Questão 2 - UFMS PASSE - 3 Etapa 2022-2024

Read the text to answer the question.

 

Nanotechnology refers to the branch of science and engineering devoted to designing, producing, and using structures, devices, and systems by manipulating atoms and molecules at nanoscale, i.e. having one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nanometres (100 millionth of a millimetre) or less.

In the natural world, there are many examples of structures with one or more nanometre dimensions, and many technologies have incidentally involved such nanostructures for many years, but only recently it has been possible to do it intentionally.

Many of the applications of nanotechnology involve new materials that have very different properties and new effects compared to the same materials made at larger sizes. This is due to the very high surface to volume ratio of nanoparticles compared to larger particles, and to effects that appear at that small scale but are not observed at larger scales.

The applications of nanotechnology can be very beneficial and have the potential to make a significant impact on society. Nanotechnology has been embraced by industrial sectors, such as the information and communications sectors, but it is also used in food technology, energy technology, as well as in some medical products and medicines. Nanomaterials may also offer new opportunities for the reduction of environmental pollution.

But, these new materials should also present new health risks. Humans have developed mechanisms of protection against various environmental agents of different sizes. However, until recently, they had never been exposed to synthetic nanoparticles and their specific characteristics. Therefore, the normal human defense mechanisms associated with, for example, immune and inflammatory systems may well not be able to respond adequately to these nanoparticles. In addition, nanoparticles may also disperse and persist in the environment, and therefore have an impact on the environment.

(Scientific    Committee    on    Emerging    and    Newly    Identified    Health Risks - SCENIHR. Public Health. Disponível em:https:// ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/opinions_ layman/en/nanotechnologies/l-2/1-introduction.htm Acesso em: 1 nov. 2024. Adaptado)

Select the correct alternative that best translates the sentence: “The applications of nanotechnology can be very beneficial and have the potential to make a significant impact on society.”