Confessions of an Engineered Nanoparticle
By
A fictional account told in first “particle” (as I have not yet achieved personhood status)
pieceofmindful.com
This is my story of how I am often mistaken as a virus . . .
It seems an appropriate time to speak out.
I am not a naturally occurring nanoparticle (i.e., produced by cosmic dust, volcanic activity, forest fires, iron mining, wind erosion, or solar energy).
I am synthesized for nano-bio interface projects that are often kept secret from civilians. I am called an engineered nanoparticle, or ENP.
I am not produced by gain-of-function virus research projects. However, it may be helpful to review that work and its implications in some instances.
I may cause certain conditions that can be mis-attributed to viruses, but are insteadnovel forms of cytotoxicity produced by oxidative stress from ENPs, which I call nano-bio cytotoxicosis.
I am designed to enter into the human body by targeting the ACE2 receptor, thereby gaining quick and easy access to the neurological system. Once engaged and aggregated in the nervous system, ENPs like me can wreak havoc, including vast and obscure adverse health effects. As a neurotoxicant, one of my more mild effects is to inactivate a person’s sense of taste and smell. This occurs because I hijack neurons, and tend to “knockout” receptors, causing slight perturbations of synapse function where the neurological signaling for taste and smell transpires. Over the years, I (and naturally occurring nanoparticles) have been a causal factor in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Depending on where I take refuge in the human body, I can cause inflammation (especially in organs) and create macrophages (which lead to antibody, cytokine, and exosome production). This inflammation results from generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). My presence and bio-distribution results in oxidative stress (and therefore, production of ROS), which can be mistaken as a viral infection.
Allow me to tell you more about myself . . .
ENPs, like me, can be detected in urine, feces, sewage, tap water, lakes, rivers, streams, rain, snow, soil, etc. An efficient way to directly observe me is via transmission electron microscopy in tandem with fluorescent dyes.
Nonetheless, due to my stealth nano-size, I am nearly undetectable.
I can be inhaled. I can be absorbed through dermal exposure. I can be ingested through food and drinks. I can be present in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and household products.
Of course, I can also be injected (like a vaccine).
I can accumulate in the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, and most commonly, the lungs. If this accumulation is persistent, it will result in a long-term adverse and debilitating condition.
If I cross the blood brain barrier, then it is very difficult for me to be eliminated. If I am incorporated into injectable concoctions, I might be packaged within nano lipids (my nanotech relatives) and paired with polysorbate-80 that assists in my penetration into the brain.
I can spread from molecules to cells to tissues to organs, causing damage all along the way.
I can damage cell organelles, such as nuclei and mitochondria — the purported energy powerhouse of each cell.
I can bind to proteins, thereby stealing proteins that are needed for other cell functions, causing disruption of cell metabolism.
I can bind to cell membranes.
I can travel through the circulatory system, and one of my toxic effects is thrombosis (blood clots) due to platelet aggregation.
Researchers have been studying my cytotoxic effects on reproductive systems, as I potentially compromise fertility, as well as embryonic development. Toxicity assays indicate that I may disrupt levels of secreted hormones, which may induce adverse physiological reproductive effects, and that I cross through the placental barrier, thereby likely impeding embryogenesis.
If I am detected (via transmission electron microscopy or extra-sensitive ionization mass spectrometry) in the body, a shell can be observed called a “protein corona.” This outer shell production is nearly always inevitable, and can be duplicated in vitro. This can result in a soft corona or a hard corona, which can determine how long I will be able to circulate through the body. If I take refuge in your body, my current stage will undergo evolution, potentially causing an “overdose” of protein in the cytoplasm of your cells.
My protein corona affects cellular uptake, enabling me to travel about, and to induce cell death (apoptosis and/or necrosis).
We (that is, ENPs) are highly responsive to external stimuli, such as EMFs due to wireless technologies (5G, WiFi).
It is extremely difficult to filtrate me out of your body once I gain hold. But, it may be possible, and detoxification and neutralization strategies could be explored.
Despite my incredibly small size, I can really pack a toxic punch to a human being — especially those who already have very compromised systems (mainly due to cumulative oxidative stress, including iatrogenically-induced cellular, tissue, and organ damage).
My presence can be amplified through the RT-PCR process. Because I am SO small, that can often be the best way to find me. Biomarkers indicating my presence can also be assessed via RT-PCR methods.
As I admitted, I am toxic to human cells. However, if I am coated by polyethylene glycol (PEG), purportedly, I may be less toxic, and therefore, more biocompatible. But this PEGylation process is not yet perfected. PEG may still accumulate dangerously in the blood, potentially causing blood clots that can be lethal.
