Nanopollution: the invisibile fog of future wars

The wars that ended the twentieth century and launched the twenty-first brought a mysterious, unexpected side effect. Some postwar pathologies, such as soldiers' malformed offspring and the illnesses of peacekeepers deployed to former battlefields, raise crucial questions. Other than coming up with a name for the collection of symptoms experienced by veterans of the first two Gulf Wars and the war in the Balkans, doctors have little understanding of Gulf War syndrome's causes. The solution to these medical mysteries may be found in a new word: nanopathology. Dust at the nanoscale can elude physiological barriers and easily enter the bloodstream, where it is very likely to reach all internal organs and tissues. Nano-war is a real risk that is already with us, even if governments seem to be unaware of it. The obvious (but overly simplistic) solution is to stop making war. The second best solution is to stop pretending nanodust either doesn't exist or is harmless.