Special Topics Why synthetic chemicals seem more toxic than natural ones 24 Aug 2019August 24, 2019 This post was originally published in Aeon Magazine Many people believe that chemicals, particularly the man-made ones, are highly dangerous. After all, more than 80,000 chemicals have been synthesised for…
Recent News How hormones in lakes harm aquatic life 13 May 2019August 24, 2019 This post was originally published in Envirobites Article: Kidd KA, Paterson MJ, Rennie MD, Podemski CL, Findlay DL, Blanchfield PJ, Liber K. 2014 Direct and indirect responses of a freshwater…
Tox21 Understand-omics 15 Apr 2019April 19, 2019 I must confess, when I first heard about omics, I didn't grasp it. It seemed complicated, but I assure you that it is far from it! Omics is an exciting…
Tox21 Pathway-based toxicology 19 Feb 2019February 21, 2019 Think about the ripple effect. Where one thing causes a series of other things to happen, and the small changes lead to a big impact. Continue reading "Pathway-based toxicology"
Tox21 How toxicology needs to change 26 Jan 2019January 30, 2019 We spoke in some length about why toxicology needs to change. There are several problems with the way we test for toxicity currently, including our use of animals and archaic…
Recent News How climate change can alter the toxicity of chemicals 10 Jan 2019August 24, 2019 This post was originally published in Envirobites Introduction We know climate change can affect our health in a multitude of ways— like by increasing rates of many diseases and temperature-related…
Tox21 Why toxicology needs to change 7 Jan 2019January 21, 2019 Like most people, you may have suffered from a common cold, headache or muscle ache. And you probably took an Aspirin to relieve the symptoms. But if today's safety standards…
Tox21 What this section (Tox21) hopes to achieve 28 Dec 2018January 5, 2019 The field of toxicology has been around for centuries. But in our modern world, it is more important than ever before. There are 80,000 chemicals in the environment today, and,…
Basics of Toxicology Estimating risk to non-humans 28 Dec 2018July 1, 2019 To get a basic understanding of risk, I highly recommend reading Estimating risks to humans first There has been much talk about bees and pesticides recently. Especially, how a class…
Basics of Toxicology Estimating risk to humans 25 Dec 2018July 1, 2019 We all know sharks can be dangerous. But most of us don't spend our waking hours worrying about sharks because we rarely encounter them. This might change if you had…
Basics of Toxicology Correlation vs Causation 18 Dec 2018August 18, 2019 As noted in this classic science comic, people often think correlation implies causation. And this is probably every scientist's pet peeve -- it is definitely one of mine. Let's…
Basics of Toxicology Exposure to pollutants 2 Dec 2018January 21, 2019 The concept of exposure is well-grained in our psyche. We wash our hands after using the loo and cover our mouths while sneezing when sick. We regularly avoid falling sick…
