Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is an experimental process that manipulates matter at the "nanoscale" (down to 1/100,000 the width of human hair) to create new products and materials. The nanoparticles in these products are so small, they can leach through our skin and cell and tissue membranes and spread through the environment in unpredictable ways.
Synthetic Biology is the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems that do not exist in the natural world and the redesign of existing biological systems to perform specific tasks.
Nanotubes, one of the wonder materials of the new age of nanotechnology, may carry a health risk similar to that of asbestos, a wonder material of an earlier age that turned into a scourge after decades of use when its fibers were found to cause lung disease, researchers said Tuesday.
This time, the warning comes long before anyone has fallen ill, and experts say the findings call for caution, not alarm, in handling nanotubes, which are tiny, superstrong carbon fibers.
Although nanotubes are already found in some products, like tennis rackets, researchers say the fibers
Read moreWindows cleaned by raindrops, white sofas immune to red wine spills, tiles protected from limescale buildup - new products created from minute substances called nanoparticles are making such domestic dreams come true.
Based on tiny particles 10,000 times thinner than a strand of hair, the products are some of the early widespread applications of nanotechnology, the science of manipulating atoms and molecules. Nanoparticles are showing up in everything from fabric coatings to socks to plush teddy bears.
In the best-case scenario, these nanoparticles are harmless and can help
Read moreWashington, DC – The International Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) and a coalition of consumer, health, and environmental groups today filed a legal petition with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demanding the agency use its pesticide regulation authority to stop the sale of numerous consumer products now using nano-sized versions of silver. The legal action is the first challenge to EPA’s failure to regulate nanomaterials.
Increasingly manufacturers are infusing a large and diverse number of consumer products with nanoparticle silver (“nano-silver”) for its
Read moreThe next "it" product is here. Some of you sleep on it. Some of you slap it on cuts. Some of you clean with it. Some babies suck on it. A few people study it, wondering if "it" will be an environmental and health disaster.
Silver nanoparticles lace the insides of mattresses, bandages, washing machines, baby soothers, teddy bears and socks. Long known for its antimicrobial properties, silver is more effective at the nano-scale, particles a billionth of a metre in diameter. It's effective enough that the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States will consider it a
Read moreIn the unknowns of emerging nanotechnology, researchers are wondering if the science behind trendy no-smell socks, underwear and hunting gear might create unintended consequences in the environment.
Just a few simulated washings, for example, can pull nanosilver out of new socks that rely on it for killing odors, researchers said Sunday. That action sets the substance free to travel into wastewater and perhaps into fertilizer.
That prospect underscores the importance of studying nanosized materials that are increasingly a part of clothing and medical, electronic, and other
Read moreThe science of nanotechnology is already revolutionising the worlds of medicine and construction. Soon it could be doing the same for our food - but after the backlash against GM foods, says Steve Boggan, will the consumers swallow it?
How do you fancy tucking into a bowl of ice cream that has no more fat than a carrot? Or eating a burger that will lower your cholesterol? If you are allergic to peanuts, perhaps you'd like to fix your food so that any nut traces pass harmlessly through your body. Welcome to the world of nanofoods, where almost anything is possible:
Read moreIT SEEMS like a Willy Wonka fantasy, but right now food companies are using nanotechnology to create all sorts of bizarre products.
Milk cartons that glow when their contents turn sour. A sinful-tasting, non-fat ice-cream with loads of fibre, protein and nutrients. Programmable soft drinks, even (simply select the flavour and pull the tab).
Such wonders are still being developed, yet engineered nanoparticles are already used across the globe in everything from antibacterial sponges to iron-fortified baby formula.
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at a
Read moreThe peer-reviewed literature contains thousands of articles documenting results from these kinds of tests, all conducted in an effort to determine the health and safety of Read more
According to the U.S.-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, there are over 500 manufacturer-identified Read more
The ban -- which means that no products containing nonoparticles can be certified organic -- applies mainly to skincare and beauty products, but to clothing and food as well. While nanotechnology is a very interesting and potentially Read more
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