Pollution Can Change Your DNA in 3 Days

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[americanscientist.org]

Pollution Can Change Your DNA in 3 Days

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.

The same damage may occur in city dwellers exposed to normal air, the

researchers say. Particulate matter includes suspended, tiny bits of

dust,

metal, or soot in the air, which can lodge deep in the lungs. Exposure

to the

substance has been linked to respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and

heart

problems.

http://snipr.com/i9hhz (http://snipr.com/i9hhz)