I wouldn't recommend nanosilver clothes and I wouldn't wear them myself. At the moment the concentrations are way below anything likely to do damage, but if it became common, it could lead to problems.

The big problems could be not just on your body directly, but what happens if the silver leaves the clothing during wash cycles. If the nano silver leaks into our water supply, it could kill good bacteria we need for purification, let alone create havoc through unpredicted effects.

The commission would like to see full disclosure of nanomaterials in manufacturing become mandatory, but they warn it could be 20 years before we have enough data to deem many of these materials safe or hazardous. [BBC via Treehugger]

In a second demonstration video, the speaker film is shown being stretched, while the emitted sound remains unperturbed. This could have tremendous ramifications for mobile music devices and phones, but the researchers didn't drop any clues as to when, or even if, this tech could make it to market. [New Scientist via Physorg]

And these are no ordinary textiles either: they're transparent and way stronger than a sheet of steel. The team's technique involves chemically-growing "forests" of nanotubes that self-assemble, and is reported in Science currently. If it proves true we may see nanotube materials replacing metals like steel pretty soon—though I'm not sure how many people would balk at flying in a plane with wings you can partly see through. [Physorg]

Coiled nanotubes are nothing new, but the real breakthrough for the Clemson team has come in the production process. The problem was that no one had developed a way to make these nanotubes in a substantial quantity at an reasonable price. Their new method can mass produce the nanotubes in a single step using proprietary hydrocarbon-catalyst mixture. After forming, these beds can be peeled off and slapped onto an object to create an instant layer of protection. As promising as all this sounds, it will have to be relegated to the "only time will tell" pile until actual products start rolling out. [Science Daily]

To test the nanotubes, one lab injected the material into human-lung-like rat stomach lining and found the area inflamed after a week. So at this point we're fairly certain that inhaling nanotubes would be bad news. What we aren't certain about is whether or not nanotubes in their commercial form (like baseball bats) could ever become breathable, or even airborne in the first place.

Further study is needed, but this isn't the sort of news we wanted to hear about a very promising facet of nanotechnology. [Project On Emerging Nanotechnologies and SFGate]

Plus, these nanotubes generate small amounts of additional electricity after expansion that can be utilized in several ways—including storage in a battery. The muscles also conserve around 70% of the electricity put into it, making them energy efficient. Sure you could use this technology to build better robots and prosthetics—but I can think of a few other parties that might be interested. [Discovery News]

This proof of concept shows that it will probably be possible to use nanotech to dramatically increase processor speed, keeping Moore's law going a few years longer.

Nano circuit offers big promise [BBC News]

NaturalNano's idea is to completely block cellphone signals with this paint, and then provide a radio filtering device that will allow wireless signals to pass through only when they re appropriate. Using this system, a theater owner could allow cellphone signals before the show or during an intermission, but completely block them during the movie. At the same time, that theater owner could still allow emergency radio communications to get through. While jamming of cellphone signals has been ruled illegal by the FCC, it's not a crime to passively prevent signals from passing through, which is exactly what NaturalNano's paint does.

Depending on your point of view, the ability to shut down all wireless communications could either be a nightmare or a dream come true, but here's hoping every theater and concert hall in the world is soon painted with this stuff.

Slapping on a coat of silence [Newsday]