibodies that protect against a host of lethal snake venoms. Scripps Research scientists have developed an antibody that can block the effects of lethal toxins in the venoms of [...]
Leave A Comment