The government needs a more comprehensive plan for studying the risks of nanotechnology, the National Research Council said Wednesday. While the committee that prepared the report did not evaluate the safety of nanomaterials, it was critical of current research efforts into the health and environmental safety of the technology. Nanomaterials are made of extremely tiny particles — some thousands of times finer than a human hair — which have come increasingly into use in recent years, often in products such as skin care and cosmetics.
