Alle blogs van de categorie: Uncategorized

In 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 44 new drugs, reflecting a slight decrease compared to previous years but maintaining the overall trends in pharmaceutical innovation. Biologics accounted for 25% of approvals, including nine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), two antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and one fusion protein, with cancer remaining the primary therapeutic focus. TIDES, comprising three oligonucleotides and one peptide, continued to consolidate their presence in…

Groundwater is a vital freshwater resource but is increasingly threatened by both conventional pollutants and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). This review synthesizes the evolution of groundwater contamination research using a bibliometric analysis of 38,759 publications from 1991 to 2024. Scientific production rose sharply after 2004, driven by China and India, while Africa and parts of South Asia remain underrepresented despite facing serious groundwater challenges. Thematic mapping…

At the European Union level, approximately 60-70% of soil is in unhealthy or degraded conditions. One of the soil threats is the legacy of industrial pollution, as historic industrial pollutants discharged into the ground continue to pose risks to both the environment and human health. As part of the legislative measures adopted in the late 90 s, Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) was introduced as a standardized method for evaluating risks associated with contaminated sites. To support the…

Plastics are integral to modern agriculture and food systems, serving functions from soil covering and crop storage to food packaging. However, their widespread use contributes to the introduction of micro- and nano-plastics into food and the environment. These particles can adsorb pollutants such as antibiotics, heavy metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated soil, water, and packaging materials, enabling their transfer through food systems. To evaluate the role…

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent organic pollutants that accumulate across aquatic compartments, which include sediments, pore water, surface water (including microlayers), suspended particulate matter (SPM), fish, and other biota, causing long-term ecological impacts. This review analyzes the global distribution of PFAS in aquatic sediments, partitioning behavior across aquatic compartments, and ecological consequences of PFAS on sediment-dwelling organisms. PFAS in…

Disparities between the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) and bioconcentration factor (BCF) can cause laboratory-based water quality criteria (WQC) to deviate from the levels needed to protect organisms in actual environmental conditions, yet this issue has not been adequately addressed in current frameworks. To fill this gap, we compiled 2769 records of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) spanning two decades and conducted a meta-analysis. The analysis systematically evaluated BAF-BCF…

Thyroid hormones are essential regulators of metabolism, growth, and neurodevelopment, and disruptions in thyroid function can have profound health consequences, particularly during critical periods such as pregnancy and early childhood. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to environmental pollutants, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), bisphenols, heavy metals, pesticides, air pollutants, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), can adversely affect thyroid hormone…

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent synthetic chemicals increasingly associated with adverse health outcomes. The gastrointestinal tract represents both a major route of exposure and a key target of PFAS toxicity. This review integrates updated evidence on how PFAS compromise intestinal homeostasis through interrelated structural, metabolic, and immunological mechanisms. PFAS disrupt epithelial integrity by down-regulating tight-junction proteins, inducing oxidative…

Over the last 15 years, mixture risk assessment for food xenobiotics has evolved from conceptual discussions and simple screening tools, such as the Hazard Index (HI), towards operational, component-based and probabilistic frameworks embedded in major food-safety institutions. This review synthesizes methodological and regulatory advances in cumulative risk assessment for dietary “cocktails” of pesticides, contaminants and other xenobiotics, with a specific focus on food-relevant exposure…