30/01/2013 –The first update to the third generation of the QSAR Toolbox (version 3.1) has now been released containing improved search functionalities, interface improvement, a new database for observed rat in vivo metabolism; updated auto oxidation and metabolism simulators; updated DNA binding profiler and additional ways of expressing mixtures composition.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) database of completed chemical reviews including (in some cases) detailed risk assessment reports addressing human health and the environment. A review, initiated from new concerns, may lead to the reconsideration of the registration of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in the marketplace if potential risks to safety and performance have been identified.

The Gefahrstoffdatenbank der Länder, a german database, is now linked to eChemPortal. 102545 substance records can be searched through the substance search. This includes German hazardous substances legislation as well as other sources reflecting the state of technology and occupational health and safety relating to activities involving hazardous substances. In addition, it contains links to various other German data bases.

This Biosafety document aims to serve as an aid to risk assessors and regulators; providing guidance on handling the aspects of an environmental safety assessment, accessing and using information in situations of low-level presence (LLP) of transgenic plants in seed and grain commodities.

The OECD is pleased to announce, together with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the Adverse Outcome Pathway Knowledge Base (AOP KB). This is a web-based platform which aims to bring together all the knowledge on how chemicals can induce adverse effects, therefore providing a focal point for AOP development and dissemination.

The OECD has published guidance to facilitate the ecological risk assessment of organometallic and organic metal salt substances. A strategy is presented based on key steps that first consider the fate of these substances in the environment, the identification of moieties of concern, and subsequently the selection of an appropriate path forward to either assess the inorganic moiety and/or the individual substance.

Today the OECD marks the end of a seven year experimental testing programme, investigating 11 commercially viable nanomaterials across 110 chemical tests. The results were co-ordinated across 11 countries with tests and data generated from government agencies, universities, research institutions and businesses. Over 780 studies on the specific properties of nanomaterials were undertaken.

The OECD releases a Guidance on Change of Ownership in Hazardous Facilities. This Guidance is a concise document providing a framework to assist stakeholders to identify, understand and minimise the risks during and after a change of ownership at a hazardous facility, and help make the change of ownership a better informed process.

CEOs and corporate leaders on the lessons they have already learnt — and what happens next

Kew may be 70 times bigger than the Physic Garden, but historically Chelsea is the mother ship

Paris is organised around culture to a degree unimaginable in mercantile, muddled-up London

Victor Erice is one of those rare film directors who show time passing apparently at its own pace

Three recent decisions have brought this issue into focus – and all three are lamentable and incoherent

There are profound reasons for studying the languages, literature and civilisations of the Greeks and Romans

This is about reminding ourselves that we are animals, not adjuncts to computer terminals

Too many poets have turned inward, speaking to their fellows rather than to the wider world

Mussorgsky and Toulouse-Lautrec reached out to people treated as extras rather than full human subjects

Have we gone from protecting nature to managing it on behalf of the Earth’s dominant species?

‘There is a unique beauty to this time of year. Everything looks ghostly in the dense, opaque air’

Feelings of shame, unlike other emotions, are difficult to hide

The extraordinary thing about Roger Federer is that he still loves playing tennis after all these years

The story of Sisyphus compares quite well with the experience of zero-hours contracts

Taipei’s MRT is the only underground railway where someone has offered to tie up my shoelace

As I approached the hall where the relics of our vintage were assembled, I heard an unspirit-like roar

A country’s values come into focus when seen by an outsider, contrasting them with his native country

Caricaturist James Gillray was arrested over a print showing politicians kissing a new royal baby’s backside

Participation in the arts has a hugely positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing

Perhaps a lot of rugby has always been prosaic but I struggle to recall such a dearth of poetry

The quiet streets have that special Viennese quality of grandeur combined with melancholy and nostalgia

Isis could be seen as a vast and terrifying collective outbreak of the Freudian concept of ‘acting out’

Through this column, connections have been made and the conversation has broadened

After 11 years, Harry Eyres’ column has come to an end. Here’s his first, from January 17, 2004

The president will be blamed for problem arising from leniency at the border

A website’s faults do not absolve it from dealing fairly with users

A new book reveals how the very wealthy are shaping US society more than is commonly realised

Donald Trump’s campaign was about sociology not ideology

What cultural impact will the incoming president have? Prepare for a mash-up of Sinatra, sports stars and reality TV

The travel company CEO sees voice search as the next opportunity for growth

For her 99th birthday my granny wanted to fly from Ottawa to Italy and get out her bikini

Returning to 500 emails that need attention is far worse then checking in every other day

Many media companies still maintain a direct relationship with readers — but few still have access to foyers

What can you do to lower the chances of your motor being stolen

Top five areas investors should focus on when buying an ETF

Five ways to improve your home

Yogi Dewan of Hassium Asset Management on where to invest

Madrid and Barcelona must wait as other areas relax restrictions on restaurants and shopping

Social distancing reinstated as new cases are linked to one person who might have had contact with 1,500 others

Five steps to protect workers and employers from a cliff-edge end to temporary economic support

The emirate’s economy is especially vulnerable, and may need a bailout from its big brother, Abu Dhabi

Analysts forecast that growth will contract at similar rate to rest of Europe