Environmental hormones can disrupt the endocrine systems of human and animal bodies, and thereby cause their abnormal growth and reproduction. These harmful effects have recently brought great attention. This article outlines these effects and the related phenomena.

Two practical methods for locating chemical compounds in the“Beilstein Handbook”(Beilstein Handbook of Organic Chemistry)were introduced. The methods involve locating the positions of compounds through the catalogues provided by suppliers of commercial chemicals, relevant handbooks of chemistry physics and through the systematic scheme approach. A brief analysis and evaluation is also given for these two methods.

Some aspects of the current American chemical education have been outlined in this paper. Included are the challenges, paradigm transfer, inquiry-based instruction, evaluation, professional training, and information technology.