Pollution Can Change Your DNA in 3 Days, Study Suggests

National Geographic by Ker Than | May. 17, 2009 (Special Report)

Breathing in polluted air may wreak havoc on our DNA, reprogramming genes in as few as three days and causing increased rates of cancer and other diseases.

So says a new study that tracked DNA damage in 63 steel-foundry workers in Brescia, Italy, who, under their normal factory conditions, were exposed to particulate matter. Full Story »

Posted by Dwight Rousu

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Subjects: World, Sci/Tech
Topics: Environment, Pollution
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Posted by: Posted by Dwight Rousu - May 19, 2009 - 1:13 AM PDT
Reviewed by: Dwight Rousu (review), kerena01 (review)
Content Type: Article
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Edited by: Dwight Rousu - May 19, 2009 - 1:13 AM PDT

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Dwight Rousu
4.0
 by Dwight Rousu - May. 19, 2009

The article reports the results of the study understandably, even if the details of DNA methylation is not in your academic toolkit. An interesting look at the causative mechanism for the bad health effects of pollution.

exposed workers’ DNA was damaged by a slowed rate of “methylation,” a biological process in which genes are organized into ... More »

Dwight posted this story.
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kerena01
2.4
 by kerena01 - May. 28, 2009

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