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Study Says Nano-fibres Caused Pre-cancer Symptoms in Mice
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.
If the mice had been allowed to carry on living, cancer would most probably have developed where the fibres were present, he told AFP.
A large body of research already exists about the potential of nanoscale fibres to attack the lungs.
But this is the first study to show that a form of nano-technology called carbon nanotubes can have the same damaging impact on the mesothelium.
Nanotubes -- structures engineered from single atoms and molecules -- hold great promise for applications in medicine, electronics and especially new materials.
"We are at the very, very beginning of using these materials commercially," said Maynard, who predicted that within half a dozen years the market for carbon nanotubes would be worth billions of dollars.
"Great caution must be exercised before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided," he said.
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