EDF Health

Selected tag(s): National Academy of Sciences (NAS)

On the Road to In Vitro Testing: Are We There Yet?

By John Balbus / Published: March 18, 2008

John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

EPA’s recently released draft Nanotechnology Research Strategy (NRS) proposes a tiered testing system to evaluate human toxicity of nanomaterials.  It puts in vitro tests, or those done in test tubes and petri dishes as opposed to living animals, front and center.  EPA says the results of the first, in vitro tier will be used for guidance on “what health endpoints to monitor” and the second, in vivo tier will then help “identify those in vitro assays that correlate with in vivo nanomaterial toxicity or health effects.”

Wait a second.  If the in vivo testing is necessary in order to figure out what the in vitro testing results really mean, how can the agency use the in vitro testing results to figure out what health endpoints to monitor?  This cart and horse confusion is a serious matter. Read More »

Posted in Emerging testing methods, Health science, Nanotechnology / Also tagged , | Read 1 Response

NNI’s new strategy: Not quite

By Richard Denison / Published: February 20, 2008

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Just when you thought it might never emerge, the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health and Safety Research (PDF, 2.2 MB ) finally hit the streets last week.

It’s got good, bad and ugly. The good news is that here, at last, is a report from NNI that actually reads more like a strategy and less like yet another laundry list of research needs. The bad news is that key elements of a full strategy are still nowhere to be found. Read More »

Posted in Health policy, Nanotechnology / Also tagged , | Authors: / Read 1 Response