------ Forwarded Message > From: "dasg...@aol.com" <dasg...@aol.com> > Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:30:48 EDT > To: Robert Millegan <ramille...@aol.com> > Cc: <ema...@aol.com>, <j...@aol.com>, <jim6...@cwnet.com> > Subject: New Technology Will Bombard Us with THz Waves That MUTATE DNA >
> <http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/> > How Terahertz Waves Tear Apart DNA > > A new model of the way the THz waves interact with DNA explains how the damage > is done and why evidence has been so hard to gather > > Friday, October 30, 2009 > http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/24331/ > > > Great things are expected of terahertz waves, the radiation that fills the > slot in the electromagnetic spectrum between microwaves and the infrared. > Terahertz waves pass through non-conducting materials such as clothes , paper, > wood and brick and so cameras sensitive to them can peer inside envelopes, > into living rooms and "frisk" people at distance. > > The way terahertz waves are absorbed and emitted can also be used to determine > the chemical composition of a material. And even though they don't travel far > inside the body, there is great hope that the waves can be used to spot > tumours near the surface of the skin. > > With all that potential, it's no wonder that research on terahertz waves has > exploded in the last ten years or so. > > But what of the health effects of terahertz waves? At first glance, it's easy > to dismiss any notion that they can be damaging. Terahertz photons are not > energetic enough to break chemical bonds or ionise atoms or molecules, the > chief reasons why higher energy photons such as x-rays and UV rays are so bad > for us. But could there be another mechanism at work? > > The evidence that terahertz radiation damages biological systems is mixed. > "Some studies reported significant genetic damage while others, although > similar, showed none," say Boian Alexandrov at the Center for Nonlinear > Studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and a few buddies. Now > these guys think they know why. > > Alexandrov and co have created a model to investigate how THz fields interact > with double-stranded DNA and what they've found is remarkable. They say that > although the forces generated are tiny, resonant effects allow THz waves to > unzip double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the double strand that could > significantly interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA > replication. > > That's a jaw dropping conclusion. > > And it also explains why the evidence has been so hard to garner. Ordinary > resonant effects are not powerful enough to do do this kind of damage but > nonlinear resonances can. These nonlinear instabilities are much less likely > to form which explains why the character of THz genotoxic effects are > probabilistic rather than deterministic, say the team. > > This should set the cat among the pigeons. Of course, terahertz waves are a > natural part of environment, just like visible and infrared light. But a new > generation of cameras are set to appear that not only record terahertz waves > but also bombard us with them. And if our exposure is set to increase, the > question that urgently needs answering is what level of terahertz exposure is > safe. > ------ End of Forwarded Message
