Alert over the march of the 'grey goo' in nanotechnology Frankenfoods

My tendencies are to be practical, realistic, non-alarmist, but I do have a problem with science which is invisible and questioned by other scientists.

A breed of Frankenfood is being introduced into human diet and cosmetics with potentially disastrous consequences, experts said last night.

Academics, consumer groups and Government officials are warning that the arrival of nanotechnology threatens dangerous changes to the body and the environment.

The particles it uses are so small - 80,000 times thinner than a human hair - that they can pass through membranes protecting the brain or babies in the womb.

Nano health supplements, such as antioxidants, are already on the market while the first of hundreds of new foods are expected to arrive in the next 12 months.

However, the products are being introduced without any regulation or independent assessment to ensure they are safe - mirroring the controversy over the launch of GM foods ten years ago.

Some critics have talked of the threat of the creation of a "grey goo" of tiny particles with hidden harmful properties.

Prince Charles has said it would be "surprising" if the technology did not "offer similar upsets" to thalidomide - the morning sickness drug that caused children to be born with deformed limbs.

Professor Vicki Stone, Professor of Toxicology at Napier University in Edinburgh, is concerned about unforeseen side effects.

If these scientists have a hidden agenda its well hidden, at least well hidden from me. Its easy to deduce the agenda of the nanotechnology scientists. They're directly rewarded by the success of the industry.

Via BlackListedNews.