A study on the National Poison Data System (NPDS) has found that suspected suicide attempts via self-poisoning in children have increased by 26.7 percent from 2015 to 2020 with researchers highlighting the nation’s increasing mental health crisis amongst adolescents. “Our study is one of a number that demonstrates that we are experiencing an unprecedented mental…

Since it first went on the market in 1974, glyphosate has been used for weed control, as an exfoliant to eradicate unwanted vegetation and illegal crops, and as a crop desiccant—a chemical applied to crops to dry them out more quickly before harvest. What is Glyphosate? As a non-selective herbicide, it kills most plants. Scientists…

Bisphenol-S (BPS), a replacement chemical for bisphenol-A (BPA), may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. population, according to a new study published earlier this month in Environmental Sciences Europe. A near-ubiquitous ingredient in plastic products, BPA is increasingly replaced by cousin chemicals — such as Bisphenol F (BPF) or BPS — due to mounting health…

Australia’s Food Safety Information Council is warning adventurous food eaters not to pick wild mushrooms because of the early arrival of the deadly deathcap fungi after a soggy summer. Toxic mushrooms grow during all seasons of the year but pop up particularly quickly in moist areas. Deathcap mushrooms can be mistaken for more common edible…

HONOLULU—A giant U.S. government fuel storage installation hidden inside a mountain ridge overlooking Pearl Harbor has provided fuel to military ships and planes crisscrossing the Pacific Ocean since World War II. Its very existence was a secret for years. Even after it was declassified, few people paid attention—until late last year, when jet fuel leaked…

As a toxicologist I am often asked exactly what is it I do as a toxicologist?  Is there something I do that makes me a toxicologist after over 40 years of work?  The closest I can get is to say that I prevent bad things from happening to good things.  In other words, by taking…

The dazzling, multicolored mandarinfish is surely a candidate for most beautiful fish in the sea, but looks can be deceiving. This stunning salt-water beauty harbors a foul poison, making it alluring but dangerous. The fish’s uniquely foul stench has made it famous among marine enthusiasts and is often duly noted by scientists. The stink is not…