Here’s something new for the tabloids to get angry about without understanding. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has recommended “urgent regulatory action” over the microscopic materials present in sun creams, sports clothing and medicine.

The commission warns that although hundreds of consumer products are already in the marketplace that use nanoparticles, we have an ‘almost complete lack of knowledge’ regarding their long-term effects on human health and the environment. The report says many nanoparticles are so poorly understood that scientists don’t even know how to check their safety.