NATS 1870 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: The Smoking Gun, Miscarriage, Benzopyrene
8 Jan 2017
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Cause: genetic disease caused by mutations of genes. Somatic cells: non-heritable cells of body (not sperm/egg) 85% of cancer is non- heritable. Physically induced: mutations caused by environmental (uv exposure, x-ray"s, tanning beds used the same uv light to kill bacterial cells aka very damaging) Chemically induced: also environmental, chemicals we breathe (tobacco) Behavior (tanning) = env. (uv light env. ) Carcinogens: in tobacco -> in lungs -> dna mutations. Chemicals: tobacco smoke has 60 components that have adverse biological effects. Dna: benzopyrene changes into epoxide (which can bind to g position in dna helix) & c starts binding to t -> therefore, g to t changes cause dna mutation. 1992: us environmental protection agency classi ed tobacco smoke as the most dangerous cancer-causing agent in humans * Non smoker: exposed to smoke & chance (low) of lung cancer. Death: second hand killed 70,000 people in the usa last year. Dogs: lung cancer in dogs 100% attributed to smoking owner.
