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Nanoparticles Enter One's Brain Via Olfactory Bulb
MO-411 writes "An article in Nature News briefly looks at nanoparticles' entry into the brains of lab rats. The fascinating point is that the 35-nanometer particles entered via the olfactory passageways. Scientist confirmed this via plugging one side of the a rats nose. This is significant, as Ken Donaldson, a toxicologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK says. 'I would never have thought of looking for inhaled nanoparticles in the brain.' Think about it -- everything from kitty litter to wallboard dust is likely ending up inside the one's brain, circumventing the blood/brain barrier and all its protections. It also makes for an interesting delivery mechanism for other substances..."
Nope, it means that you may already be inhaling caffeine along with millions of other nanoparticles... straight into your brain, that is if caffeine is a small enough particle.
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
You'll find more details and references in this overview, including an article from the Guardian. So far, the story is about rats, but Professor Gunter Oberdorster of the University of Rochester in New York said: "It's too early to be alarmed, because we don't yet know what the particles might do in humans. We shouldn't stop working with them, we should just look for what adverse effects these particles might cause." Now, more experiments are needed to determine how nanoparticles can enter our brains. In the mean time, let's hope that nanotechnology research will continue and will not be harmed by a moratorium.