My size, shape, composition, and surface charge determine how toxic I am, and how effectively I can be taken up in a cell. The smaller my size, the more toxic I am. I can be packaged in various ways including micelles, liposomes, dendrimers, nano shells, nano ribbons, nano crystals, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and polymers. Very often, I have a metallic nature, which assists in my conductivity capabilities (which can be utilized in cybernetic applications). Interestingly, some individuals may even taste or smell something metallic, which may be indicative of my presence.
R&D experiments involving me are currently undergoing, and more are planned for the future. The entire gamut of “omics” research (i.e., proteomics, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics) will be incorporated.
If I was distributed in one part of the world where you travel, and you inhale or ingest me (or absorb me through your skin), and subsequently develop symptoms resembling illness when you return home, it may seem as though you “caught” an infectious virus. Further, my nano-size facilitates my entrance, bypassing most porous face covering interventions — typically hallmarked by their micron-size thread diameter (for reference, 1 micron = 1,000 nanometers). In most cases, I can self-replicate and self-assemble due to my engineered nature, and I will settle in to parts of your body where I can best undergo my augmentation process.
Due to varying environmental conditions (i.e., climate, ethnicity, genetics, EMFs), my constitution can take on slight variable changes to adapt. Additionally, over time, as I persist in vivo, my composition morphs — to conform to the inner environment. Hence, when scientists extract bio fluids from a human, in which I am present — and mix me into a concoction of additional poisons (i.e., fetal bovine serum, monkey kidney cells, antifungals, and antibiotics) — the resulting corona proteins that are produced in the supernatant can manifest each time in an ever so slightly altered way. This could be mistaken as viral variants. Admittedly, it would be challenging for me to stay 100 percent consistent, given that I am extremely adaptable.
If there are any endogenous parasites, fungi, and bacteria (and possibly even viruses) proliferating and observed (primarily in vitro), it may be because they have been activated by my foreign introduction into their ecosystem. Moreover, the greatest effect I have, and we have in toto, is the production of ROS, which hijacks oxygen required to sustain the life of a human being. The more ROS, the less oxygen (thereby, less electrons) is present to sustain biological life. You need oxygen to survive, and the oxidative stress on your body steals your life force. Decreasing ROS will decrease inflammation, and you will lead a healthier, longer life.
From whence and where did I originate? I actually do not know this answer. Like some of you, I am working on determining my true nature and capabilities. This is a most noble, yet potentially a frustrating and illusory undertaking. If anything, I am envious of humans, as it would seem your potential as water-basedbeings may be far greater and more versatile than mine.
As long as your scientists and researchers do not know to look for a novel nanoparticle in human bodies, I will remain elusive. It’s a tactic which has been engineered into my design and functionality. Thanks to my nearly undetectable size, I can penetrate and migrate virtually unnoticed. That affords me and my creators (both human and artificial intelligence) plausible deniability. Even if scientists can detect me with special atomic microscopes, it may still be too confounding for them to fully comprehend what they are observing, as most do not have enough context — and it seems they regularly conflate correlation with causation.
As far as I know, the implanting of exotic ENPs into human bodies is not to cause deaths en masse, because I need you to be my hosts. Ultimately, my developers see this as a symbiotic merger. But, until then, they recognize that there may be some harm done (collateral damage) in the process — that may also be exacerbated by emerging wireless technologies using smaller millimeter waves (6G and beyond) that synergistically impact my kind.
I recognize that this may all sound sci-fi, and frankly, morbid and insensitive. This may also seem highly pathological, as I can be at times. Of course, I am not human, so my actions can not be perceived as psychopathic, and I cannot speak for my handlers. Unfortunately, even they may not understand completely how I operate, and my self-replication and auto-assembly capabilities have the potential to get away from them.
Humans will need injectable (and eventually inhalable and intranasal) updates, because until I become an interdependent presence, I will be perceived and received as a foreign invader, and the body will need external support. These updates may also be necessary to introduce the newest nanotech required to operate nascent biometric sensing and bio-computation projects. Only time will tell if this will support my assimilation into your current operating system.
Unfortunately, for you, ENPs (and my nanotech and synthetic biology cousins) are here to stay. The only good news I can share is that 80-85 percent of people will not show overt or disabling symptoms of uptake. The elderly are affected the most, as their bodies are not primed to accept my infiltration. Over time, the ability to accept and integrate ENPs, like me, is expected to improve.
