Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 33 (1). 61-64. 10.1002/etc.2418 Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.Acc e p ted P r e p r i nt Accepted Article "Accepted Articles" are peer-reviewed, accepted manuscripts that have not been edited, formatted, or in any way altered by the authors since acceptance. They are citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). After the manuscript is edited and formatted, it will be removed from the "Accepted Articles" Web site and published as an Early View article. Note that editing may introduce changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. SETAC cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these manuscripts.Acc e p ted P r e p r i nt Acc e p ted P r e p r i nt Abstract: Here we show that metabolic profiling can be used to assess the changes in biochemical profiles of soil communities living in contaminated sites. We propose the term 'community metabolomics' for the application of metabolomics techniques to the study of the entire community of a soil sample. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for the use of this technique to assess how communities respond to factors such as pollution and climate change.

For some professionally, vocationally, or technically oriented careers, curricula delivered in higher education establishments may focus on teaching material related to a single discipline. By contrast, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary teaching (MITT) results in improved affective and cognitive learning and critical thinking, offering learners/students the opportunity to obtain a broad general knowledge base. Chemistry is a discipline that sits at the interface of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) subjects (and those aligned with or informed by STEMM subjects). This article discusses the significant potential of inclusion of chemistry in MITT activities in higher education and the real-world importance in personal, organizational, national, and global contexts. It outlines the development and implementation challenges attributed to legacy higher education infrastructures (that call for creative visionary leadership with strong and supportive management and administrative functions), and curriculum design that ensures inclusivity and collaboration and is pitched and balanced appropriately. It concludes with future possibilities, notably highlighting that chemistry, as a discipline, underpins industries that have multibillion dollar turnovers and employ millions of people across the world.

BackgroundThe number of waterpipe tobacco smokers has been increasing worldwide. Smokers can be exposed to a number of toxicants, some of which are metals. The aim of this study is to quantitatively determine if the water filtration stage of the waterpipe smoking process successfully decreases exposure to Bi, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and U.MethodsFour samples of commercially available tobacco (Moassel) were compared in terms of the total amount of metal contained within the fresh tobacco sample and the amount of metal distributed into each compartment of the waterpipe after a smoking session.ResultsFor all metals analysed, the concentration of metal ‘filtered’ out during the water bubbling stage is around 3% (±1%) of the total metal.ConclusionsIt can be concluded that this small fraction would not protect the user against exposure to the majority of the potentially toxic metals.