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Researchers have discovered a new response mechanism specific to exposure to nanoparticles that is common to multiple species. By analyzing a large collection of datasets concerning the molecular response to nanomaterials, the scientists have revealed an ancestral epigenetic mechanism of defense that explains how different species, from humans to simpler creatures, adapt to this type of exposure. The project was led by Doctoral Researcher Giusy del Giudice and Professor Dario Greco, PhD, at the Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches (FHAIVE), Tampere University, Finland, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team from Finland, Ireland, Poland, UK, Cyprus, South Africa, Greece, and Estonia--and including Associate Professor Vladimir Lobaskin, PhD, from UCD School of Physics, University College Dublin, Ireland. The paper, titled “An Ancestral Molecular Response to Nanomaterial Particulates,” was published on May 8, 2023 in Nature Nanotechnology. Professor Greco, Director of FHAIVE, said: “We have demonstrated for the first time that there is a specific response to nanoparticles, and it is interlinked to their nano-properties. This study sheds light on how various species respond to particulate matters in a similar manner. It proposes a solution to the one-chemical-one-signature problem, currently limiting the use of toxicogenomic in chemical safety assessment.”