Understanding the impact of pesticides
The EC-funded DEMETRA project aimed to develop software tools that could aid in the prediction of pesticide-induced toxicity. The modelling and the overall data collection were based on five organisms in total, in order to monitor the effect of pesticide ingestion in the short- and long-term. Researchers at the Italian-based Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research focused on the production of a series of datasets relating to the honey bee (Apis Mellifera). These datasets formed the basis for the QSAR models used in the prediction of acute contact toxicity in the honey bee. A total of 85 compounds were tested and most importantly, the studies that were carried out resulted in the accurate description of these compounds at three different levels. In other words, compounds were studied from a toxicological, chemical and mathematical viewpoint in order to arrive at a complete description. The information that was generated was mostly targeted towards scientists and researchers active in the field of pesticide development. It is anticipated that these datasets on the honey bee and other organisms allow the scientific community to examine the effects of pesticide use on the environment and thus develop innovative solutions aimed at pest control.
