Nanoparticles in the brain

[Skycastlefish]

In the last issue of Science News there was an interesting write up. It was called "burnt out on smell." I thought it was good info for any pyro to know.

 

"Nerves in the nose can transport soot as well as metals and other nanoparticles to the brain, where they do significant harm."

 

My translation... soot = airfloat, and nano metals = your hot Al. Think about it, hot Al particles are usually smaller than your red blood cells!

 

The author hypothosises that humans have such a poor sense of smell relative to other mammals b/c of our tight evolution with the use of fire. "I wonder whether our ancestors began to lose some of their sense of smell just as they domesticated fire. Fewer olfactory cells might have limited brain damage from cronic exposure to smoke, especially in cold climates where fire was used to heat and cook inside shelters with poor ventilation."

 

One more reason to cover the lower part of your face with a respirator.

[50AE]

May be true, especially the poor sence of smell theory. Wearing a respirator won't hurt you, in fact it will make you feel much better.

[Peret]

"Nerves in the nose can transport soot as well as metals and other nanoparticles to the brain, where they do significant harm."

 

That sounds like "popular" science to me. Nerves don't transmit anything except sensations when they're stimulated. Having said that, up the nose and under the tongue are two very good places to absorb chemicals quickly into the blood stream, so a respirator should be standard equipment, especially when there's barium or antimony about. Charcoal may be harmless, but after seeing the quantity I blew out my nose the first time I handled air float, I prefer not to repeat the test.

 

As for the sense of smell, I find mine is particularly sensitive to some things. I can smell elemental sulfur quite strongly, which I've found is a good test for black powder. If I can smell the sulfur, the powder isn't milled enough - properly milled and granulated powder doesn't smell. Nobody else in the household seems to be able to smell it.

[Skycastlefish]

Science News is a very reputable magazine. You guys should check it out. They only write about things like this if there is solid scientific evidence to back it up. As counter intuitive as it may sound, nerves can and do carry nanoparticles to the brain every day.

[Mumbles]

I must admit I am a bit suspicious of nerve cells transporting nanoparticles. The neurotransmitters they release to one another still only operate by diffusion, which takes incredible amounts of time to get ever from the nose to the brain, hours if not days or weeks. At the same time, nerve cells are known to have a special affinity for nanoparticles, so who really knows. I do not know of any transportation mechanisms within the cells themselves though.

 

Science News isn't bad, but it's not Science, or Nature, or Cell, or anything like that. The ones I listed are pretty much peer reviewed popular journals.

[Skycastlefish]

I don't mean to pass off Science News as a scientific journal - I just mean its a legitimate publication. Here's a link to the article...

http://www.sciencene...stination_brain

Forgive me if I didn't explain it properly (I'm not a scientist.) Whether its nerve receptors transporting nanoparticles to mammal brains, or the nanoparticles pass through tissues to get to the brain, they get there somehow. Like I said earlier, human olfactory is pretty lame compared to other mammals so we may be better off. But if this happens with bears, pigs, and rodents, who's to say it doesn't happen with primates to some degree? The truth is we'll never know because the ethics violations involved in testing that sort of thing would be ridiculously sadistic. So take it or leave it. Just know that I would never post some tabloid rumor to try and upset peoples previously conceived notions about olfactory

Edited August 6, 2010 by Skycastlefish

[dagabu]

There are just so many things we dont know about the body and brain (good, I didn't write Brian again) that an article like this (what does a dyslexic zombie eat? Brians!!) goes a long way to explain some of the toxicities that are found in odd places.