http://icon.rice.edu/ News Digest & Items of Interest en-us Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:16:42 GMT http://icon.rice.edu/icon_rss.cfm Web Services icon@rice.edu webserv@rice.edu http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1571 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Nanotechnology has made some promising inroads, but could these undetectable bits of material be harmful to our health? Recent studies however have raised serious concerns about the health impacts of nanoparticles in a plethora of consumer products and now, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered that titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles could cause genetic damage. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1571 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1569 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The EU has issued updates on how they are doing on the Nanotechnology Action Plan with two implementation reports. The first was issued in September 2007 (First Implementation Report 2005-2007) and the second one (Second Implementation Report 2007-2009) just a few days ago. The latest report - which states that significant progress has been made on all points of the Action Plan - outlines the key developments during 2007-2009 in each policy area of the Action Plan, identifies current challenges, and draws conclusions relevant to the future European nanotechnology policy. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1569 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1570 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, is increasing its investment in understanding the potential health, safety and environmental issues related to tiny particles that are used in many everyday products such as sunscreens, cosmetics and electronics. The NIEHS will award about $13 million over a two-year period. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1570 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1568 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Smaller than a virus and used in more than 200 consumer products, silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos, new research shows. Tiny particles of silver - potent anti-microbial agents that can kill bacteria on contact - are becoming increasingly popular in consumer goods, including washing machines, refrigerators, clothing and toys. But as use of these microscopic silver particles grows, some scientists now are raising concerns about potential effects on the environment and human health. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1568 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1565 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1565 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1566 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT When browsing through nanotechnology product directories, it becomes clear very quickly that - apart from the advanced semiconductor structures increasingly found in computers and consumer electronics - today's "nanotechnology" products are quite "primitive" and a far cry from promises of revolutionary products and applications in nanoelectronics and nanomedicine. Not quite the stuff yet that will cure cancer and save the world. Although a lot of exciting and pioneering work is done in laboratories around the world, it will be several years before this groundbreaking work will be commercialized. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1566 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1567 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The UK's Technology Strategy Board has developed a nanotechnology strategy document that sets out the processes the Technology Strategy Board will use to determine how it will invest in the nanotechnology space in a way that helps UK businesses to succeed on a global scale. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1567 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1564 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The development of these [nano]materials is not without potential risk to the producer, their employees, the consumer, or the environment. By taking advantage of lessons learned in the past, the nanotechnology industry can reach its full potential and support safe environments at the same time. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1564 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1561 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT In a study published this week in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers at Yale University in the United States have investigated the transport behaviour of carboxyl-functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in natural soil. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1561 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1562 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT In response to your News story 'Nanoparticle safety in doubt' about lung damage in Chinese factory workers (Nature 460, 937; 2009), we would like to stress that China has been paying close attention to research into and documentation of the risks of working with nanomaterials. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1562 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1556 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT A research paper published this month in Science of the Total Environment entitled "Risk analysis and protection measures in a carbon nanofibre manufacturing enterprise: an exploratory investigation" describes the development of a low-cost/evidence-based tool to address the risks associated with exposure to carbon nanofibres, with a view to increasing the sustainability of CNF manufacturing firms. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1556 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1557 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT In an advance that could help ease health and environmental concerns about the emerging nanotechnology industry, scientists are reporting development of technology for changing the behavior of nanoparticles in municipal sewage treatment plants - their main gateway into the environment. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1557 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1558 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network has published a directory of organisations who are actively involved with the debate around safe and responsible development of nanotechnology. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1558 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1559 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT In a Federal Register notice released on the 6th November 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNURs) for two types of carbon nanotubes, identified generically as a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) in order to protect trade secrets. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1559 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1560 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) has developed findNano, an application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch that lets users discover and determine whether consumer products are nanotechnology-enabled. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1560 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1550 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Earlier this week the European Commission published a report detailing progress on its Action Plan on nanotechnology that includes details of how novel applications and nanotechnology-based products are increasing, and how efforts to address societal and safety concerns must keep pace to ensure the safe development of the technology. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1550 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1551 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Like so many areas of research, nanotechnology can be discussed quite easily with people who understand it, but can effortlessly mutate into a perfect nightmare when explaining it to people who do not. