@Klebert L. Hall: But nanotech is made out of nanomaterials.
I've read of research into coating the nanotubes with other materials that neutralize the harmful effects though. Better to come up with good solutions before mass-production begins. #nanotechnology
I do have a question - Is that actually a photo of a nanotube? Correct me, but it appears to be a twisted bunch of fibers. Are the individual 'fibers' the tubes in question? Inquiring minds and all that... #nanotechnology
I remember my grandfather passing away from carbon nanotube lung. He'd go down all day into the carbon nanotube mines, chipping away with those tiny, tiny pickaxes, and then coming home to lay awake all night, coughing in a high-tech kinda way. #nanotechnology
Oh great. So what your telling me is I've got to expect some new annoying commercials extolling the dangers of carbon nanotubes and mesothelioma? That's fantastic. #nanotechnology
@johnconnorjudgementday: No worries! By then we will all be nanobot controlled zombies anyway. You think the H1N1 vaccine is for the flu? It's really a nanobot delivery system! We're all doomed! #nanotechnology
This seems like one of the few times in the history that we've known about the health consequences of a new technology before it became widely implemented.
Hopefully this will lead to some new development that gives us the benefit of carbon nanotubes without the health and environmental risks. #nanotechnology
@Anekanta: Thankfully it's such a specific and small thing that the kind of exposure that leads to mesothelioma in this instance would be pretty rare.
Of course that would not be the case if they started making insulation out of carbon nanotubes, so let's hope they go another route in future insulation tech. #nanotechnology
@Makidian: Carbon nanotubes are not exactly specific, they're being tested for pretty much everything, it may sound unreal, but "from space elevators to synthetic muscles to sports equipment" is kind of an understatement, since those applications only use their mechanical properties, but they also have potential to revolutionize electronics, power storage, medicine, thermal insulation, optics, thermic dissipation, medicine... if all the research that's being done right now on them were fruitful, everything we use day to day, except for food could be made with them.
Yeah, I know, all the research is not going to have results, and not all the ones which do are not going to be cost-effective, but they have potential to be more ubiquitous than plastic. #nanotechnology
I love that I live in a world with naked mole rats. I love being able to say that I really live in a world with naked mole rats. Mostly I love typing "naked mole rats". #nakedmolerat
I have always wonder how the scientists react when finding out something they have been studying for years. Do they look at there partners and say "Look I found it".. Or do they party hard? #nakedmolerat
@Tomb: R.O.A.C.H.: they party sensibly with girly cocktails and awkward jokes that have no punchline. sometimes they go hog wild and put up streamers in the lab #nakedmolerat
@Roklimber: there are some people who have malfunctioning pain receptors as well. i bet some of our more scientifically inclined io9ers could elaborate on that #nakedmolerat
@Bootknife-Jackson: Malfunctioning, yes, but I'm pretty sure that any animal which does not feel pain would not survive long enough to pass its "ability" to its progeny. #nakedmolerat
@Roklimber: yeah it is an odd trait to have developed, and makes me curious as to what external factor could have lead them to develop it in the first place... #nakedmolerat
@Bootknife-Jackson: A quick search revealed that they seem to be impervious to *specific* kinds of pain, namely, the burning sensation that certain mild acids and certain alkaloids (like chili pepper) produce on the skin. That's more reasonable. From the article here, it seemed that they're impervious to all kinds of pain, which I could not believe. The truth is, as I expected, that they're not.
@Roklimber: I thought maybe being a group mind thing, that the Queen was constantly going 'ouch', 'ouch', as she ate her Mole Rat bonbons back in the Mole Rate Palace throne room, and her minions ran into the walls of their burrows, just to piss her off. #nakedmolerat
The picture book Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, by Mo Willems, is one of the best non-classic picture books I've ever read. If anyone's looking for a gift for a three-year-old... #nakedmolerat
They feel no pain. They have a hive mind. They are immune to cancer. So basically they are in the same family tree that leads to the Borg. #nakedmolerat
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-Kle. #nanotechnology
10/30/09
I've read of research into coating the nanotubes with other materials that neutralize the harmful effects though. Better to come up with good solutions before mass-production begins. #nanotechnology
10/31/09
-Kle. #nanotechnology
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I respectfully disagree.
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Hopefully this will lead to some new development that gives us the benefit of carbon nanotubes without the health and environmental risks. #nanotechnology
10/29/09
Of course that would not be the case if they started making insulation out of carbon nanotubes, so let's hope they go another route in future insulation tech. #nanotechnology
10/30/09
Yeah, I know, all the research is not going to have results, and not all the ones which do are not going to be cost-effective, but they have potential to be more ubiquitous than plastic. #nanotechnology
10/28/09
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Muwahaha! #nakedmolerat
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Nonetheless, I find it difficult to believe that any animal is impervious to pain. Pain is a natural defense mechanism. #nakedmolerat
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[www.livescience.com]
[news.nationalgeographic.com]
[www.mdc-berlin.de]
"makes me curious as to what external factor could have lead them to develop it in the first place"
The last article above provides some clues to that question. The article is in English, despite being from a German site.
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