Virginia Tech scientists have discovered that incredibly small particles of an unusual and highly toxic titanium oxide found in coal smog and ash can cause lung damage in mice after a single exposure, with long-term damage occurring in in just six weeks. The tests were headed by Irving Coy Allen, a professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, with collaborators from across Virginia Tech and researchers at the University of Colorado, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, and East China Normal University in Shanghai.