Profile
The wish to identify, or avoid or at least to constrict risks in time to safe humans and environment, increases in a world which gains constantly on complexicity and confrontates us more and more with alarming news (e.g. floddings, new diseases, reduction of biodiversity).
In this context the need and interest for risk research is also increasing. The task of risk research is to identify new risks, to characterise and to assess them. Therefore, an increase in need of knowledge as basis for new regulations exists, especially postulated by regulators, but also within industry/science the early identification and avoidance of risks gains importance (not only in an economical sense). The alienated society needs also coherent information and advice.
Aims
The answering of questions concerning the issue "Risk" can only be conducted in interdisciplinary cooperation. Within the Research Unit III, three departments work closely together: Bioorganic Chemistry, General & Theoretical Ecology and Epidemiology. Common aim is to take up objectives on risk assessment of chemicals, ionising and non-ionising radiation and genetical modified organisms (GMO).
To identify and characterise risks for humans and environment, a broadf spectrum of methods is needed, which is available within the various infrastructure units of the Research Unit III (structure-effect-relations of chemicals, instrumental analysis, test battery ecotoxicology/toxicology, automatic genotyping) and is constantly adapted to recent demands. Own data from enqueries are investigated with methods of the szenario development, modelling, extrapolation and prognoses. Aim is to develop concepts and models, which help to identify risks, to analyse and characterise them. The prospective risk research is already taking in an important role. Examples are "Sustainable Product Design" or "Assessment Concepts of Risks of Released GMO". Another aim is, to conduct retrospective investigations, to identify and describe effect-interactions. Copnsequently, constant developments and optimisations of new methods/technologies provide comprehensive and better investigation possibilities. New automatic technologies allow e.g. to handle huge sample sizes, or to identify population groups, which are sensitive towards certain environmental diseases by the application of molecular markers in epidemiological studies.
