The ability of some to work themselves into a lather of terror when confronted with something new never ceases to amaze me.

It repeats it over and over again: GM, fluoride, nanotechnology or the LHC - its new, and so it obviously means the end of civilization as we know it.

rstuart,

Usually I agree with you, but you are being a bit hard on the author. I have worked with nanoparticles, and we always took great care in handling them, wearing masks and gloves and sometimes working in a glove box. The mere fact that a substance is in nanoparticle form doesn't necessarily make it dangerous. Some types of nanoparticles occur commonly in nature, and the body can deal with them. Other nanomaterials are essentially new. Because the particles are so tiny, the surface properties become relatively more important than the bulk properties, and they can behave quite differently from larger particles. It would make sense to test them before they come into widespread use, and not just assume that they are safe because their bulk equivalents are safe.

google [nano-thermite 911] and view some very interesting results.