Introductory lecture on chemicals of anthropogenic origin. Why do we produce them? And how do they affect the environment and our health?

Keywords: chemicals, toxicity

In the beginning, students are introduced to the environmental burden of chemicals in general and the problem it poses for the world today. Then we focus on one group of chemicals that is among the most problematic in terms of potential negative impacts - pesticides. Pesticides are presented from many perspectives, their need is discussed as well as the possible negative impacts on human and ecosystem health.

keywords: chemistry, biology, agriculture, pollution, toxicology, health, ecosystems, soil

This lecture will deal with the presence of pesticides in the atmosphere, the pesticide consumption in EU and important processes influencing the pesticides in the air will be discussed. Finally some case studies on pesticide in air will be presented.

key words: sampling, atmosphere, pesticides

The lecture deals with the influence of substances in the environment around us (pollutants, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics) on the hormonal system. Using case studies on animals in the wild and the use of pharmaceuticals in humans, it shows that this topic affects us all.

Keywords: endocrine disruption, toxicology, environmental effects, pharmaceuticals

This lecture will describe the type of chemicals we find in the consumer products we use in our daily lives, and how we are exposed to chemicals when we are using consumer products, and what is being done about these possible hazards.

key words: chemical pollution, health, consumer products

This lecture is about three bisphenols: BPA, BPS and BPF. Sources of the compounds, exposure routes, health effects, legislation and how we can minimize our exposure.

key words: bisphenols

This lecture is about 'forever chemicals' - PFAS. Nowadays PFAS became the hot topic all around the world: directors film movies about PFAS, they are discussed at popular american shows. What are they? Why does everyone concern about them? Where can we find PFAS and how can we minimize exposure?

key words: PFAS

This lecture will highlight some of the chemical catastrophies that happened in the past and tell the story about the Aral Sea, by talking about the environment.

key words: chemical pollution, environmental pollution, health

Fluorescence is an important tool for the study of material properties, detection of chemical contamination, as well as in molecular biology and diagnostics in medicine. Fluorescence research and the development of fluorescent labels extends from physical chemistry through other branches of chemistry and finds applications in biological fields. The lecture begins with a brief description of the principles of the interaction of matter and light and moves through examples of common fluorescent molecules to examples of its applications.

keywords: chemistry, fluorescence, diagnostics, health