From the ArcaMax Publishing, Science & Technology Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/technology/s-569980-292238
CORVALLIS, Ore. (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have completed the largest
animal toxicology study ever conducted, challenging some concepts
concerning cancer-causing compound levels.
Oregon State University researchers said their study found acceptable
levels of at least one carcinogen may be 500 to 1,500 times higher
than currently believed. The scientists said their findings also
indicate for many purposes trout may be a superior animal model to
laboratory rats, and that traditional methods of assessing carcinogen
risk need to be re-evaluated.
"The whole foundation of modern toxicology is that the dose makes the
poison," Professor George Bailey said. "You can die from eating a few
tablespoons of ordinary table salt at one time, but that doesn't mean
table salt is a poison at the doses that humans normally consume.
"With compounds that we know can cause cancer, the real question is
how much is too much," Bailey added. "What we have found is that
traditional approaches to making that evaluation, which are almost
always based on studies done at very high doses with laboratory
rodents, may not always give us answers that are reasonably accurate."
The study that included Assistant Professor Gayle Orner and
researchers from the University of North Carolina appears in the
journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.