by | Jul 11, 2011 11:17 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) As products featuring new, super-small particles keep coming to market, one of the more interesting markets is the food sector. There’s lots of potential for the newfangled materials, especially in packaging.
by | Jul 7, 2011 9:37 am | Comments (1)
(NHI Nanoblog)Regulators around the world are struggling to define what a “nanomaterial” is, largely so they can get to work on regulating the super-small substances that are the backbone of the growing field of nanotechnology.
University of Michigan Photo
Meanwhile Andrew Maynard, an expert on risk science and a veteran of the nano research world, is arguing that the search for a precise definition is getting in the way of the important work of deciding what’s actually harmful — and what’s not — in this arena.
by | Jul 1, 2011 7:30 am | Comments (0)
After a long stretch of silence, the White House and two federal agencies recently offered a glimpse — albeit a small one — of where federal policy involving the growing field of nanotechnology might go.
There are no regulations, or even proposed laws, in the three documents, issued on the same day earlier this month. The White House offered a set of “principles” to help guide agencies as they consider the implications of these super-small materials. The Food and Drug Administration essentially reiterated what it’s been saying for several years, that nano-aided drugs and other products should be treated as new.
by | Jun 24, 2011 12:55 pm | Comments (0)
Southwest Nanotechnologies
(NHI Nanoblog) As researchers and regulators focus on how to safely make, sell and use carbon nanotubes, Philip Wallis is working to apply each new lesson to his own workforce — and his customers.
by | Jun 22, 2011 6:14 am | Comments (0)
A fire engulfs your home, torching a mattress and sofa as it tears through the rooms. Your life is spared, thanks to flame-retardant chemicals in the couch foam.
But did the smoke you inhaled contain super-small particles that might hurt you later?
by | Jun 20, 2011 9:13 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Super-small carbon materials are relatively new. Regulators in the United States, and internationally, want new materials and products tested for safety. That testing is expensive and time-consuming.
Is there a sweet spot somewhere that can balance the need to protect public and environmental health with innovation? John C. Monica Jr. thinks so, and hopes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will agree.
by | Jun 15, 2011 8:03 am | Comments (0)
Gwyneth K. Shaw File Photo
(NHI Nanoblog) The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has issued a slew of new rules and guidelines for sunscreens — but none of them involve super-small ingredients that are increasingly common.
by | Jun 7, 2011 1:00 pm | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) How are super-small engineered particles impacting plants and the food chain for humans and animals?
As with most potential hazards involving nanotechnology, it’s too soon to tell, according to a new study.
by | Jun 6, 2011 10:15 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Rats that swallowed super-small silver particles for nearly a month had bits of the metal in their brains, lungs, liver, kidneys, and digestive tracts, according to a new study by Danish scientists.
The paper, published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology, concludes that more research is needed to decode why these ultra-tiny “nanoparticles” do what they do. But the study adds to a growing pile of research suggesting that nanosilver — increasingly used in clothing and other products as an anti-microbial agent — might do some worrisome things while it’s killing germs.
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‘Swallowed Silver Found
In Rat Lungs, Brains’
by | May 30, 2011 12:15 pm | Comments (4)
Gwyneth K. Shaw Photo
Check the label on a sunscreen for sale in this Whalley Avenue pharmacy aisle, and you’ll get advice for applying it, a warning not to get it in your eyes and a list of ingredients.
You won’t learn whether the lotion contains newfangled super-tiny particles.
by | May 27, 2011 3:05 pm | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Thailand has developed a “Nano Q” logo to identify products that contain super-small elements. Slovakia is just getting started with the task of figuring out how to work with nanomaterials.
There’s a broad range of official responses to the growing field of nanotechnology, and a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD, offers a peek at what’s going on around the world.
by | May 20, 2011 12:37 pm | Comments (0)
Among the scores of researchers hustling to study the impact of nanotechnology on people, animals and the environment, a debate is growing: How much of the super-small stuff should they use to test for safety?
Most testing is done either on animals, both embryonic and mature, or on cells from a variety of sources. In many of these laboratory studies, the test medium is hit with large amounts of whatever nanomaterial is being tested, from carbon nanotubes to titanium dioxide. The question, though, is how much is too much — and whether such studies can be translated into the real world.
by | May 18, 2011 8:52 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) A broad range of opinions exists on whether nanotechnology is full of promise, larded with risks or somewhere in between. That comes across loud and clear in a new survey of innovators, toxicologists and regulators.
Gwyneth K. Shaw Photo
Not surprisingly, those surveyed view the question differently, said Christian Beaudrie (pictured), a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia, one of several academics working on the survey.
by | May 13, 2011 12:06 pm | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Nina Quadros is spraying disinfectant in her lab — so she can find out what you’re breathing in when you use it.
