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IN recent weeks, two major medical organizations have issued independent warnings about toxic chemicals in products all around us. Unregulated substances, they say, are sometimes linked to breast and prostate cancer, genital deformities, obesity, diabetes and infertility. "Widespread exposure to toxic environmental chemicals threatens healthy human reproduction," the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics warned in a landmark statement last month.

But when Spribille removed all the basidiomycete genes from his data, everything that related to the presence of vulpinic acid also disappeared. "That was the eureka moment," he says. "That's when I leaned back in my chair." That's when he began to suspect that the basidiomycete was actually part of the lichens-present in both types, but especially abundant in the yellow toxic one.

Could it be that Alzheimer's disease stems from the toxic remnants of the brain's attempt to fight off infection? Provocative new research by a team of investigators at Harvard leads to this startling hypothesis, which could explain the origins of plaque, the mysterious hard little balls that pockmark the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

Millions of people in 70 countries across Asia, Africa, and South America have been exposed to high levels of mercury as small-scale mining has proliferated over the past decade. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that at least 10 million miners, including at least four million women and children, are working in small "artisanal" gold mines, which produce as much as 15 percent of the world's gold.

Why is the North American population of monarch butterflies declining? In 1999, a study published in the journal Nature suggested that a variety of genetically modified corn was killing these iconic butterflies. While it was later shown that the conditions in this study did not mirror those in the field, the results garnered a lot of media attention and many people today still believe that monarchs are being killed by GMOs. This case familiarizes students with the plight of the monarchs, encourages them to think about how to test the hypothesis that a toxin is responsible for their decline, and takes a critical look at several studies that investigated the role of Bt corn in the life cycle of monarchs. This interrupted case takes 60-90 min to complete, requires little to no science background, and can be used to explore the ecology and wildlife management of monarchs; risk assessment, toxicity, and exposure; experimental design, the scientific method, hypothesis, and critical thinking; or the relationship between science, the media and the public.

China is engulfed in an extreme amount of pollution, and it's causing health problems for people living in this area! How can we help fight some of these diseases? Laci explains how broccoli could incredibly helpful when it comes to ridding the body of deadly toxins! Follow DNews on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dnews Follow Laci on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18  Read More: China's toxic air pollution resembles nuclear winter, say scientists http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014... "Air pollution now impeding photosynthesis and potentially wreaking havoc on country's food supply, experts warn."

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was initiated because known treatments for syphilis, in 1932, had shown little demonstrated effect, in addition to being toxic and dangerous. The dependent variable in the Tuskegee Experiment (the knowledge researchers wanted), was whether persons with syphilis were, in fact, better off without the treatment.

Whether gas, liquid or solid; radioactive or stable; reactive or inert; toxic or in your vitamin pill, the 118 building blocks each has its own chemically idiosyncratic characteristics--and certain commonalities. See what makes your favorite element unique on this interactive periodic table

A single genetic mutation causes resistance to DDT and pyrethroids (an insecticide class used in mosquito nets), new research concludes. With the continuing rise of resistance, the research is key as scientists say that this knowledge could help improve malaria control strategies. The researchers used a wide range of methods to narrow down how the resistance works, finding a single mutation in the GSTe2 gene, which makes insects break down DDT so it's no longer toxic. They have also shown that this gene makes insects resistant to pyrethroids raising the concern that GSTe2 gene could protect mosquitoes against the major insecticides used in public health.

But those measures did little to curb the smog the first time. Toxic air cloaked Beijing until strong winds blew the pollutants south. The main source of foul air in the capital comes from coal-burning factories in surrounding provinces, not from activity in the city itself, and cities in those provinces did not take the same drastic emergency measures that Beijing did. Many parts of northern China, including the provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shanxi, regularly have air quality that is worse than that of Beijing.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how chemicals can cause both chronic and acute diseases. A discussion of the five main types of toxins; neurotoxins, carcinogens, teratogens, endocrine disruptors, and allergens is including. The LD50 method of determining toxicity as well as a discussion of bioaccumulation and biomagnification is is included.

As the prevalence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) continues to rise, there has been an increasing public interest for information concerning the safety of these products. Concerns generally focus on how the GMO may affect the environment or how it may affect the consumer. One specific concern is the possibility for GMOs to negatively affect human health. This could result from differences in nutritional content, allergic response, or undesired side effects such as toxicity, organ damage, or gene transfer.

JoAnn Burkholder and her associates at North Carolina State University were the pioneer investigators in the Pfiesteria research, which our group of Old Dominion colleagues has since pursued. Burkholder was the first scientist to link the 1991 fish deaths to Pfiesteria, based on her team's on-site investigations and controlled laboratory studies. In addition, she observed a complicated life cycle in the organism, including numerous morphological forms such as motile flagellated cells, amoebae and cysts that are able to survive in the sediment of estuaries until activated by the presence of fish to produce toxic motile cells. 

And no copycat is stranger or more accomplished than the mimic octopus. True to its name, it impersonates a variety of other animals on the fly, morphing from an octopus to a banded sole to a lionfish to a sea snake. But this is no random assemblage of impressions: All of these creatures are toxic or venomous.

Reference  page with definition and many links to information on bioaccumulation

This case study presents a realistic example of drinking water contamination within a fictional local community and leads students through an abbreviated human health risk assessment. Students are provided background information about the extent of the contamination and a description of the contaminated site and are then required to calculate both the cancer and non-cancer risks to the community. This exercise is appropriate for an environmental toxicology or environmental risk assessment course. It works well after a lecture on the basics of risk assessment including how to calculate exposure intakes and risk estimates.