There are something like 80,000 chemicals not found in nature that are in commercial use in the United States. Of these, the Environmental Protection Agency has developed estimates of the toxicity for only a tiny fraction of them. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires medical surveillance of workers exposed to only 11 of them. [Read more…]

Genetic magic was announced last week. Researchers found that variants of two bits of DNA on chromosome 9 are associated with heart disease. What this means is made clear in a New York Times article: scientists will develop a test for these variants and if you have them you’ll be treated to “early interventions like cholesterol-lowering statins and methods to reduce blood pressure.” [Read more…]