For centuries, silver has been used for its ability to destroy bacteria — from ancient Romans treating their water with silver coins to NASA using the metal to purify water aboard the Space shuttle.
Four decades ago, silver nitrate became one of the most effective treatments for fighting infection in serious burns. While silver’s antibacterial properties [...]

I have completed the “everything you need to know about nanotechnology” workshop that the Knight Science Journalism gang was kind enough to host at MIT. I finally graduated from something.
Three observations from the week in Boston:
1.    I can’t believe how little I know.
2.    I am amazed at the potential for good and a bit uneasy [...]

It’s Monday night and I’m in Cambridge, Mass.  MIT has graciously lowered its standards and is allowing me to participate in a week-long workshop on nanotechnology.
And, yes, for those of you who paid close attention, I did attend a conference on nanotechnology in food last week at the Institute of Food Technologists in California.
It’s not [...]

Silver nanoparticles, untested for safety, are being used in a growing number of children’s toys, babies’ bottles, cosmetics, dishwashers, underwear and hundreds of other items.
A report issued today says that consumers and workers who make the products may be at risk.
The report, authored by Friends of the Earth and Health Care Without Harm Europe, details [...]

The exciting and potentially benefit-laden world of nanoparticles continues to expand at rates that surpass the growth of any technology in history. Many public health leaders plead for caution and additional research into the widespread human and environmental hazards that could exist with use of nanotechnology. They worry that far too little is [...]

It sounds great on the surface as many ideas do.
Scientists at Cornell University think they’ve solved a widespread public health problem that endangers the health of farm workers and people who live near farms – the drifting of pesticides from the crops where they’re applied to the air that people breathe.
The researchers are encapsulating pesticides [...]

Food scientists that I’ve interviewed recently say that every major manufacturer of food products in the U.S. has either its own in-house team evaluating the use of nanotechnology or has contracted with outside experts for the knowledge.
The race is on to create these manmade nanoparticles – the size of atoms and molecules – and modify [...]

Those who care about public health and fear that our government isn’t paying enough attention to the potential hazards spawned by the massive explosion of nano technology have something to cheer. But also something that shows that a lot more research is needed into the new technology — and quickly.
The comfort should come from the [...]

Two studies published in the past month have shown what many corporate-back scientists said would never happen but what most public health authorities have dreaded: the almost invisible world of nanotechnology can cause asbestos-like disease.

In fact, a Japanese study released last week claims to have shown a link between nanoparticles and mesothelioma, a fatal lung disease almost always caused by asbestos exposure. The fact that the study is actually examining the health implications has been widely praised as needed, but the methodology used by the study’s authors has been denounced by others in the field.