Today we learned about not only the beneficial, but the possible hazards of nano-particles. These nano-particles may provide benign aspects to living a cleaner, better future. However, these same silver nano-particles may be so hazardous as to be able to disintegrate entire ecosystems putting the Earth at stake. A few of benign aspects of nano-particles include self-cleaning socks, stainless coats, and new ways to treat diseases. By using silver nano-particles in socks, the socks are able to reject the bacteria around them creating a sort of physical barrier in between the sock and its environment. Second, the stainless coats are able to reject dyes in solutions very well, which can obviously lead to a simpler life, as we wouldnât have to constantly worry about spilling our drinks over our clothing. Last of all, by using nano-particles we would be able to avoid the countless side-effects that seem to be included within every simple medicine. By using nano-particles it would be possible to directly contact individual cells, and the troublesome problems of side-effects would simply vanish. Nano-particles, however, may be dangerous to the environment as well. Many questions are left unanswered in the field of nano-technology, which may prove extremely dangerous to existing ecosystems. These nano-particles that we create may seep into oceans as waste, and may possibly react with organisms in unexpected ways leading to the extinction of several species. For these reasons further precautionary research into nano-technology should be necessary to live a better future.
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/nanotech-02a.html
http://io9.com/5066893/where-are-my-medical-nanobots
http://www.nanobot.info/
http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2006/08/nanotech_scienc.html
http://web-jpn.org/trends/08_sci-tech/sci090116.html
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