Nanotechnology cancer risk found

Certain types of carbon nanotubes -- microscopic graphite cylinders used in a small but growing number of Space Age applications -- could pose a cancer risk similar to that of asbestos if inhaled, scientists reported Tuesday.

Researchers found that mice injected with nanotubes quickly developed the same biological damage associated with early exposure to asbestos fibers, a known carcinogen.

The study showed "the potential to cause harm if these things get into the air and into the lungs," said coauthor Andrew Maynard, a physicist at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.

Maynard said the nanotubes posed the greatest danger to workers who could inhale the dust-like particles during manufacturing. In finished products, the nanotubes are embedded in other material and thus pose less risk to consumers.

The damage results when the body's defenses repeatedly try and fail to expel the fibers, eventually leading to mutations that can cause cancer decades later.

In the current study, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, nanotubes were injected into the abdominal cavities of mice. The tissue of these cavities is similar to the lining of human lungs.

Steve - while seemingly unrelated, this is a perfect reason why we have taken a wait and see attitude before recommending nanotech foods and supplements. There is very little research on its safety.