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June 2011

New faculty to join the University of Michigan Risk Science Center

June 30, 2011

After a long and at times tough search, I am extremely pleased to announce that two new faculty – Richard Neitzel and Diana Bowman – will be joining the University of Michigan School Risk Science Center this fall.  Both are outstanding researchers in their fields, and their appointment opens up exciting new possibilities for research, [...]

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An Interview with Designer James King

June 20, 2011

James King is a speculative designer working in the field of biological science to investigate the implications of future biotechnologies.  James collaborates with scientists and works between the lab and studio to design potential applications for their research.  Together they imagine what might be possible if technologies developed in the lab become adopted by people [...]

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Consumers and food: Can’t live with them, can’t live without them!

June 14, 2011

I was at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting this morning talking about food products, technology innovation and risk communication in a session titled “Star Trek or Green Acres: The Future Roles of Chemistry and Technology on the Food Industry, Regulatory Policy and Human Health”. Here are my edited (but still shockingly rough [...]

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A nanotechnology regulation hat trick from the US federal government

June 13, 2011

It must be Nanotechnology Regulation week in Washington DC. Yesterday, two federal agencies and the White House released documents that grapple with the effective regulation of products that depend on engineered nanomaterials. In a joint memorandum, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the United [...]

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Perceptions of chemical products: When is a chemical not a ‘chemical’?

June 10, 2011

The noun ‘chemical’ refers to any substance produced by the processes of chemistry.  This means anything that was ever created by a chemical reaction (natural or man-made), and in reality means all matter.  Your breakfast, your clothes, your computer, and your body are all made up of chemicals.  However, most people would not identify their [...]

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The Semantics and Practical Consequences of Hazard vs. Risk: Perspectives on Product Labeling Regulation

June 8, 2011

As Andrew Maynard mentioned in his previous post on the recent IARC-cell phone headlines, there is a substantial difference between paying attention to the risks versus the hazards of a particular exposure or situation. While “risk” takes into account both the likelihood of sufficient contact and the exposure’s capacity for harm, “hazard” is defined merely [...]

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Mobile phones and cancer – catching up with the week's coverage

June 5, 2011

Unless you have been sequestered away in the middle of no-where for the past week, you will have seen at least something of the coverage of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) classification of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (i.e. mobile phone use) as possibly carcinogenic to humans.  Unfortunately, sequestered away is exactly where I [...]

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