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1551 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1552 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT "Nanoparticles can cause DNA damage across a cellular barrier." That's the title of a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology that inspired a number of ominous news headlines. However, experts are speaking up in response to the media hype, and argue that this study should have never been covered in the news. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1552 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1553 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Two consumer organisations - the European Consumer Voice in Standardisation (ANEC) and the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) - have jointly launched a first attempt at an inventory of products currently on the EU market which claim to contain nanoparticles. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1553 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1554 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced that it will release, in the next four to five weeks, a new document entitled "Preliminary Guidance Notes on Sample Preparation and Dose Symmetry for the Safety Testing of Manufactured Nanomaterials." The report will offer guidance on the preparation of samples used for safety testing of manufactured nanomaterials. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1554 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1555 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Edinburgh Napier's new Centre for Nano Safety has been set up to identify whether a variety of nanoparticles can enter the human body - as well as other species such as bacteria, insects and plants - and cause harm. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1555 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1548 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (ACHS) to the United Kingdom's Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) last week released a "Report on Nanosilver", recommending that government bodies fund a thorough review of the hazard and exposure of silver nanoparticles as an immediate priority. This should include the identification and formation of an inventory of consumer products containing nanosilver. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1548 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1549 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Safe Work Australia has released two research reports on engineered nanomaterials: These are 1. Engineered nanomaterials: Evidence on the effectiveness of workplace controls and 2. Engineered nanomaterials: A review of toxicology and health hazards http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1549 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1540 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The headlines are laced with fear. "Nanoparticles 'can damage DNA.'" "Nanoparticle Safety Looking More Complicated." "Nanoparticles Indirect Threat to DNA." All seem to suggest that a new study, released yesterday, has found that nanoscale materials, used in everything from medical imaging to cancer treatment, can damage genetic material in our bodies, feeding public fears. But this particular study has little relevance to human exposure risks, experts say, and it is deeply flawed in other ways. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1540 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1541 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT "It's the next generation," said Rushford CEO Daniel Fox, who bills his start-up as the first nanotechnology company in rural Minnesota. But if size is nanotechnology's greatest asset, it's also the science's greatest worry. Matter may be helpful at such a small size. But could it also be harmful? http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1541 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1542 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Multiwalled carbon nanotubes inhaled by mice can reach the outer lining of the lungs and cause scarring. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1542 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1543 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT A meta-analysis of surveys about public perceptions of the risks and benefits associated with nanotechnology suggests that further research is needed to help us better understand and, perhaps, inform public attitudes to nanotechnology. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1543 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1544 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Businesses, researchers, civil society representatives and regulators involved or interested in nanotechnologies are invited to take part in the final International Conference of the FramingNano FP7 project whose primary objective has been the development of a sustainable governance framework for nanotechnologies. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1544 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1545 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, today announced the release of a public discussion paper inviting consultations on a Rudd Government proposal to strengthen regulation of industrial nanomaterials use in Australia. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1545 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1546 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT The speakers' presentations from the OECD "Conference on Potential Environmental Benefits of Nanotechnology: Fostering Safe Innovation-Led Growth" are now available online on the OECD site. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1546 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1547 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT As a general remark, the report states that the past two years have seen a substantial development of nanotechnology, supported by a further growth in research funding and the active development of policy. Novel applications and products of nanotechnology are constantly being realised. In view of this, efforts to address societal and safety concerns must be continued to ensure the safe and sustainable development of nanotechnology. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1547 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1535 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Medically used nanoparticles can damage the DNA of cells without crossing cellular barriers in the body. Published online this week in Nature Nanotechnology, the study, conducted on cells grown in culture, suggests that the indirect effects of nanoparticles on cells should be considered when evaluating their safety. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1535 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1536 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Nanoparticles can damage the DNA of cells from a distance, even without crossing the cellular barriers that protect certain parts of the body, British researchers said [in newly published research]. The surprising discovery raises fresh questions about the safety of nanotechnology. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1536 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1537 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT A new paper published on-line in Nature Nanotechnology hints that some nanoparticles could cause damage to cells on the other side of normally tight barriers - such as the blood brain barrier or the placenta - without actually crossing the barriers. It's a study that could raise concerns over the safe medical use of nanoparticles, at a time when the first human trials of "smart nanoparticle" therapeutics are being discussed. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1537 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1538 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT New researched published in Nature Nanotechnology shows that nanoparticles can damage DNA and chromosomes in cells, across an intact barrier of other cells. The research suggests that nanoparticles could cause cancer, or even birth defects, without crossing biological barriers. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1538 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1539 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Nanoparticles can damage the DNA of cells some distance away, even when the cells seem safe behind an impassable barrier of tissue, new research has found. But what does this curious finding, revealed yesterday by researchers at the University of Bristol, UK, mean about the safety of nanoparticles and medical treatments based on them? New Scientist puts the news in context. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1539 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1533 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Researchers in Switzerland have now examined what happens to silver nanoparticle-treated textiles during washing. Studies like these will help address the question what the chances are of nanoparticles from nanofinished textiles being released into the environment. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1533 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1534 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT They are bacteria-killers, more and more common in products we use every day and at least a million of them will fit on the head of a pin. But are silver nanoparticles safe? An Environmental Protection Agency science panel began a four-day hearing Tuesday in Washington examining the hazards associated with the odor-ending nanosilver. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1534 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1532 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT In October, the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSBD) - a comprehensive, peer-reviewed database of toxicology information for over 5,000 chemicals - added seven nanomaterials records, the first set of such records in the datafile. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1532 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1527 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Nanotechnology already has found hundreds of high-tech uses. But do its tiny particles pose big health risks? That uncertainty, and companies' reluctance to embrace the field, cloud its future. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1527 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1528 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT There are increasing government initiatives here and around the world to let the public "have its say" on nanotechnology issues. Yet in their new article, published in the journal Nanoethics, Griffith University's Dr Kristen Lyons and The Change Agency's Dr James Whelan conclude that to a large extent industry interests have captured the policy process, and public consultation is often tokenistic, and disconnected from the real business of decision making. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1528 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1529 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT While efforts to involve the public in decision making on new technologies such as nanotechnology are impressive, they need to be substantially rethought, argues a new report from the EU-funded DEEPEN ('Deepening ethical engagement and participation in emerging nanotechnologies') project. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1529 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1530 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT A study published this month in Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) assesses the influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in natural organic matter on the speciation and bioavailability of copper. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1530 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1531 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT Tiny, engineered nanomaterials can already be found in many consumer products, and have been hailed as having widespread future uses in areas ranging from medicine to industrial processes. However, little is known about what happens if these nanomaterials get into your body - where do they go? NC State researchers are working to answer that question under a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1531 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1525 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT An article published this month in Nanotechnology Law & Business provides a summary of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) recent regulatory efforts under the Toxic Substances Control Act concerning nanomaterials. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1525 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1526 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT This important book presents an overall, unitary view of the carbon nanoparticle world, in which both the positive and negative aspects of these recently discovered nanomaterials are critically described and elucidated. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1526 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1523 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT If inhaled, multiwalled carbon nanotubes can travel to the lung lining of mice and cause scarring, according to a paper from James C. Bonner of North Carolina State University and coworkers. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1523 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1524 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT An article published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, concludes that it is impossible to set limit values for engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in European surface waters now and in the foreseeable future. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1524 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1522 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT Scientists in Switzerland are reporting results of one of the first studies on the release of silver nanoparticles from laundering those anti-odor, anti-bacterial socks now on the market. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1522 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1520 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT A collaborative study from North Carolina State University, The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences shows that inhaling these nanotubes can affect the outer lining of the lung, though the effects of long-term exposure remain unclear. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1520 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1521 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT The German Federal Environment Agency, Umweltbundesamt (UBA), has warned against the use of nanomaterials until more about the environmental impacts of nanomaterials and nanotechnology is known. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1521 http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1511 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:00:00 GMT The Protestant Academy Loccum invites participation in a conference on risk regulation of nanotechnology from a transatlantic perspective. Participants will develop regulatory recommendations for German and European politics in frank and open discussions. This includes the prioritization of regulatory approaches and principles to guide the development of compatible regulatory systems on both sides of the Atlantic. http://icon.rice.edu/details.cfm?NID=1511