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Biological Responses in Context
Published in Arthur T. Johnson, Biology for Engineers, 2019
It has been hypothesized, therefore, that the nausea that accompanies early pregnancy (morning sickness) in humans, cows, and perhaps other mammals is meant to protect the fetus from ingested toxins (Nesse and Williams, 1994). Strong tasting foods often contain toxic substances already touched upon (alkaloids, terpenes, and phenolics), and these are particularly nauseating to newly pregnant women. Because the extra energy demands made by the fetus at this stage in pregnancy are not great, there is little cost to protecting the unborn child by restricting food intake and potential exposure to food-borne toxins.
Principles of risk decision-making
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B, 2022
Daniel Krewski, Patrick Saunders-Hastings, Patricia Larkin, Margit Westphal, Michael G. Tyshenko, William Leiss, Maurice Dusseault, Michael Jerrett, Doug Coyle
The accelerated pace of knowledge development including scientific evidence on the wide range of risks faced in our daily lives resulted in a need for flexibility in risk decision-making as new risk information becomes available; this often requires enhanced stakeholder engagement. The accumulation of new scientific knowledge might lead to adjustments in, and possibly even reversal of, previous risk decisions. An example of the latter outcome is the saccharin case discussed in RC2. Although research demonstrated that saccharin usage was safe in humans following its ban as an artificial sweetener in 1977, it has proven difficult to reinstate the use of a previously-banned product because of lingering adverse publicity (Harrison and Hoberg 1994). In contrast, the teratogen thalidomide, originally used for the treatment of morning sickness during pregnancy in the 1950s and 1960s, and then banned because of disabilities in babies born to mothers taking the drug, is currently indicated as a treatment for leprosy and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (Mayo Clinic 2022). However, its efficacy and safety continue to be evaluated (Wang et al. 2020).