Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment
Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2000-12-21

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0309070864

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Scientific Frontiers in Developmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment reviews advances made during the last 10-15 years in fields such as developmental biology, molecular biology, and genetics. It describes a novel approach for how these advances might be used in combination with existing methodologies to further the understanding of mechanisms of developmental toxicity, to improve the assessment of chemicals for their ability to cause developmental toxicity, and to improve risk assessment for developmental defects. For example, based on the recent advances, even the smallest, simplest laboratory animals such as the fruit fly, roundworm, and zebrafish might be able to serve as developmental toxicological models for human biological systems. Use of such organisms might allow for rapid and inexpensive testing of large numbers of chemicals for their potential to cause developmental toxicity; presently, there are little or no developmental toxicity data available for the majority of natural and manufactured chemicals in use. This new approach to developmental toxicology and risk assessment will require simultaneous research on several fronts by experts from multiple scientific disciplines, including developmental toxicologists, developmental biologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians.

Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome
Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1988-01-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 0309038405

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There is growing enthusiasm in the scientific community about the prospect of mapping and sequencing the human genome, a monumental project that will have far-reaching consequences for medicine, biology, technology, and other fields. But how will such an effort be organized and funded? How will we develop the new technologies that are needed? What new legal, social, and ethical questions will be raised? Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome is a blueprint for this proposed project. The authors offer a highly readable explanation of the technical aspects of genetic mapping and sequencing, and they recommend specific interim and long-range research goals, organizational strategies, and funding levels. They also outline some of the legal and social questions that might arise and urge their early consideration by policymakers.

Hidden Costs of Energy
Hidden Costs of Energy

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-05-26

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 0309155800

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Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like this occur, there may be a case for government interventions in the form of regulations, taxes, fees, tradable permits, or other instruments that will motivate recognition of these external or hidden costs. The Hidden Costs of Energy defines and evaluates key external costs and benefits that are associated with the production, distribution, and use of energy, but are not reflected in market prices. The damage estimates presented are substantial and reflect damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation, motor vehicle transportation, and heat generation. The book also considers other effects not quantified in dollar amounts, such as damages from climate change, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security. While not a comprehensive guide to policy, this analysis indicates that major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity generating mix could substantially reduce the damages of external effects. A first step in minimizing the adverse consequences of new energy technologies is to better understand these external effects and damages. The Hidden Costs of Energy will therefore be a vital informational tool for government policy makers, scientists, and economists in even the earliest stages of research and development on energy technologies.

Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology
Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 0309452058

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Between 1973 and 2016, the ways to manipulate DNA to endow new characteristics in an organism (that is, biotechnology) have advanced, enabling the development of products that were not previously possible. What will the likely future products of biotechnology be over the next 5â€"10 years? What scientific capabilities, tools, and/or expertise may be needed by the regulatory agencies to ensure they make efficient and sound evaluations of the likely future products of biotechnology? Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology analyzes the future landscape of biotechnology products and seeks to inform forthcoming policy making. This report identifies potential new risks and frameworks for risk assessment and areas in which the risks or lack of risks relating to the products of biotechnology are well understood.

Tox21 Challenge to Build Predictive Models of Nuclear Receptor and Stress Response Pathways as Mediated by Exposure to Environmental Toxicants and Drugs
Tox21 Challenge to Build Predictive Models of Nuclear Receptor and Stress Response Pathways as Mediated by Exposure to Environmental Toxicants and Drugs

Author: Ruili Huang

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 2889451976

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Tens of thousands of chemicals are released into the environment every day. High-throughput screening (HTS) has offered a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional toxicity tests that can profile these chemicals for potential adverse effects with the aim to prioritize a manageable number for more in depth testing and to provide clues to mechanism of toxicity. The Tox21 program, a collaboration between the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)/National Toxicology Program (NTP), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has generated quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS) data on a library of 10K compounds, including environmental chemicals and drugs, against a panel of nuclear receptor and stress response pathway assays during its production phase (phase II). The Tox21 Challenge, a worldwide modeling competition, was launched that asks a “crowd” of researchers to use these data to elucidate the extent to which the interference of biochemical and cellular pathways by compounds can be inferred from chemical structure data. In the Challenge participants were asked to model twelve assays related to nuclear receptor and stress response pathways using the data generated against the Tox21 10K compound library as the training set. The computational models built within this Challenge are expected to improve the community’s ability to prioritize novel chemicals with respect to potential concern to human health. This research topic presents the resulting computational models with good predictive performance from this Challenge.

Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century
Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-10-05

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0309109922

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Advances in molecular biology and toxicology are paving the way for major improvements in the evaluation of the hazards posed by the large number of chemicals found at low levels in the environment. The National Research Council was asked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review the state of the science and create a far-reaching vision for the future of toxicity testing. The book finds that developing, improving, and validating new laboratory tools based on recent scientific advances could significantly improve our ability to understand the hazards and risks posed by chemicals. This new knowledge would lead to much more informed environmental regulations and dramatically reduce the need for animal testing because the new tests would be based on human cells and cell components. Substantial scientific efforts and resources will be required to leverage these new technologies to realize the vision, but the result will be a more efficient, informative and less costly system for assessing the hazards posed by industrial chemicals and pesticides.

Toxicity Testing for Assessment of Environmental Agents
Toxicity Testing for Assessment of Environmental Agents

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-04-07

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0309164869

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Toxicity testing in laboratory animals provides much of the information used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the hazards and risks associated with exposure to environmental agents that might harm public health or the environment. The data are used to establish maximum acceptable concentrations of environmental agents in drinking water, set permissible limits of exposure of workers, define labeling requirements, establish tolerances for pesticides residues on food, and set other kinds of limits on the basis of risk assessment. Because the number of regulations that require toxicity testing is growing, EPA called for a comprehensive review of established and emerging toxicity-testing methods and strategies. This interim report reviews current toxicity-testing methods and strategies and near-term improvements in toxicity-testing approaches proposed by EPA and others. It identifies several recurring themes and questions in the various reports reviewed. The final report will present a long-range vision and strategic plan to advance the practices of toxicity testing and human health assessment of environmental contaminants.

Managing Health Effects of Beryllium Exposure
Managing Health Effects of Beryllium Exposure

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-09-29

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0309178010

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Beryllium is a lightweight metal that is used for its exceptional strength and high heat-absorbing capability. Beryllium and its alloys can be found in many important technologies in the defense and aeronautics industries, such as nuclear devices, satellite systems, radar systems, and aircraft bushings and bearings. Pulmonary disease associated with exposure to beryllium has been recognized and studied since the early 1940s, and an occupational guideline for limiting exposure to beryllium has been in place since 1949. Over the last few decades, much has been learned about chronic beryllium disease and factors that contribute to its occurrence in exposed people. Despite reduced workplace exposure, chronic beryllium disease continues to occur. Those developments have led to debates about the adequacy of the long-standing occupational exposure limit for protecting worker health. This book, requested by the U.S. Air Force to help to determine the steps necessary to protect its workforce from the effects of beryllium used in military aerospace applications, reviews the scientific literature on beryllium and outlines an exposure and disease management program for its protecting workers.

Toxicity Testing for Assessment of Environmental Agents
Toxicity Testing for Assessment of Environmental Agents

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-05-07

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 0309100925

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Toxicity testing in laboratory animals provides much of the information used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the hazards and risks associated with exposure to environmental agents that might harm public health or the environment. The data are used to establish maximum acceptable concentrations of environmental agents in drinking water, set permissible limits of exposure of workers, define labeling requirements, establish tolerances for pesticides residues on food, and set other kinds of limits on the basis of risk assessment. Because the number of regulations that require toxicity testing is growing, EPA called for a comprehensive review of established and emerging toxicity-testing methods and strategies. This interim report reviews current toxicity-testing methods and strategies and near-term improvements in toxicity-testing approaches proposed by EPA and others. It identifies several recurring themes and questions in the various reports reviewed. The final report will present a long-range vision and strategic plan to advance the practices of toxicity testing and human health assessment of environmental contaminants.

Child Health and the Environment
Child Health and the Environment

Author: Donald T. Wigle

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-03-20

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 0190285656

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This is the first textbook to focus on environmental threats to child health. It will interest professionals and graduate students in public health, pediatrics, environmental health, epidemiology, and toxicology. The first three chapters provide overviews of key children's environmental health issues as well as the role of environmental epidemiology and risk assessment in child health protection. Overarching themes are the susceptibility of the rapidly developing fetus and infant to environmental toxicants, the importance of modifying factors(e.g. poverty, genetic traits, nutrition), the role of health outcome and exposure monitoring, uncertainties surrounding environmental exposure limits, and the importance of timely intervention. Later chapters address the health effects of metals, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, hormonally active agents, radiation, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and water contaminants. In analyzing potential environmental hazards, the author addresses both biologic and epidemiologic evidence, including the likelihood of causal relationships. Among the health outcomes he discusses are developmental, reproductive, and neurobehavioral effects, respiratory disease, cancer, and waterborne infectious diseases. These discussions cover environmental exposure sources/indicators, interventions, and standards, and conclude with a summary of calls for an improved science base to guide public health decisions and protect child health.