Some of the tastiest new tech around could be the death of computer users, if researchers are to be believed.
Being dubbed the “new Asbestos” is not a good thing for carbon nanotubes, an integral part of some of the newest tech coming on the market these days. It forms part of processors, circuits and face cream (we don’t get that one either) but studies show that it could have the same affect as asbestos if inhaled in large quantities. And everyone knows that one guy who cracks open his old CPUs and huffs the contents, don’t they…?
The problem may arise because carbon nanotubes have the same physical configuration as asbestos and cause problems in lab mice, which were tested to check effects on people. Apparently it can cause cancer in humans but the cancer could take from 30 to 40 years to develop.
This would be worrying if not for the fact that by the time those in a position to be effected by this hit the prime age for cancer anyway at this point (50 to 60 years of age), making claims of nanotubes being the root cause of a cancer spurious at best. May be little more than a case of vapours on the part of researchers.
Brett Venter
