Some of what we know about the health effects of exposure to chemicals from food, drugs, and the environment come from studies of occupational, inadvertent, or accident-related exposures. When there is not enough human data, scientists rely on animal data to assess risk from chemical exposure and make health and safety decisions. However, humans and animals can respond differently to chemicals, including the types of adverse effects experienced and the dosages at which they occur. Scientists in the field of toxicogenomics are using new technologies to study the effects of chemicals. For example, in response to a particular chemical exposure, they can study gene expression ("transcriptomics"), proteins ("proteomics") and metabolites ("metabolomics"), and they can also look at how individual and species differences in the underlying DNA sequence itself can result in different responses to the environment. Based on a workshop held in August 2004, this report explores how toxicogenomics could enhance scientists' ability to make connections between data from experimental animal studies and human health.

The new field of toxicogenomics presents a potentially powerful set of tools to better understand the health effects of exposures to toxicants in the environment. At the request of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Research Council assembled a committee to identify the benefits of toxicogenomics, the challenges to achieving them, and potential approaches to overcoming such challenges. The report concludes that realizing the potential of toxicogenomics to improve public health decisions will require a concerted effort to generate data, make use of existing data, and study data in new waysâ€"an effort requiring funding, interagency coordination, and data management strategies.

Some of what we know about the health effects of exposure to chemicals from food, drugs, and the environment come from studies of occupational, inadvertent, or accident-related exposures. When there is not enough human data, scientists rely on animal data to assess risk from chemical exposure and make health and safety decisions. However, humans and animals can respond differently to chemicals, including the types of adverse effects experienced and the dosages at which they occur. Scientists in the field of toxicogenomics are using new technologies to study the effects of chemicals. For example, in response to a particular chemical exposure, they can study gene expression ("transcriptomics"), proteins ("proteomics") and metabolites ("metabolomics"), and they can also look at how individual and species differences in the underlying DNA sequence itself can result in different responses to the environment. Based on a workshop held in August 2004, this report explores how toxicogenomics could enhance scientists' ability to make connections between data from experimental animal studies and human health.

The latest tools for investigating stress response in organisms, genomic technologies provide great insight into how different organisms respond to environmental conditions. However, their usefulness needs to be tested, verified, and codified. Genomic Approaches for Cross-Species Extrapolation in Toxicology provides a balanced discussion drawn from

This book provides a timely overview of toxicogenomics, with special emphasis on the practical applications of this technology to the risk assessment process. Introductory sections are followed by a series of chapters highlighting practical and systematic applications of toxicogenomics in informing the risk assessment process – including the areas of mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, endocrine toxicity, organ-specific toxicity, population monitoring, and ecotoxicology. The book concludes with approaches for the integration of this technology in safety evaluation studies, and an outlook on how toxicogenomics and complementary technologies can reframe the current risk assessment paradigm.

In the last decade and a half, great progress has been made in the development of concepts and models for mixture toxicity, both in human and environmental toxicology. However, due to their different protection goals, developments have often progressed in parallel but with little integration. Arguably the first book to clearly link ecotoxicology an

CHEMOMETRICS AND CHEMINFORMATICS IN AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY Explore chemometric and cheminformatic techniques and tools in aquatic toxicology Chemometrics and Cheminformatics in Aquatic Toxicology delivers an exploration of the existing and emerging problems of contamination of the aquatic environment through various metal and organic pollutants, including industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biocides, nanomaterials, pesticides, surfactants, dyes, and more. The book discusses different chemometric and cheminformatic tools for non-experts and their application to the analysis and modeling of toxicity data of chemicals to various aquatic organisms. You’ll learn about a variety of aquatic toxicity databases and chemometric software tools and webservers as well as practical examples of model development, including illustrations. You’ll also find case studies and literature reports to round out your understanding of the subject. Finally, you’ll learn about tools and protocols including machine learning, data mining, and QSAR and ligand-based chemical design methods. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to chemometric and cheminformatic tools and techniques, including machine learning and data mining An exploration of aquatic toxicity databases, chemometric software tools, and webservers Practical examples and case studies to highlight and illustrate the concepts contained within the book A concise treatment of chemometric and cheminformatic tools and their application to the analysis and modeling of toxicity data Perfect for researchers and students in chemistry and the environmental and pharmaceutical sciences, Chemometrics and Cheminformatics in Aquatic Toxicology will also earn a place in the libraries of professionals in the chemical industry and regulators whose work involves chemometrics.

Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis. However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment. Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.

The use of animals in research has always been surrounded by ethical controversy. This book provides an overview of the central ethical issues focusing on the interconnectedness of science, law and ethics. It aims to make theoretical ethical reasoning understandable to non-ethicists and provide tools to improve ethical decision making on animal research. It focuses on good scientific practice, the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement), ethical theories applied to specific cases and an overview of regulatory issues. The book is co-authored by experts in animal research, animal welfare, social sciences, law and ethics, and provides both animal researchers and members of animal ethics committees with knowledge that can facilitate their work and communication with stakeholders and the public. The book is written to provide knowledge, not to argue a certain position, and is intended to be used in training that aims to fulfil EU Directive 2010/63/EU.

Xenobiotics in Chemical Carcinogenesis: Translational Aspects in Toxicology covers the translational toxicology of xenobiotics substances in carcinogenesis by explaining the toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic, toxicogenomic, biotransformation, and resistance mechanisms in the human body. The book begins with a historical review and link to future prospects for chemical carcinogenesis. It discusses major environmental xenobiotics and their risks in inducing cancer, along with content on toxic xenobiotics and their routes of exposure in humans, the role of xenobiotic metabolism in carcinogenesis, and the toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic of xenobiotics in cancer development. Lastly, the book explores current achievements such as using toxicogenomics for predicting the carcinogenicity of xenobiotic substances and the challenges posed by carcinogenic xenobiotic substances when examining preventive methods, diagnosis, and the development of anticancer drugs for specific toxicants. - Covers the exposure and transmission of various toxic xenobiotics substances, including nanomaterials, to humans and their interaction with specific tissues in precipitating the development of cancers - Unravels the toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic processes of toxic xenobiotics in bioaccumulation - Examines the genetic aberrations in cancer genomes by genetic-environmental interactions in carcinogenesis - Explains the biotransformation mechanisms of toxic xenobiotics by gut microbes in humans