Nanotechnology: Nanoscale Particles A Health Hazard?

securitas writes "Before you start dreaming of all the benefits nanotechnology will bring you, think about the health hazards. Over two dozen studies that date back to 1984 indicate that nanoscale materials are toxic because their size allows them to be easily ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Proponents of nanotech dismiss the meta-study as nonsense, while the authors suggest a moratorium on nanotech development until further health research is completed." The paper (726 kB PDF) that prompted this article is available.

Comments

This was funny.

[rice_burners_suck]

I'll never forget this cool thing that happened in my neighborhood. There used to be a tree on the street corner... (if you live on Blvd M. Avila Camacho, you probably remember this tree as it was quite large and we made a pretty big stink about this when it happened).

There was this idiot across the street who thought he was a hardcore gangster or something. His name was Pedro. Anyway, these three jackasses drove up one day in a white Ford Expedition with American license plates. Pedro was outside yelling profanities at these guys when my friend showed up.

He (my friend) had bought a '65 Chevy II a few weeks before and he wanted to show me how he painted it white... it still looked really good despite all the dents and rust. In fact, there was not one part in the car that wasn't bent or damaged in some way. (I helped him work on it many times.)

Anyway, he showed up and when I opened the door, I invited him in, in case some fighting started across the street. My friend stepped in and I closed the door, and IMMEDIATELY upon doing so, we heard those guys in the white Ford taking off all loud, spinning the tires, and then we heard a huge BOOM!!! Almost instantly sure that they had smashed my friend's new (old) car, we opened the door to see Pedro running down the street yelling llame a la policía! llame a la policía! (call the police). This was a bit out of place as this guy was usually in trouble with the police and he was the last guy who would want to call them. But he liked watching other people getting busted so he was very happy. His mother came outside and yelled for him to get in the house.

As it turns out, those three guys in the white Ford got on the accelerator and hauled ass out of the neighborhood, going onto the sidewalk and busting down that tree! They almost hit some cars on the main road on their way out. As for the tree, it was in the middle of the street, blocking traffic. By this time, everybody was in the street looking at the damage. Two minutes later, those three guys--what IDIOTS!--came back, rolled down their windows and yelled a bunch of profanities at everybody in the neighborhood. The whole front of their car was smashed up. The police then showed up and arrested them... They should have left Mexico as fast as their stupid car could carry them. The funniest part was when the police greeted Pedro by name... because they know him so well!!