Nano-fibres lead to pre-cancer symptoms in mice: study

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — Scientists delivered a warning Tuesday about nanotechnology after tests on lab rodents found that microscopic, needle-like fibres that are already in commercial use led to lesions similar to those caused by asbestos.

In experiments, researchers led by Ken Donaldson of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, exposed the mesothelium lining that swathes the lungs, the abdomen and the heart to fibres measuring billionths of a metre.

The fibres resulted in the same kind of inflammation and scarring, called granulomas, that are caused by exposure to asbestos, their study said.

"The granulomas and the inflammation are extremely strong indicators of mesothelioma," the cancer that attacks the body cavity's lining, said co-author Andrew Maynard.

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