Structurally distinct polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons induce differential transcriptional responses in developing zebrafish.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment as components of fossil fuels and by-products of combustion. These multi-ring chemicals differentially activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in a structurally dependent manner, and induce toxicity via both AHR-dependent and -independent mechanisms. PAH exposure is known to induce developmental malformations in zebrafish embryos, and recent studies have shown cardiac toxicity induced by compounds with low AHR affinity.

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of sodium and potassium cyanide as a forensic signature.

Sodium and potassium cyanide are highly toxic, produced in large amounts by the chemical industry, and linked to numerous high-profile crimes. The U.S.

Separating the drivers from the driven: Integrative network and pathway approaches aid identification of disease biomarkers from high-throughput data.

The recent advances in high-throughput data acquisition have driven a revolution in the study of human disease and determination of molecular biomarkers of disease states. It has become increasingly clear that many of the most important human diseases arise as the result of a complex interplay between several factors including environmental factors, such as exposure to toxins or pathogens, diet, lifestyle, and the genetics of the individual patient. Recent research has begun to describe these factors in the context of networks which describe relationships between biological components, such as genes, proteins and metabolites, and have made progress towards the understanding of disease as a dysfunction of the entire system, rather than, for example, mutations in single genes.