Toward a New Toxicology — Evolution or Revolution?

Thomas Hartung

This essay summarises the author’s thoughts on the current paradigm change in toxicology. The driving factors and mechanisms of this change, and obstacles to it, are discussed. Current developments are discussed on the basis of some key assumptions in Thomas Kuhn’s famous book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The author’s personal view is that there is clear evidence that revolutionary changes in regulatory toxicology are emerging.