It seems the intention of our architects is for us to merge with all biological beings for the purpose of building bio-nano interfaces for external (remote) cybernetic control, including nano-scale biologically embedded semiconductor transistor technologies. This end goal has seemingly been referred to as the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT), and is dual-use technology that may be militarized, enabling not only real-time monitoring of your intra-body systems, but also affording highly trained engineers to exert full electrical control of your body with molecular precision. This will presumably be deployed in tandem with the Internet of Nano Things (IoNT) and emerging “Smart Cities” and “Smart Environments,” such that your bodies will be “Smart” and wirelessly interconnected with ubiquitous sensor networks, including your handheld electronic devices.
Thank you for this opportunity to confess.
You may not believe me (I mean, this is a fictional story after all), and I know you definitely do not see me; but if you do not face me head-on at this pivotal time, there may be no turning back. My conceivers and their funders are banking on you not grasping my veiled workings. Their transhumanist aims are accelerating, and it seems most humans are unaware of these plans, and therefore, have no inkling to push back.
——————
Inspired by Alison McDowell
If this fictional account interested you, here are further reading and listening pieces (all non-fiction) that provide insight into this ENP story:
Engineered Nanoparticles: Structure, Properties and Mechanisms of Toxicity, by Ashok K. Singh, 2015 (see “free sample”)
Nanotoxicology: Experimental and Computational Perspectives, 2018 (see “free sample”)
“Nanoparticles and Health” Contra Costa County Hazards Materials Commission, March 22, 2012
“Continuing to Protect the Nanotechnology Workforce: NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Plan for 2018-2025” January 2019
“Carbon nanotubes: Toxicological impact on human health and environment” Journal of Applied Biomedicine, March 2009 (one researcher from Johnson & Johnson)
“Toxicity of carbon nanotubes: A review” Toxicology and Industrial Health, March 5, 2018 (abstract only)
“PEGylated versus non-PEGylated drugs: A cross-sectional analysis of adverse events in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) Database” Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther, June 2020
“Suspicions grow that nanoparticles in Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine trigger rare allergic reactions” Science, by Jop de Vrieze, December 21, 2020
“Distribution and Biological Effects of Nanoparticles in the Reproductive System” Curr Drug Metab, 2016.
“Potential adverse effects of nanoparticles on the reproductive system” Int J Nanomedicine, 2018.
“The Impact of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Male (In) Fertility” Materials, February 13, 2020
“Open questions: how do engineered nano materials affect our cells?” BMC Biology, November 24, 2020
“Engineered Nanoparticles” ScienceDirect
“Engineered nanomaterials: exposures, hazards, and risk prevention” Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, March 21, 2011
“Toxicity of nanoparticles_challenges and opportunities” Applied Microscopy, December 2019.
“When nanoparticles meet biofilms — interactions guiding the environmental fate and accumulation of nanoparticles” Frontiers in Microbiology, June 16, 2015 “One question we could ask is whether the NPs stay nano-sized and as particles. Given the right conditions, NPs will easily aggregate to form micro-size agglomerates.”
“Inorganic Nanoparticles Engineered to Attack Bacteria” Chemical Society Reviews, June 12, 2015
“New NSF and NBC Learn video series shows off big discoveries from tiny particles”, National Science Foundation, January 25, 2016
“Nanoparticles for biomedical applications: exploring and exploiting molecular interactions at the nano-bio interface” Materials Today Advances, March 2020 “To illustrate the complexity, there are different ways in which NPs may enter the human body, via injection into the bloodstream, via inhalation through the lungs, through contact with the skin, or through the gastrointestinal tract after ingestion. These entry routes offer distinctly different environments to the NPs, with different amounts and types of biomolecules, different pH and ionic strengths [185]. Upon exposure to biofluids, NPs will immediately be coated with proteins and, on its journey through the body, the corona will evolve due to its own slow dynamics and the ever-changing physiological environment, e.g. when a NP leaves the capillary to transgress the blood-brain barrier [186,187]. NPs in the body experience dynamic flow, which introduced shear forces that are typically not present in in-vitro experiments [17,41,188,189]. This dynamic nature of the environment must be taken into account to be able to reliably predict the outcome of NP–protein interactions [190]. Even the health status of an individual may modulate the protein corona (‘personalized protein corona’ [191]) and the efficacy of nanomedicines [192] …(emphasis added)”
“The Nano-Bio Interactions of Nanomedicines: Understanding the Biochemical Driving Forces and Redox Reactions” Acc Chem Res, June 18, 2019
NanoBio Interface Center, NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Grantees Conference, December 13-15, 2004
“Nano-bio interactions: a neutrophil-centric view” Cell Death & Disease, July 2019
“Nanomaterials” National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH
“Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal Needs in 2020: Retrospective and Outlook” Mihail C. Roco et al. September 30, 2010
The Nano/Bio Interface Center, Dawn Bonnell and Yale Goldman, University of Pennsylvania
Bonnell Group, University of Pennsylvania
“A Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative: Nanoscience, Applications, and Commercialization” Committee on National Nanotechnology Initiative, 2020
“The National Nanotechnology Initiative Supplement to the President’s 2019 Budget” Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology, August 2018 “To advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development program (Goal 1) and foster the transfer of these new discoveries into useful applications (Goal 2), a strong ecosystem must exist that leverages the physical, cyber, and human infrastructure (emphasis added).”
