Prediction of the adverse effects

Structure-activity considerations. Predictions of the adverse effects that a substance may have can sometimes be made on the basis of a knowledge of the chemical structure of the substance and an association of various features of that structure with particular types of toxicity. It must be emphasised that this is a field for the expert and uninformed structure-activity predictions can be dangerously misleading. There are some areas, however, in which experts may make such predictions with a fair degree of accuracy. Perhaps the simplest example would be the prediction of irritant or corrosive properties for a molecule likely to give rise to acidic conditions in contact with water. Predictions of mutagenic activity may also in some cases be made by experts on the basis of the potential of the molecule to interact with DNA. 

In the decades preceding about 1950, there was eonsiderable concern that world populations were exceeding levels that could be supported by the biosphere. What happened to change that picture and what was this revolution called What are some of the environmental and sustainability factors that may make dire predictions of the adverse effects of overpopulation come true in coming decades ... 

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