Nov
7
Nanoparticles in medical equipment can damage DNA
November 7, 2009 |
Scientists reported on Thursday that nanoparticles used in medical applications can indirectly damage DNA inside cells by transmitting
signals through a protective barrier of human tissue.
The stunning discovery by researchers of Southmead Hospital in Bristol, Britain, adds to a growing body of research highlighting proven and potential health hazards from the rapidly expanding universe of engineered objects measured in billionths of a metre.
Nano-scale products already widely in use range from cosmetics to household cleaning products to sporting goods. But the new findings, reported in the British journal Nature Nanotechnology, could also point to new ways in which nano-therapies might zero in on disease-causing tumours, the researchers said.
They could even shed light on how poorly understood pathogens penetrate into human organs.
For Jim Thomson of the Canada-based technology watchdog ETC Group, the findings “expand significantly the hurdles that any theoretical nano-safety assessment would need to clear”.
