Chemical pesticides : mode of action and toxicology

Environmental-friendliness, issues of public health, and the pros and cons of genetically-modified crops all receive regular coverage in the world's media. This, in turn, has led to increased questioning and investigation of chemical pesticides.Stenersen's concise introduction to chemical pesticides describes these compounds according to their biochemical mode of action, such as whether they are enzyme inhibitors, receptor ligands, or free radical generators. Chemical Pesticides provides answers to why pesticides are toxic to the target organism, how resistance develops, why pesticides are toxic to some organisms and not others. The book also discusses legal matters and concerns as well as potential environmental problems.

Environmental-friendliness, issues of public health, and the pros and cons of genetically-modified crops all receive regular coverage in the world's media. This, in turn, has led to increased questioning and investigation of chemical pesticides. Stenersen's concise and timely introduction to chemical pesticides describes these compounds according to their mode of action at the cellular and biochemical level.

Chemical Pesticides provides answers to questions such as why pesticides are toxic to the target organism and why pesticides are toxic to some organisms and not others. It describes how various poisons interfere with biochemical processes in organisms. The book also explores how resistance to pesticides develops, how resistance can be used to illustrate the theory of evolution, and how it can be used to produce herbicide-resistant crop plants. Legal matters and potential environmental problems are also discussed.

By providing an integrated, yet simple description of modern chemical pesticides, the author provides a relevant text for professionals and students in biological disciplines such as biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary science.

"Chemical Pesticides: Mode of Action and Toxicology provides answers to questions such as why pesticides are toxic to the target organism and why they are toxic to some organisms and not others. This concise and timely introduction describes these compounds according to their mode of action at the cellular and biochemical level. It describes how various poisons interfere with biochemical processes in organisms. The book also explores how resistance to pesticides develops, how resistance can be used to illustrate the theory of evolution, and how it can be used to produce herbicide-resistant crop plants. Legal matters and potential environmental problems are also discussed." "By providing an integrated, yet simple, description of modern chemical pesticides, the author provides a relevant text for professionals and students in biological disciplines such as biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, and veterinary science."--Jacket Stenerson (ecotoxicology, U. of Oslo, Norway) brings together observations from across the biological sciences in order to produce a textbook introducing the modes of action of pesticides at the target site and their uptake, distribution, and degradation in the ambient environment. Encouraging students to consult relevant textbooks during their reading of this work for a more comprehensive understanding, he provides chapters on pesticide interference with organic processes, specific enzyme inhibitors, interference with nerve signal transduction, pesticides that act as signal molecules, translocation and degradation of pesticides, resistance to pesticides, and pesticides as environmental hazards. Issues of environmentally-friendliness, public health, genetic modification of crops etc. are all high-profile talking points. This book is a short and concise introduction to chemical pesticides that can be used across disciplines The mode of action of pesticides is extremely fascinating because the subject covers so many fields of biology and chemistry and has many practical implications.