Specifically, she’s looking for super-tiny “nanoparticles” that are supposed to make cleaning products better, but also may prove dangerous to have around our soil, water and bodies.
by | May 12, 2011 12:25 pm | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) It’s nanotechnology’s dirty little secret: Applications using super-small materials may hold great promise, but making them often comes at a high cost in terms of energy, water or the use of scary chemicals.
James E. Hutchison wants to change that — and he’s starting in his own laboratory.
by | May 10, 2011 10:00 am | Comments (2)
(NHI Nanoblog) As U.S. consumers wait for a formal decision from the Environmental Protection Agency about nanosilver, a German government agency is reiterating its warnings about the super-small substance.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recently announced that it “continues to advise against a broad use of nanosilver in consumer products,” at least until much more is known about the potential effects of the material. Nano-sized silver particles are becoming increasingly common in workout clothing, since the silver has an antimicrobial effect.
by | May 6, 2011 11:00 am | Comments (1)
(NHI Nanoblog) The Environmental Protection Agency has published a new “significant new use rule,” or SNUR, for multi-walled carbon nanotubes in today’s Federal Register. The new rule takes effect June 6.
by | May 5, 2011 10:54 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Scientists at UCLA are touting a new method of using a nano-therapy based on a patient’s own cells to rouse their immune system and fight cancer. The barrel-shaped “vault” could be a big step forward in battling conditions, such as lung cancer, that are particularly difficult to treat.
by | Apr 26, 2011 8:52 am | Comments (0)
Bill Fox, Altairnano Inc./Aleks Stefaniak, Mark Hoover, NIOSH Photo
An image taken with a scanning electron microscope of agglomerated ultrafine titanium dioxide particles.
In a set of recommendations that could have far-reaching implications, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has concluded that airborne super-small particles of titanium dioxide “should be considered a potential occupational carcinogen.”
The new document, called a “current intelligence bulletin,” outlines the agency’s suggestions for exposure levels that will help workers avoid long-term problems. Tucked inside the document are several tidbits that might foreshadow how federal regulators will approach the difficult task of setting rules for ultra-tiny “nanoparticles” of a wide range of substances.
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‘Nano-Titanium Dioxide A
"Potential Carcinogen"’
by | Apr 25, 2011 7:30 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Amid confusion and concern over super-small sun-blockers, a group of dermatologists has made a strong statement: the benefits of shielding your skin from harmful rays outweigh any risk from the sunscreen itself.
by | Apr 18, 2011 10:07 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) On a list of 24 things to worry about, nanoparticles come in 19th — way below drugs and cigarettes, and lower than concerns about tanning, nuclear power plants and drinking alcohol.
The numbers come from a new survey that’s been published online in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.
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‘Study: Tanning Scares Us
More Than Nano Sunscreen’
by | Apr 14, 2011 12:09 pm | Comments (0)
Golden Kumar and Miriam Schroers/Yale University Photo
An up-close look at the nanowires.
What do jewelry and batteries have in common?
If a pair of Yale engineers have a say, quite a lot. Jan Schroers and Andre Taylor are using microscopic wires made of “bulk metallic glass” — a platinum alloy — to make fuel cells work better.
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‘Yale-Hatched Nanowires
Could Make A Better Battery’
by | Apr 8, 2011 1:51 pm | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Stubborn bacteria that resist treatment with traditional antibiotics could be quashed by drugs wrapped in nanofibers, according to a Saudi Arabian research team.
Using a “nanospider” technique to encapsulate the antibiotics inside wispy nanofibers makes the bacteria much more responsive to treatment, said lead researcher Mohamed H. El-Newehy of King Saud University. He presented his team’s findings at the recent annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.
by | Apr 1, 2011 12:00 pm | Comments (1)
(NHI Nanoblog) A film made of clay and polymers might make some aluminum foil packaging—and flat soda—a thing of the past.
Jaime Grunlan, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University, presented new research on the material this week at the American Chemical Society’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif.
To the naked eye, the film is transparent. But under a major microscope, the structure of the material emerges, looking just like bricks (the clay) and mortar (the polymer). Hence, the shorthand name.
by | Mar 31, 2011 11:11 am | Comments (0)
(NHI Nanoblog) Does the big debate over super-tiny superparticles make your head spin? Wondering whether you should pay more attention to size than compound, or worry more about some applications than others?
A lot of people are asking questions like that about emerging so-called nanotechnologies. The field is packed with experts who know they’re asking many more questions than have answers.
Those solutions remain a ways off. But if you’re a visual thinker, a picture like the one here might help.
Hilary Sutcliffe believes so, at least. She is trying out a new medium, called DebateGraph. The website makes visual “maps” out of discussions, to show the connections within those debates — as well as the ways in which an individual conversation overlaps with others. Sutcliffe just started a map on “nanotechnology distinctions,” hoping to kick off a virtual chat that might help those in the field explain what they’re doing to neophytes.