Issue 12, 2016

Environmental genome of industrial products (EGIP): the missing link for human health

Abstract

Human health impacts come from genetic factors and from the environment. Human health impacts, as nature versus nurture (genetic versus non-shared chemical environmental), have currently been represented in genomics only as the human genome (double helix). The discovery of the genomic structure for the non-shared chemical environmental (the environment) component fills a conceptual gap and thus provides a more complete understanding of total impact on human health. When mapped, the environmental genome of industrial products (EGIP) would serve as a global framework for assessing broad and clustered health effects (human and ecological) at the local and global levels. Thus products for society have coupled benefits and impacts. The environmental genome is pyramidal rather than helical. The shape of the EGIP is, x = ny, where n is a structural building unit (SBU) which is different for each of the 100 000 chemicals, x is the complexity of the industrial ecosystem to make the product (width of genome), and y is the levels or stages from natural resources to product (length of genome). The environmental genome is approximately the same informational size (0.5–8 billion pieces) as the human genome (3 billion chemical pairs). The pyramidal environmental genomic pieces span from natural resources (containing much of the Periodic Table) to the final chemical/material products in commerce of which there are about 100 000 which comprise all products. In summary, “the human genome is held in awe as it created each of us. The environmental genome of industrial products must be respected for it is what we as humans have truly created.”

Graphical abstract: Environmental genome of industrial products (EGIP): the missing link for human health

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jan 2016
Accepted
21 Mar 2016
First published
21 Mar 2016

Green Chem., 2016,18, 3600-3606

Environmental genome of industrial products (EGIP): the missing link for human health

M. Overcash, Green Chem., 2016, 18, 3600 DOI: 10.1039/C6GC00182C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements