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The biotechnology revolution has opened new opportunities for addressing current inadequacies in decision making regarding environmental health. Strategic investments need to be made (1) to develop throughput technologies that could accelerate toxicity testing and generate a mechanistic understanding of toxicity, (2) to incorporate individual susceptibility into risk assessments, and (3) to establish a rational basis for testing and regulatory decision making. New initiatives of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, including the Environmental Genome Project and the Toxicogenomics Center, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research areas supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) that have had a profound effect on human health. The link between methylmercury and neurodevelopmental deficits in the fetus. The role of aflatoxin in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The importance of manganese in neurodegenerative disorders. The adverse developmental, cognitive, cardiovascular, and renal effects of lead. The role of polluted air in asthma attacks, and in deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular disease in the elderly. The contribution of paraoxonase to pesticide toxicity. The identification of biomarkers of beryllium-induced lung disease. And, the effect of nitrous oxide on fertility.