Why did researchers take a knife to a cute little plastic gingerbread man? To make him give up the source of his toxic fumes. Or so explained Bill Doucette, this morning, in a particularly entertaining session at the Society for Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry’s annual meeting. But the underlying message that this Utah State University scientist brought home to his audience was anything but funny. He graphically illustrated that hidden dangers may lurk in surprising places.

Plant pathogen could help track waters polluted with human waste.

The upcoming Copenhagen negotiations will take steps toward an international, climate-stabilizing treaty.

No one would choose to eat polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs — yet we unwittingly do. And a new study finds that the cost of their pervasive contamination of our food supply can be elevated blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease.