ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Comparative Toxicogenomics Database

Okay, so imagine you have a bunch of toys in your toy box. Some of those toys are really cool and fun, but some of them can be dangerous if you play with them the wrong way. That's kind of like how scientists feel about different chemicals that are used in things like medicines, cleaning products, and even the food we eat.

Scientists want to know which chemicals are safe and which ones are not, so they study them in something called toxicology. That's just a fancy word for the study of things that can be harmful to living things.

Now, imagine that scientists have studied lots and lots of different chemicals to see how they affect different living things, like animals and plants. They've found out which chemicals are safe and which ones can be harmful in certain amounts. They've stored all this information in something called a database, which is kind of like a big electronic notebook.

But, there's still a problem. There are lots and lots of different chemicals out there, so how can scientists possibly compare all of them to each other to find patterns or similarities in their effects on living things?

That's where the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database comes in. It's kind of like a big, super-smart computer that can look at all the information from all those studies on different chemicals and compare them to each other. That way, scientists can see which chemicals have similar effects on living things, which ones are safe, and which ones are not.

So, the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database helps scientists keep track of which toys in the toy box are safe to play with and which ones we should leave alone.