Word: toxicants
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Upon further experimentation, Michaelson injected the rat livers with turpentine, a toxic substance. He found that he could thereby select for fibrinogen-producing cells, which fight the poison...
...gravest threats to anyone severely burned or injured -- or to soldiers wounded in battle -- is massive, system-wide bacterial infection. Such infection with toxic, "gram-negative" bacteria kills up to 100,000 Americans a year, many of them surgical patients and trauma victims. Last week researchers at the University of California at San Diego reported a major victory in the war against these microbes. Using injections of a biotech product called monoclonal antibodies in patients suffering from toxic infections and septic shock, they reduced the expected death rate 40%, in some cases rescuing patients from the brink of death...
During a routine checkup two weeks earlier, Shawntea was found to have a level of 25 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. If that toxic level is maintained, it could affect her mental capabilities and result in grave behavioral and physical problems. "She was living in raggedy housing and eating plaster from a big hole in the wall," says her grandmother, who accompanied her. To Dr. Needleman, that is an important clue; it is likely that some of the earlier coats of paint on the wall contained lead. "Make sure she washes her hands before she eats," he says...
Even in minute quantities, lead is highly toxic. Some historians suggest that widespread lead poisoning contributed to the decline of ancient Rome, where the metal was used for tableware, weapons, cosmetics and water pipes in aqueducts, as well as in the processing of wine. Its prevalence, some conjecture, may have caused sterility, miscarriages and even insanity, particularly among members of the upper classes, who imbibed heavily...
While adults, especially those in certain occupations and industries, are vulnerable to lead poisoning, small children are at the greatest risk. Dr. Joseph LaDou of the University of California at San Francisco explains that children are "exquisitely sensitive" to the toxic metal because their nervous systems and brains are still developing...