Environmental Biomarkers
Decoding the biomolecular signatures associated with toxic insults and using these signatures to predict detrimental changes in complex systems will transform how we assess and manage our environment. Early indicators of disease and damage will allow intervention and mitigation before permanent damage occurs.
Because of the recognized complexity of humans and ecosystems, single biomarkers do not typically meet the challenges that we face in predicting ecosystem damage and environmentally induced diseases. The integration and interpretation of complex interactions across scales and from many biological indicators will be required.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is addressing this challenge through the application of system science and pattern recognition to the discovery of these biomolecular signatures.
Definition
biomarkers: a collection of measurable molecular signals that are a surrogate or representation of a complex biological process.
environmental biomarkers: multiple biomolecular signatures that when examined together present a unique pattern of molecular change in an organism and identify an exposure or response to a specific environmental stressor.
