Tipping Points: A Statistical Comparison between Humans and Conodonts

Abstract

We analyzed Conodonts and rocks using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) using statistical methods to compare the tipping points for arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in conodonts and contemporaneous human tissues. We found that ancient seas contained high levels of As which also occurred in Conodont teeth and which was leached from rocks; a biogenic enrichment. We show that there is a significant decline in reaching the tipping point with time (P=0.01) implying that the sources of these neurotoxic metals in modern teeth have decreased such that Pb and As no longer accumulate in human apatite as it did in the apatite of Conodont teeth. The probability of exceeding the tipping point increases significantly with increasing As concentration (P=0.01) and increasing Pb concentration (P=0.04). This suggests that the toxic effects of these metals may be additive. Citation: Qualls C, Lucas SG, Ali AM, Appenzeller O (2018) Tipping Points: A Statistical Comparison between Humans and Conodonts. J Biom Biostat 9: 396. doi: 10.4172/2155-6180.1000396