Toxicology: What Chemists Don't Know Might Hurt You

[strauchdarren]

thanks for the tutorials

[MrBau06109]

"He had no idea what made a molecule toxic" A bizzare phrase seeing as the toxicity both in cause and dose of one substance over another is down to so many different reasons. We all know mercury or benzene are toxic but anything can be toxic even things essential in the right quantities like vitamin A. Surley any chemist knows this?

[makavelishaman]

i dont really like women but she's an exception

[irregardlessable]

insight based on an anecdote, a vague solution thats not clearly linked to whats being sold.. but no doubt people will see this and assume theres a serious problem that "green chemistry" can fix.

[M1ST3RHYDE]

What you Say is True But What if Madame Curie Said Wait, Lets see if This X-Ray Stuff is going to kill me before I Do anything With it Then the World would be A much Queerer place to live & I assure you that Most of the people alive today would Never have existed. The same goes for Any advancment live the Vikings deciding to come to america Us to the Moon & OuterSpace.

[PrometheanRunGood]

What she might make sense to someone who flunked highschool chemistry but no one intelligent (be honest do you thumber downers have University level O-chem, Pharma, Biochem, or even biology?)

[uzumakimounir]

" MIGHT!! hurt you"

[freesk8]

Such a liberal. Her solution to everything is to make some REQUIREMENT.

Rules, regulations and laws don't lead to safety. They don't lead to discovery. They lead to slavery.

Freedom is the basis for creativity and all good science.

In the long run, freedom leads to safety. But as Ben Franklin said, those who would sacrifice essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither.

REAL scientists SPIT on her proposed requirements.

[vshayv]

@freesk8 Completely Agree

[TheGodlessGuitarist]

All she seems ti be asking for is that chemists be aware of what substances are toxic and what makes toxicity.

I don't see how that in anyway would stifle chemical science.

Having said all that, virtually everything is toxic to living things, it just depends on the quantities and manner of consumption.

[freesk8]

@TheGodlessGuitarist No, she specifically mentions "requirements." She is advocating legislation, not voluntary ethical standards.

Legislation slows down the pace of progress.

[TheGodlessGuitarist]

"Ben Franklin said, those who would sacrifice essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither."

And I agree with that sentiment, but he was referring to things like suspension of habeus corpus, flouting the democratic process, you know basically anything that George Bush did.

I don't see how liberty is being sacrificed by raising awareness. Perhaps we shouldn't demand that surgeons learn the best surgical standards? that leads to slavery LOL

[freesk8]

@TheGodlessGuitarist I have no problem with the AMA promulgating a list of "best practices" or publishing the latest research on effective treatments.

I DO have a problem with these standards being required by law. That DOES lead to a loss of liberty, and the extreme loss of liberty is indeed slavery.

[TheGodlessGuitarist]

"I DO have a problem with these standards being required by law."

Who said anything about law? Standards are lists of requirements!

[freesk8]

@TheGodlessGuitarist And how are these requirements enforced?

Is there anything other than laws that she could be referring to?

[skeletonmom]

Thank you! Its about time I started hearing about this.

I worked in environmental project monitoring on harzardous waste work sites and always wondered why doctors, food companies, medicine companies, cleaning product companies, etc, etc, didnt understand what their products were doing to people, animals and the environment. Why was the information so inconsistent.

Ok, I know why now...

[PrometheanRunGood]

What this idiot doesn't realize is that modern science is a team effort. There is a division of labour. The people she interviewed are synthetic organic chemists, they are asked to make certain molecules based on the designs of pharmacologist, biologists, biochemists, (the people responsible for designing the drugs).

She is a fucking liar

[PrometheanRunGood]

There is an entires fields of science dedicated to every aspect of drug development including safety.

This is another attempt at fear mongering to sell her book and ends up with people hurting themselves refusing treatment.

[ffcrazy]

toxicology is not only about drugs but anykind of materials and substances we use in any way and may have a toxic effect

[2JOHNNYT]

there is one thing that makes molecues very toxic - CORPORATIONS

the same corp/military complex which pulled this off 4 Profit too

DEAD JFK makes U laugh

while revealing the 9-11 SCAM

watch?v=8DQp0QxkBCU

[Th3Wab3]

it's kinda like how doctors aren't required to take a course in nutrition etc in med school...

[Xwowplaya]

wonderful insight into an institutional problem.

[AtheistKharm]

unimpressed

[anikinippon]

She makes some excellent points about toxicity in chemistry. It's actually not a mystery as to why most chemicals are toxic to people. For example Hydrochloric Acid, it reacts to the different chemicals in the body that makes certain minerals react by melting, others burn, sometimes even not depending on the presence. However, when it comes to depleted Uranium there still needs to be extensive studies on the toxicity of the metal itself which is more potent than the radiation it emits.

[ananiasacts]

@anikinippon, isn't oxygen toxic past the right concentration? I think one of the main reasons we don't see more toxicological studies is because we already know most everything useful is typically pretty toxic (what makes things useful are active and energetic chemical properties-the exact same properties that make things toxic.) What actually has to be studied to determine the real risk depends more on how it gets in and out of us than how toxic the chemical itself is. A very hard thing to do.

[anikinippon]

@ananiasacts Well said, it's not exactly an easy thing is it?

[ananiasacts]

@anikinippon, no and had their been more room I'd have explained what I think IS the best way--keeping track of as much data about us as is possible so that we can discover what causes what via a statistical analysis of that data. The worst effects of the products we use and foods we eat could easily be far too complex and unexpected to ever discover via laboratory tests. But any mechanism with a statistically significant effect would show up in the approach I describe. The good ones too.

[ZhangyXD]

err it's not his job to know whether or not they are toxic?

[truvelocity]

@ZhangyXD No. They have to get another department in on it. So, its not always funded, because profit comes first.