Nano rules fall foul of data gap - Nature News

(By Eugenie Samuel Reich) The science of the very small will lurk in many a Christmas gift this year. Nanomaterials add strength to golf clubs, odour resistance to socks and ultraviolet protection to cosmetics. But some of their properties could also pose health risks, and regulations covering their manufacture and use have failed to keep pace with the rush to market.

With sizes measured in mere billionths of a metre, nanomaterials have very high surface area relative to their mass, and this could alter their toxicity compared with the same mater­ial in bulk. Yet many nanomaterials are not regulated separately — in part because the high-quality nanotoxicity research needed for regulation is lacking, as an assessment presented at last week’s Materials Research Society meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, made clear.

Report: Watch Nano-Based Food Products - New Haven Independent

(By Gwyneth Shaw) Andrew Schneider, an investigative journalist who’s been tracking the emergence of nanotechnology in food and food-related products, has an interesting story about a recent report on the latest developments.

In Food Safety News, Schneider writes up a new report from As You Sow, an environmental and social advocacy group. The report advises caution on introducing super-small nanoparticles into food and packaging and advocates for safety testing before the ultra-tiny materials hit the shelves.