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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Measurements of Physiological Stress Responses in C. Elegans
Published on: May 21, 2020
Science, hormesis and regulation
1University of Tennessee, 808 McClung Tower, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0480, USA. hdouglas@utk.edu
Abstract:
While hormesis is an intriguing scientific hypothesis, this paper argues that it is not yet an acceptable basis for policy-making. Two reasons are given for this assessment. First, although hormesis has suggestive explanatory power, it does not yet have the predictive successes that indicate a general reliability sufficient for policy-making. Second, the regulatory agenda for chemical exposures is usually focused, for good ethical reasons, on protecting people from involuntary and potentially harmful exposures, rather than focused on maximizing public health benefits.
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