Into the Void

Popular Science: Nano-Pollution: No Tiny Issue?

I’m an electrical engineer and a born skeptic, but through the years the medical profession has shown a particularly unscientific streak when it comes to identifying and treating new illnesses.

I have been worried about the environmental and medical effects of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is a catch-all phrase that describes microscopic man-made objects. These come in many shapes and sizes – soccer-ball-shaped cages made of 20 carbon atoms, nanotubes the thickness of a hair. These objects persist in the environment after they’ve been used and disposed of. There has been little, if any, investigation into the effect of exposure to environmental nanotechnology.

Please consider the possibility that some, if not all, cases of Morgellons are the result of exposure to tiny man-made objects. These objects can lodge almost invisibly in the skin, causing unexplained lesions. Larger nanotubes or groups of smaller ones may appear to be fibers. Many of these objects are so small that when inhaled they are carried directly into the brain using the same pathways as smells do.

Nanotechnological pollution is on the horizon. I think Morgellons is the earliest indication of what we can all expect from this technology.

It took many years for the Powers That Be to recognize the danger of asbestos. Nanotechnology is still in its infancy and not much investigation has been done into effects on the environment or on the human body. So far the environment isn’t filled with these things. The particles are molecular in size, much smaller than asbestos. In my professional opinion, this research must start *now* rather than after the technology is entrenched.

I also wanted to point out something. Everywhere I read about Morgellons online, sufferers of this mysterious illness were slathering themselves with lotions and creams to try to calm the itching. Well, nanotechnology is being used as a carrier for emollients and other cosmetic ingredients. Anywhere you see words like “microencapsulated” there is some kind of nanotechnology. Please consider creating a list of safe lotions (if there can be such a thing).

I’m not affiliated with any skin cream manufacturers either. There is a list of products containing nanotechnology online somewhere, probably on the CRN. I leave it to you folks to look into it.

I do, of course, consider that Morgellons may not be due to nanotechnology at all, but to histological incompatibility.

BTW, talc is similar to asbestos in many ways. Talc is one of the hardest substances known to man. I’m a bit suspicious of talc too. I’ve long since switched to corn starch.

Technorati: ology Morgellons asbestos microencapsulated

Responsible Nanotechnology: 3D Spam?

Nanotechnological Spam

In the “just one more thing to worry about” category, the Committee for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) blog has an article about what might happen if spammers figure out how to control the 3D nanofactories we will all have on our desks someday.

As if faxed travel ads arent’ bad enough.

I have been thinking about about the environmental and medical effects of nano-pollution. Nanotechnology is a catch-all phrase that describes microscopic man-made objects. These come in many shapes and sizes – soccer-ball-shaped cages made of 60 carbon atoms, nanotubes the thickness of a hair, among others.

These objects persist in the environment after they’ve been used and disposed of. There has been little, if any, investigation into the effects of exposure to environmental nanotechnology.

Nanotechnological pollution is on the horizon. Fortunately, at least one group is looking into it. The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) is trying to put together a multi-disciplinary collaborative network to establish guidelines for safely handling nano-materials.

We don’t have very long to get the guidelines and some procedures in place. An emerging illness called Morgellons Disease is quite possibly the earliest indication of what we can all expect from nano-pollution.

“Morgellons disease” is the name given to a cluster of symptoms that includes skin lesions, often with small fibers in the lesion. Fascinating stuff. Right now the medical profession is pooh-poohing it as a symptom of mental illness – Delusional Parasitosis. The folks at the Morgellons Research Foundation have posted as much information as is available on their web site.

The medical profession as a whole is particularly unscientific when it comes to identifying and treating new illnesses. Have you noticed? You can buy a lot of time if you pass the patient off to a psychiatrist.

It is possibile that some, if not all, cases of Morgellons are the result of exposure to tiny bits of nano-technology. These objects may lodge almost invisibly in the skin, causing unexplained lesions. Larger nanotubes or groups of smaller ones may appear to be fibers. According to a recent article in Popular Science, many of these objects are so small that when inhaled they can be carried directly into the brain using the same pathways as smells do.

Reading the Morgellons information reminded me of the few times I’ve come in direct contact with fiberglass insulation. You can’t see it, but it is painful and itchy. What if the fibers were microscopic? Would they still cause discomfort? I don’t know.

The dangers of asbestos were ignored for decades while thousands of workers died of the lung cancer it is now known to cause. I hope we don’t repeat the story with BuckyBalls.


Technorati: Morgellons+Disease nano-technology nano-tubes nano-pollution asbestos nanotube+modeler buckminsterfullerene buckyballs