Scientists quantify nanofiber health risk to workers

Health risks posed to people who work with tiny fibers used in manufacturing industries could be reduced, thanks to new research

2012-08-22

(Press-News.org) Health risks posed to people who work with tiny fibres used in manufacturing industries could be reduced, thanks to new research.

Research into the health risks posed by nanofibres – used to strengthen objects from tennis rackets to airplane wings – has pinpointed the lengths at which these fibres are harmful to the lungs.

Nanofibres, which can be made from a range of materials including carbon, are about 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and can reach the lung cavity when inhaled.

This may lead to a cancer known as mesothelioma, which is known to be caused by breathing in asbestos fibres, which are similar to nanofibres.

The study by the University of Edinburgh found that lung cells were not affected by short fibres that were less than five-thousandths of a millimetre long.

However, longer fibres can reach the lung cavity, where they become stuck and cause disease.

Ken Donaldson, Professor of Respiratory Toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Concern has been expressed that new kinds of nanofibres being made by nanotechnology industries might pose a risk because they have a similar shape to asbestos.

"We knew that long fibres, compared with shorter fibres, could cause tumours but until now we did not know the cut-off length at which this happened. Knowing the length beyond which the tiny fibres can cause disease is important in ensuring that safe fibres are made in the future as well as helping to understand the current risk from asbestos and other fibres."

The researchers, whose study is published in the journal Toxicology Sciences, created fibres of different lengths using minute silver casts. They then looked at the effect of these fibres on mouse cells to reach their findings.

###

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Thinking about kids? Man, you gotta shed the kilos

2012-08-22

Australian scientists studying the impact obesity has on pregnancy, are urging men to get 'match fit' before conceiving to assist with fetal development. Reproductive experts from the University of Melbourne's Department of Zoology have discovered that a father's obesity negatively impacts sperm, resulting in smaller fetuses, poor pregnancy success and reduced placental development. While the health risks surrounding obesity and pregnancy have largely been centred on overweight mothers, scientists from the University of Melbourne are putting the onus on men to shape ...

How to act if there is a fire on the AVE

2012-08-22

Researchers at the University of Cantabria have used computer models to analyse the best way to evacuate the Spanish High Speed Train, AVE, in the case of fire. The involvement of the crew in organising the fast transfer of passengers, completing the process before the train comes to a halt and collective collaboration to assist those with reduced mobility are just some of the strategies to be followed. "In the event of fire on an AVE, two stages should be defined: the first is pre-evacuation in which passengers are transferred from one coach to another while the train ...

Male mice exposed to chronic social stress have anxious female offspring

2012-08-22

BOSTON (August 22, 2012) —A study in mice conducted by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) suggests that a woman's risk of anxiety and dysfunctional social behavior may depend on the experiences of her parents, particularly fathers, when they were young. The study, published online in Biological Psychiatry, suggests that stress caused by chronic social instability during youth contributes to epigenetic changes in sperm cells that can lead to psychiatric disorders in female offspring across multiple generations. "The long-term effects of stress can ...

MR enterography is option for pediatric patients with Crohn disease

2012-08-22

Parents with children nine years old and older who have Crohn disease should ask their children's doctor about MR enterography as a replacement for small bowel x-rays or CT enterography, a new study indicates. Children with inflammatory bowel disease must often undergo repeated examinations, which, with x-rays and CT, could lead to significant radiation exposure, said William A. Faubion, Jr., MD, one of the authors of the study. "MR enterography does not require any radiation, however the patient does have to drink an oral contrast agent, must hold their breath at times ...

Johns Hopkins researchers return blood cells to stem cell state

2012-08-22

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body. The work, described in the Aug. 8 issue of the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS), is "Chapter Two" in an ongoing effort to efficiently and consistently convert adult blood cells into stem cells that are highly qualified for clinical and research use in place of human embryonic stem cells, says Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of oncology ...

Typical IBD patients not represented in research studies

2012-08-22

Major randomized controlled trials of new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are conducted on patients who are not typical of those who physicians see in day-to-day practice, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). The two major, often debilitating, illnesses that are recognized as IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The introduction of biologics — the most prescribed medications for IBD patients — have dramatically impacted ...

Deadly outbreak of West Nile virus highlights urgent need for more research, funding

2012-08-22

New Rochelle, NY, August 22, 2012–Mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) caused 26 deaths already this year, and nearly 700 cases had been reported by mid-August according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WNV had become "old news" among the public and the media. Furthermore, funding to support research, training and education, and surveillance and vector control had waned. Now there is an urgent imperative to redouble our efforts to understand and control this dangerous virus. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, a major peer-reviewed journal from Mary ...

In Fiji, marine protection gets local boost

2012-08-22

NEW YORK (August 20, 2012)—A new study by researchers from the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, and the Wildlife Conservation Society has found that locally managed marine protected areas within Fiji are playing an increasingly important role in the nation's strategy to protect inshore habitats. The study estimates that by 2020, locally managed marine protected areas within the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) network will effectively protect between 12-18 percent ...

Better monitoring of food quantity makes self-control easier

2012-08-22

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/22/2012) —New research from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management suggests learning how to stop enjoying unhealthy food sooner may play a pivotal role in combating America's obesity problem. The research, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, explores how satiation, defined as the drop in liking during repeated consumption, can be a positive mechanism when it lowers the desire for unhealthy foods. "When people talk about self-control, they really imply that self-control is willpower and that some people have it ...

Iowa State, Ames Lab researchers study the structure of drug resistance in tuberculosis

2012-08-22

AMES, Iowa – Edward Yu took note of the facts – nearly 2 million deaths each year, 9 million infected each year, developments of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and now totally drug-resistant strains – and decided to shift his research focus to tuberculosis. Yu, an Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory researcher, has described in the journal Nature the three-part structure that allows E. coli bacteria to pump out toxins and resist antibiotics. And now, in a paper published online by the journal Nucleic Acids Research, a research team led by Yu describes ...