Health

Formaldehyde in hair straighteners prompts FDA warning

You might decide your natural locks aren't so bad after all, given a new warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that most hair straightening/smoothing products release formaldehyde gas, a human carcinogen.

Medical research

Testing vaccines without laboratory animals

The quality of vaccines is still often tested by using laboratory animals. That has to change, according to researchers from Leiden University and the vaccinological institute Intravacc. Together they went on searching for ...

Health

New study challenges formaldehyde cancer findings

A newly published reanalysis of raw data from a study widely used by chemical assessment agencies to set hazard assessments for formaldehyde shows no link between formaldehyde exposure and leukemia. The peer-reviewed paper ...

Medical research

Formaldehyde damages proteins, not just DNA

The capacity of formaldehyde, a chemical frequently used in manufactured goods such as automotive parts and wood products, to damage DNA, interfere with cell replication and cause cancer inspired new federal regulations this ...

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Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers. In 2005, annual world production of formaldehyde was estimated to be 23 million tonnes (50 billion pounds). Commercial solutions of formaldehyde in water, commonly called formalin, were formerly used as disinfectants and for preservation of biological specimens.

In view of its widespread use, toxicity and volatility, exposure to formaldehyde is a significant consideration for human health. On 10 June 2011, the US National Toxicology Program has described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen".

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