Key challenges for toxicologists in the 21st century

The application of genomic technology to toxicology (toxicogenomics) has al lowed the simultaneous identification of modified gene expression in respon se to a toxicant to be established for thousands of mammalian genes. This, together with the development of proteomics, metabonomics and our increasin g understanding of individual human polymorphisms, will enable toxicologist s in the next century to identify those individuals at particular risk from specific toxins, pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs. However, these new o pportunities will prove fruitless unless toxicologists address some of the major issues that presently confront their discipline. If anything, the new technologies impose a greater demand on toxicologists to exercise expert j udgement on the meaning of their data, and to apply 'common sense' when bal ancing risks and benefits.