Your Health Matters
By Claudia Parks, R.N.

When did the expression- the word--NANO enter our vocabulary? I'm just now beginning to really notice it- in print and in verbal use at every corner- on television, in the movies- Spiderman, newspapers and magazines! A few weeks ago my grandson says, "Granny, you can wait in the car, it won't take me a nanosecond to get what I need!" Well, I had picked up over recent years that nano referred to being very small- actually one billionth part of- whatever- a nanosecond, a nanometer, etc. "Nano" is actually a prefix that comes from the Greek word for dwarf.

Scientists around the world are focusing their research at the nanoscale. Nano mania seems to be flourishing everywhere, but what is this Nanotechnology? Futurists say it will pave the way for unimaginable new possibilities. Pessimists are unsure. Although research in this field dates back to Richard P. Feynman's classic talk in 1959, the term nanotechnology was first coined by K. Eric Drexler in 1986 in the book Engines of Creation. There are many different opinions about where this new field will take us, but everyone agrees that this science and the new technologies that come from it have the possibility of significantly impacting our world.

On the face of it, it is simple, but in actuality it is complicated to the point of being breathtaking. By definition, it is the ability to create structure and materials at the atomic level, one molecule at time. That means that in the near future we will be able to custom design structures literally from the ground up, molecule by molecule, creating quantum leaps forward in medicines, material, textiles, electronic products, foods and fuels- practically everything we use in our daily lives.

Imagine a world where microscopic medical implants patrol our arteries, diagnosing ailments and fighting disease; where military battle-suits deflect explosions; where computer chips are no bigger than specks of dust; and where clouds of miniature space probes transmit data from the atmospheres of Mars or Titan. Nanotechnology is science and engineering at the scale of atoms and molecules. It is the manipulation and use or materials and devices so tiny that nothing can be built any smaller.

On July 25, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Nanotechnology Task Force released a report that recommends the agency consider developing guidance and taking other steps to address the benefits and risks of drugs and medical devices using nanotechnology.

Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., endorsed the Task Force Report and its recommendations. "Nanotechnology holds enormous potential for use in a vast array of products," he said. "Recognizing the emerging nature of this technology and its potential for rapid development, this report fosters the continued development of innovative, safe and effective FDA-regulated products that use nanotechnology materials."

Nanotechnology today is currently used in such fields as display technology for laptop computers, cell phones, and digital cameras, and in water filtration.

Nanomedicine is an area of biomedical research that seeks to use nanoscale tools to improve health. Current medical uses of nanotechnology include

Burn and wound dressings A dental-bonding agent

Sunscreens

Protective and glare-reducing coatings for eyeglasses

Nanotechnology tomorrow, you may see nanotechnology used in food packaging to further extend shelf life or used medically to

Provide new drugs that are able to reach sites in the body more effectively and at safer doses.

Create tiny sensors that detect diseases in the body far earlier than existing diagnostic tools.

Manufacture incredibly small pumps that can be implanted to deliver lifesaving medications precisely to the cells and tissues that need them.

For the most part, FDA experts believe that nanotechnology products present challenges similar to those FDA faces for products of other emerging technologies. FDA and 22 other federal agencies are part of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, a federal research and development program established to coordinate the multi-agency efforts in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. For oodles of info you can Google nanotechnology.

Claudia Parks, RN, is a former doctor's office and emergency room nurse and retired as an educator from Fulton County Schools. She writes Your Health Matters as a public service; the information here is designed to help you make informed choices about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Claudia and her husband make their home in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains, near Blairsville. Claudia can be reached at yhm@windstream.net