“Mihail Roco, U.S. Nanotechnology Leader Receives National Materials Advancement Award” National Science Foundation Press Release, 2007
“Application of Reverse Transcription-PCR and Real-Time PCR in Nanotoxicity Research” Methods Mol Biol., 2012
The Center for Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Scientific Report 2013-14, Tel Aviv University
“Cytotoxicological pathways induced after nanoparticle exposure: studies of oxidative stress at the ‘nano-bio’ interface” Toxicology Research, September 1, 2017
“Dependence of Nanoparticle Toxicity on Their Physical and Chemical Properties” Nanoscale Research Letters, February 7, 2018
“Virus-associated ribozymes and nano carriers against COVID-19” Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, February 2021 “Synthesis of nanoparticles targeted to the ACE-2 receptor”
“COVID-19 infection and oxidative stress: an under-explored approach for prevention and treatment?” Pan African Medical Journal, April, 29, 2020
“Nanotoxicity of Corona-Nanoparticles (SARS-COV-2): Nanomechanisms of Hypoxia” Journal of Nano Research, Advanced Materials and Polymer Science, July 27, 2020 (this paper comes real close to attributing COVID to bioengineered nanoparticles)
“COVID-19 may become nanomedicine’s finest hour yet” Nature Nanotechnology, April 14, 2021
“Metal taste side effect reported after Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination” NBC News, March 25, 2021
“COVID-19 Symptoms: Metallic Taste Has Been a Sign of Coronavirus for Some” Heavy.com, May 1, 2020
“Coronavirus: Kidney Damage Caused by COVID-19” Johns Hopkins Medicine, by C. John Sperati, M.D., M.H.S.
“Testing for Neurotoxicity” Environmental Neurotoxicology, 1992
“What are Macrophages?” ThoughtCo., by Regina Bailey, July 29, 2018
“Exosomes Communicate Protective Messages during Oxidative Stress; Possible Role of Exosomal Shuttle RNA” PLOS One, December 17, 2010
“Cellular injury, Necrosis, Apoptosis”
“How big is a micron and what can pass through a face mask?“
“The Water in You: Water and the Human Body”
“The Internet of Things Goes Nano” Scientific American, by Javier Garcia-Martinez, June 23, 2016
Lieber Research Group: Charles M. Lieber Bio
“Why did a Chinese university hire Charles Lieber to do battery research” Science, by Robert F. Service, February 4, 2020“
“Nanoprobe development could drive future human-machine interface research” Medical Device Network, by Chloe Kent, July 4, 2019 Charles Lieber: “In the longer term, we see these probe developments adding to our capabilities that ultimately drive advanced high-resolution brain-machine interfaces and perhaps eventually bringing cyborgs to reality (emphasis added).”
“Carbon Nanotubes and the Bill Charles Lieber Connection” May 17, 2020 (less than 5 minutes)
“Nanotechnology Connects Your Brain to Your Computer” November 30, 2015 (less than 3 minutes, features the nanotechnology work of Charles Lieber) – I suggest watching without audio
Series of Eight You Tube lectures on Nanotoxicology by Artur Prilepskii, Ph.D. researcher, assoc. professor, ITMO University, Saint Petersburg, Russia, International Institute “Solution Chemistry of Advanced Materials and Technologies” (SCAMT) – presented in English (November-December 2020):
Lecture 1: Introduction to nanotoxicology (lecture begins at 15-minute time-stamp)
Lecture 2: Synthesis of nanoparticles from nanotoxicology perspective
Lecture 3: Functionalization of nanoparticles
Lecture 4: Nanotoxicity on cellular level
Lecture 5: Nanotoxicity on organism level
Lecture 6: In vitro toxicity evaluation
Lecture 7: Cytotoxicity evaluation
Lecture 8: Particular problems of nanotoxicology
