Nanotechnology may be considered one of the most promising new technologies emerging today, but it's also the source of considerable concern about potential risks to the environment and human health. A new study published Tuesday in Nature Nanotechnology adds further evidence that there's good reason for that concern.

In the study , titled "Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity of mice show asbestos-like pathogenicity in a pilot study," researchers injected long, multiwalled carbon nanotubes into the mesothelial lining of the body cavity of mice. What they found was that the nanotubes produced inflammation and lesions known as "granulomas," much the way asbestos does.

Many questions remain -- perhaps most notably, whether the same would happen in human lungs if the nanotubes had been inhaled -- but in the meantime, it's clear any work with nanotubes will have to proceed with caution.

Need for 'Great Caution'

Carbon nanotubes can have a needle-like fiber shape similar to that of asbestos, which has already lead to speculation that their widespread use could lead to mesothelioma, the same cancer of the lining of the lungs that is caused by asbestos exposure.

The researchers in this study used the mesothelial lining of the body cavity rather than the lungs as a way to test nanotubes' effects on that type of lining.

The pathogenic results they found are "of considerable importance, because research and business communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous than graphite," the authors wrote. "Our results suggest the need for further research and great caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided."

The results of this research, however -- particularly when added to those of the previous studies -- amount to "more than a red flag -- it's a stop sign," Sass said. "This is the evidence where I don't know what else they're waiting for.

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