We might be celebrating the benefits of new tech research like nanotechnology, genetically modified (GM) foods and stem cell therapy. But scientific community is still fighting the fears?risk to human health and environment.
Scientists aren?t saying there are problems, according to a recent report published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. ?They are saying, we don?t know. The research hasn?t been done,? says the study?s lead author.
Developed countries in the West are allocating vast resources?in materials as well as funds?to promote these technologies. While the United States spends $1.5 billion per annum on nanotechnology research and development (R&D), the European Commission is to spend 3 billion euros over the next 10 years. The global market for stem cell research and therapy is expected to be $20-25 billion by 2010. Obviously, making them safe for humankind is also proving to be an opportunity. Making GM food safe for human consumption is one such area. Indian research community is also pitching for these global research funds to undertake R&D to understand the risks these technologies pose to human health and the environment.
According to the study in journal Nature Nanotechnology, unknown human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public. Nanotechnology, which involves manipulating material at the molecular and atomic level, seems to be at centre stage. A probable reason could also be that this is one technology that is entering mainstream life much faster than the other two technologies.
A common concern with respect to nanotech is that at scales of a billionth of a metre, substances can behave in unpredictable ways and take on new properties.
As on date, over 609 nanotech products exist, with new ones hitting the market at a pace of 3-4 per week. Most applications are limited to the use of nanomaterials, which includes titanium dioxide in sunscreen, cosmetics and some food products; carbon allotropes used to produce gecko tape; silver in food packaging, clothing, disinfectants and household appliances; zinc oxide in sunscreens and cosmetics, surface coatings, paints and outdoor furniture varnishes; and cerium oxide as a fuel catalyst. Potential applications also include low-cost solar power, lubricants, and smart anti-cancer therapeutics that deliver drugs only to tumour cells.
At the centre of controversy are carbon nanotubes?the building blocks of nanotechnology. Discovered about 20 years ago, these are rolled-up sheets of interlocked carbon atoms that form a tube so strong and light that some scientists have suggested using a nanotube wire to tether satellites in a fixed position above earth. They are used in various applications?from building tiny nanoradios and tennis rackets to iPods and computer chips. They are also entering our daily lives through electronic devices, health care, cosmetics, solar panels, to name a few applications.
A recent study out of the University of Edinburgh reveals that some forms of the nanotubes can cause cancer much like asbestos does. The study shows that long, thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes, which look like asbestos fibers, actually behave like asbestos and can cause cancer of the lung lining. Controversy also surrounds another group of materials that have played a major role in igniting interest in nanotechnology. These are buckyballs, a spherical form of carbon discovered in 1985. There are concerns that exposure to such materials can cause extensive brain damage. By inhaling nanoparticles, these settle down in the brain and lungs, causing various cancers and metabolic disorders.
Researchers also reckon that silver nanoparticles used in socks to reduce foot odour get released in the wash with possible negative consequences. They destroy the beneficial bacteria, which are important for breaking down organic matter in waste treatment plants or farms.
Are concerns being brought about nanotechnology really true? ?Concerns regarding the safety aspects of carbon nanotubes should be addressed scientifically, without undue hype. For that matter, any technology should be evaluated for ill effects, if any,? says Ajay K Sood from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and a key person in the government?s Rs 1,000-crore national nanotechnology mission. While projects on safety issues will be encouraged in this mission, he informs that some work on the bio-compatibility issues has already started in India.
Quoting a Lux Research report, an IIT Delhi researcher informs that nanotechnology will be associated with $2.6 trillion worth of manufactured goods by 2014. ?Globally, more than $10 billion is spent on nanotech R&D alone. Despite the tremendous amount of money spent on nanotech research, very little is devoted to safety and environmental concerns. Therefore, more detailed investigations on the safety aspects are needed,? he adds.
Similarly, there is an ongoing controversy with respect to genetic engineering, also called genetic modification (GM). It allows scientists to change the characteristics of living organisms by transferring genes from one organism, across species barriers, to another, to create a genetically modified organism (GMO). Genetic modification technology can transfer genes between organisms that cannot breed in nature. Thus genes from humans have been put into mice, from fish into tomatoes and from bacteria into cotton producing transgenic organisms.
Till date, GM technology has been most successfully applied to the field of agriculture, giving rise to what are called GM crops or transgenic crops. Some people are concerned that inserted DNA from an engineered crop variety could escape and transfer into another plant, effectively generating ?super weeds?. A loss of biodiversity would potentially occur where the ?super weed? out competes other species or varieties of plants, subsequently affecting other organisms in the local ecosystem.
A further consumer concern is that GM food may result in the formation of new toxins and allergens. There is some concern that GM food may have an unpredictable effect on human health. Allergic reactions occur when the immune system interprets something as foreign, different and offensive, and reacts accordingly. All GM foods, by definition, have something foreign and different. Several studies show they provoke reactions.
GM soy also produces an unpredicted side effect in the pancreas of mice?production of digestive enzymes is dramatically reduced. If fewer enzymes cause food proteins to breakdown more slowly, there is more time for allergic reactions to take place. Thus, digestive problems from GM soy might promote allergic reactions to a wide range of proteins, not just to soy.
Last fortnight, the ministry of environment?s Genetic Engineering Approval committee (GEAC) decided to test corn chips sold by Pepsico for any GM ingredient. As on date, GEAC has only allowed refined soya oil, derived from GM soya for import. No food product with GM ingredients for sale in the country is allowed.
Genetically modified foods are food products whose genetic content has been changed by use of recombinant DNA technology. This genetic change is made so as to give the food crop or food product certain defined, definite characteristics such as increased yield, pest resistance, attractive colour, enhanced taste, increased shelf life, increased nutritional content, etc, says KC Bansal, principal scientist at National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology. ?So far, only GM cotton is approved for commercial cultivation in India. While research is in top gear on other plant varieties, biosafety studies prior to the approval of a new GM plant event are a must here. These are usually followed by a monitoring programme to detect environmental impacts,? he adds.
Finally, stem cells hold huge potential for treating a wide range of disease and disability. Scientists around the world are working on techniques to refine stem cell therapy. However, their use is mired in controversy. Some researchers fear that it is possible that stem cell therapy could pass viruses and other disease causing agents to people who receive cell transplants. In particular, there is concern that stem cells are currently cultivated using nutrients taken from animal sources, and that these could harbour diseases which could be passed on to humans. Some research has also raised the possibility that stem cells may turn cancerous.
?It must be understood that the treatment with stem cells in human diseases is still in the experimental stage and cannot be used in clinical service. However, it holds a great deal of promise for cure and amelioration of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, degenerative neurological diseases, certain types of muscle diseases, and rare metabolic disorders,? says Anoop Misra, director and head, department of diabetes and metabolic diseases, Fortis Hospitals. He adds: ?Finally, as yet, until clear benefits are demonstrated with the use of cord blood stem cells, false hope should not be propagated to the patients.?
Without greater attention and resources devoted to the safety and environmental concerns that these technologies raise, these innovations may be slowed or even stymied, and people and the environment could be significantly harmed. Not surprising, an equivocal call is emanating from the scientific research community?we must increase knowledge about the risks of these technologies, both within the scientific community and the larger public.