Carbon nanotubes could cause the same maladies as asbestos, according to a study by University of Edinburgh, which showed that long-thin fibers cause the pathological response known to be a precursor to cancer in mice. The experimental tests showed that like asbestos, long nanotube fibers were thin enough to penetrate deep into lungs, but their length prevented the lungs' built-in mechanisms from removing the particles. Carbon are only nanometers in diameter but sometimes microns long, a ratio of over 1000:1. If nanoparticles are breathed into the lungs, the researchers warned that the health affects would be as severe as breathing in asbestos. Asbestos exposure can cause lung cancer in 30 to 40 years after initial exposure. Both carbon nanotubes and asbestos fibers were injected into the abdominal cavity of mice, a technique that is accepted in medical circles as a predictor of how pathogens affect lung tissue. The results showed that like asbestos, long nanotube fibers were thin enough to penetrate deep into lungs, but their length prevented the lungs' built-in mechanisms from removing the particles. The diagram depicts the nanotube vector-like naming scheme. Nanotubes form by rolling up the graphene sheets. Here "T" denotes the tube axis, a1 and a2 are the unit vectors in real space. If m=0, the nanotubes are called zigzag. If n=m, the nanotubes are called armchair. Otherwise, they are called chiral.

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