2016 Nanotoxicology Conference

The Nanotoxicology 2016 meeting held in Boston in early June was informative, entertaining, and well worth the time.  Two major topics were highlighted by the experts:  First, there is a disconnect in the nanotoxiciology literature between reporting the health effects of “high-dose testing concentrations/doses” versus the lack of “real-world dosing conditions”.  Second, there is a strong need for the nanotoxicology community to publish so-called “negative health effects” results in the peer reviewed scientific literature.  

The opening panel session listed the successes and failures within the field of nano toxicology over the past 10-15 years.  Most panelists agreed that the successes outnumbered the failures - in fact, the failures were described more like lessons learned rather than shortcomings.  The community succeeded in bringing nanotechnology, medicine, and environmental health together in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary community committed to publishing papers rich in material characterization.  The failure to promote the benefits of nanotechnology, rather than the sole focus of its risks, was identified as the largest lesson the community learned over the past decade.