Toxicology: What Everyone Should Know

Toxicology: What Everyone Should Know is an essential reference for anyone looking for an entry into this fascinating field of study. This innovative book describes important discoveries in toxicology through the ages, explores their historical and sociological impacts, and shows how they still influence recent, state-of-the-art developments.

In addition, the book shows how these developments are extrapolated into public and political perceptions on risks and the regulatory consequences, emphasizing environmental issues, such as manmade and natural chemicals, their interaction and impact, nutrition, and drugs.

Users will find a cutting-edge approach to nutritional and combinatorial toxicology, risk evaluation modeling and the benefits of chemicals exposure (nutrition versus man-made chemicals), environmental health, and legislative frameworks to control the public’s chemical exposure.

This is an essential reference for those looking for an introduction to toxicology, its past, and exciting future.

Presents a seminal toxicological discovery in each chapter, describing its evolution towards today’s cutting-edge techniquesShows how the study of toxicology directly impacts legislature, and discusses the need for a new look at risk evaluationsIncludes introductions to a variety of toxicological concerns, such as risk perception, pesticides contamination, carcinogenic compounds, drug toxicities, and toxicological modelling

1. The sons of Pharaoh - From pre-taster to toxicologist 2. Death by dose – ‘the most toxic compounds’ 3. In quest of the ‘right’ combinations The coping body – coping with the myriad of exposures 4. Nature knows best – Toxins Chemicals from the geobiological sphere 5. From prevention to precaution – perceiving valuing risks 6. The new homeopathy – the linear non-threshold (LNT) model for carcinogenic compounds 7. ‘The policy of truth’ – anchoring toxicology in regulation 8. Knowledge versus Insight - Informatics 9. ‘A Game of Thrones’ – finding the right mixture in science and society