In North America and Europe, research efforts are spread over the following topics:

• metrology: capacity to detect and quantify "free" NOAA nano-objetcs in the air, the water, the ground or the complex environments,
• toxicology: methods, the acute and chronic effects on flora, fauna and humans,
• predictive modelling: dispersion, migration of particles in the environment and the human body,
• risk assessment: the level of exposure and severity of damage for the population and the workers.

The scientific community agrees that it will take at least several decades to answer most of the questions without ambiguity.