Long Carbon Nanotubes like asbestos and science friday kept saying "we probably":

Interesting. The writing in this article frustrates me though. Here's what I'm talking about: the author wrote, "The team found that when injected into the body cavities of mice, long carbon nanotubes could behave in a way similar to the way asbestos fibers behave, forming lesions that, in the case of asbestos, lead to cancer. Shorter nanotubes did not seem to have the potentially dangerous effect, and it's not known whether the tubes can make their way to the mesothelium if inhaled." These fibers aren't alive, are they? And yet, the author talks about them "behaving." I think what he means is that the body reacts to them the same way as it does to asbestos fibers. But the point is well taken. What interests me with this story is that we're carbon-based, so it's kind of cool how our bodies might react with other carbon. I do have to wonder though, when you have to look at something through an electron microscope, what's the difference between a "long carbon nanotube" and a "shorter nanotube?"

- Verveces tui similes pro ientaculo mihi appositi sunt. (I have jerks like you for breakfast.)